Hey Y’all, it’s Kirarin! ✨
So far, I’ve been enjoying writing about Gyaru style in the Reiwa era (2019-present).
Let’s take a look at Gyaru’s popularity with Japan’s Gen Z in 2020-2022! ✨
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Gyaru Popularity w Gen Z
It's needless to say that with the revival of the popularity of Gyaru style and culture, along with the increasing nostalgia for the 2000s, the popularity of gal has spread like wildfire among Gen Z!
According to a survey by Z Research Institute, the terms “gal”, “Heisei gals”, and loose socks ranked first second and third in the trend rankings for Gen Z!
Another survey by Mynavi Teens Lab shows the popular terms and phrases among Gen-Z like:
ギャルピース "Gal Peace”
ギャル、ちょーかわいい "Gals, super cute" (likely a reference to this song)
ルーズソックス “loose socks”
and also hashtags like:
#平成レトロ "#Heisei Retro"
#平成ギャル"#Heisei Gal”
How Gal Started Trending w Japan’s Gen Z
Typically the image of a gyaru is someone with bleached hair, flashy outfits, and bold makeup.
However when you search “Gyaru” on Instagram and other social media you might also find posts from girls with unbleached hair and no false lashes, etc.
Why is that?
According to SORENA, this is because a lot of highschools in Japan have rules against makeup & hair dyeing, etc so these girls are trying to be gal within the rules of their highschool.
Japan's gen Z who are interested in Gyaru will often opt for a "Kogyaru" look.
This usually includes loose socks, sweaters tied around the waist, & hair tied into ponytails w/ big scrunchies. Sometimes they're even able to add flair with sparkly circle lenses. (SORENA, 2022)
In the case of a lot of Gen Z gals in Japan, their mothers also wore Kogyaru style when they were in high school. So a lot of them take inspiration from how their mothers used to dress. This is one of the reasons why loose socks are incredibly popular among Japan's Gen Z gals! (Galture, 2021)
Factors why Gal is popular w Gen Z
Y2K nostalgia
The nostalgia for the 2000’s and the Heisei era (1989-2019) is a huge reason why gyaru style has been making a comeback.
The pandemic
Let's take a look at this interesting quote from SORENA
“Heisei era gals were part of the ‘Lost Generation,’ who entered the workforce during the employment ice age after the collapse of the bubble economy.
Due to the current social climate that feels a sense of stagnation as a result of the pandemic, the feelings of young people today have resonated with the strong, positive Heisei era gals.”
In other words, both generations have had to take on a strong and positive mindset in order to face their own major societal challenges. 💪🏾✨
Gen Z & “Mind Gal”
As the popularity of gal has spread to the younger generation, many of whom are still in high school and has limited accessibility to a lot of the flasher clothes and makeup (and as I mentioned before, some schools in Japan even ban the use of makeup and hair-dying, etc),
It's become popular among these crowds to be a “Mind Gal”.
According to an article by SORENA:
“‘Mind Gal’ refers to a strong, positive mindset like the one below. What's popular now is not ‘appearance gal’, but rather ‘mind gal.’”
The younger generation z admires women who are strong, cool, and don't live to please other people.
The values of individuality, free-spiritedness, and positivity resonate a lot with this newer generation of Japanese youths. (SORENA, 2022)
Celebs Credited for influence
The celebrities Kemio, and Toa, have both appeared in ads that appeal to the spirit of “mind gal”.
Aochanpe (now a former member of black diamond gal unit) has been on television programs, including "ABEMA Prime" as a news commentator.
Her blunt questions and perspective as a gal have resonated well with young people in Japan.
This is only one example of news programs with girly commentators that have attracted the attention of young viewers.
Another example of a gal who’s on TV a lot is Yuchami. Is extremely charismatic and popular among Gen Z gals! (onecosme)
As of today of course there are many more examples of celebrities who resonate well with the younger generation and the spirit of “mind gal”.
Check out my previous deep dives into the revival of Gyaru style!:
the overall evolution of gal trends from 2019 to present day
A Deep Dive into Gyaru Trends from 2019-2022
BTW! I'm including this post is part of an ongoing project I'm working on to build an interactive database about the latest Gyaru trends! Eventually I'd like to be able to fill it up only w/ articles I wrote myself, so please cheer me on as I write more of these. :D
So far 4/6 of the sources are written by me, and the other 2 are Wiki pages.
Thanks for reading and look forward to more! :D
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