I am very excited to share with you this inside scoop on International Decora Day! We have interviewed the creators of the celebrative holiday on IDD as well as the culture within the decora community. so... lets get started!
"International Decora Day is a celebration we started to help bring those who are into Decora Fashion together to celebrate this big part of our hearts that helps up express ourselves and to celebrate the connections we make through this fashion. Kamilah and I thought, “Lolita fashion has international days to celebrate, why can’t we have one too?” -Decorademon
On the last Saturday of July every year, decora communities worldwide celebrate with meetups and online events. These meetups are usually hosted by local decoras unaffiliated with intl_decoraday, but get reposted and shared online by the account! So be sure to follow @intl_decoraday! They also post challenges and videos from the meetups! intl_decoraday also hosts online events and activities!
The founders of IDD are @decorademon and @Hard_decora!
Monique | @decorademon | They/Them
Monique: "Howdy! My name is Monique, known online as Decora Demon, and I’m a jfashion enthusiast from Los Angeles, CA. I’ve been into Jfashion since I was a kid but started wearing jfashion and specifically Decora fashion a little over 10 years ago when I was fresh out of high school. I was in the first wave of kids that helped organize Harajuku Day, a Harajuku fashion meet up group in Los Angeles, which has grown exponentially throughout the years. Professionally, I am an office worker and emergency dispatcher, however my heart is truly in illustration, fiber arts, and comic writing with my best friend Kamilah. Personally, I am also a parent of two amazing kids!"
Kamilah | @hard_decora | She/Her
Kamilah: "I'm Kamilah aka Hard Decora on most accounts. I’m mostly know for the apparel I’ve made featuring the aggressively cute characters from my comic. I’ve modeled at conventions for various j-fashion brands as well as being a featured brand myself at different conventions. Haruka and cybr.grl have both model for my brand and I’ve done a pop up in Japan. Now I focus more on Hard Decora the comic, zine making, and community building.
I started wearing decora around 2016 and have been doing joint projects with Monique for years. Most notably IDD and Emptying the Clips Comic."
International Decora Day Interview
-In 2020 we saw a trend amongst young people for colourful clothes and alternative styles, which has since settled down and become untrendy. Do you think IDD has brought back interest in decora?
Monique: "I was definitely excited to see so many kids in colorful fashion during the late 2010s and early 2020s. I do see that trend has settled down amongst the youth, and we are now going back to more muted and pastel colors. I don’t mind, and of course while I would like to say that International Decora Day has brought more attention to Decora fashion in a muted world, I would be remiss to say that flatly. I think the one who really shed light onto decora fashion for most kids nowadays would be our friend Kristina (known as Cybr.grl). The decora community is very closeknit, especially the western one, and when Kristina reach out and stepped onto the stage, using her platform to educate people on the fashion and on IDD, more kids and adults started to become interested. The younger people I talk to at our meet ups are no longer introduced to decora from the original Japanese Fashion magazines we knew, like Kera and Fruits, being scanned onto social media, or even from finding the original Japanese brands that brought us together, but instead from tiktok and Kristina’s videos!"
Kamilah: "I don’t think IDD in particular is a part of starting the rise of the 2nd peak of the decora style. I think we (Monique and I) provide a space for decora peeps both new and long time to express their love for decora. I would say the Neo Decora movement in Japan and social media influencers like cybr. grl had a bigger hand than our event in particular. We simply are an avenue for the influx to spread to. I don’t think people are introduced to decora by hearing about IDD first."
-Has decora gotten more or less popular since IDD was made?
Monique: "From the turnout that we are getting at Harajuku Day and International Decora Day celebrations, I would say Decora is getting more popular. It doesn’t seem so long ago that reports were saying Decora Fashion was dead and now look at us! P cool imo."
Kamilah: "Definitely more popular. The international participation for IDD grows every year, there are more non-participants that are at least aware of the style that I bump into in my daily life, and the Decora Girlz doll line. Really awesome to see!"
-What are your hopes for IDD? Do you want to make decora more popular?
Monique: "While I think the education aspect of International Decora Day has always been there, personally, helping Decora fashion become more popular was not my main goal when starting IDD. I think a lot of people into Jfashion know that going out in the street dressed as you like almost always involves educating and answering questions to curious people, so the fashion becoming more popular here has always, at least to me, been seen as an inevitability. My whole life has been shaped around the connections and friendships I made around this fashion, so my goal was to celebrate this fashion and the joyful nature of it with all my friends around the world, who have ultimately become my family! Like a big family reunion of sorts, haha."
Kamilah: "Our hope for IDD is for the fashion holiday to become a solidified open source celebration for years to come much like International Lolita Day. We love how ILD is so wide spread and decentralized. Right now IDD is much more structured with specific events and promotion. One day we want to let go of the reigns and have the community shape the celebration organically. With how it is spreading I think the community will be ready for that soon."
@decorademon & @hard_decora's presentation at Kawaii Is Art by Sebastian Masuda
-Do you think there are positive aspects to participating in a substyle that is so niche?
Monique: "I think any participation in niche styles is always positive, if not for anything else but a learning experience. Coming into niche or underground styles could reveal more things you never would have known you liked before, like different artists or different music, or meeting new people that you can grow with and learn from! Even those who do not participate aesthetically in niche subcultures and fashion see the beauty of love and community in those spaces just by observing."
Kamila: "Of course!"
-Do you think the spread of decora fashion could lead to more overconsumption? Do you know how we can combat this?
Monique: "I do worry that with the rise in fast fashion, it will lead to an over-consumption habit in the community. When I started, colorful fashion wasn’t so readily available, so most if not everyone used to wait to order from Harajuku based companies when a friend would go visit Japan or the brand would come out for a convention, and the rest of our wardrobe was thrifted and handmade—not one person I knew was buying really anything in their outfit new, unless it was a little plastic necklaces from the dollar store. I think the nature of our fashion and community will ease the heaviness of overconsumption, as there are so many venues to give and sell pieces of your wardrobe to the next generation of decora kids through online sales and meet up groups like Harajuku Day. Everyone must keep themselves in check of overconsumption nowadays, and I feel the risk may be greater in more mainstream communities since the style is more readily available."
Kamilah: "Yes but I think TikTok and short form social media is more to blame for that than the decora style. The media landscape we are in now super charged over consumption in a bunch of hobbies from coloring to reading to journaling etc. Many of the videos we watch are aspirational and do well bc they are the extreme end of our fashion. Then in between those videos are targeted ads or other kawaii artists showcasing their goods. It’s a lot to take in and not feel a sense of lack in comparison.
I would say though that our style isn’t about over consumption because despite being an OTT fashion we praise upcycling, diy accessories, and thrifting as major pillars of our subculture. I think leaning on our “traditions” and limiting how much fast social media we take in could help us feel more settled with what we already have. I’ve found looking at pictures from slower social media like discord servers or attending irl events helps me have a more realistic idea of what others in the community are wearing on average.
We should find our personal OTT threshold rather than always committing to add more.
Buying more accessories or supplies doesn’t necessarily make our outfits better too. Even in decora. It’s more about how we style what we already have to be honest :x"
art by @decorademon
-Do you have any thoughts on what it means to be a decora (kid, practitioner, wearer) in terms of cultural appreciation and appropriation? Decora is done a little differently all around the world, and as a global community we seem to embrace that, but do you think western decoras could be over representing the subculture?
Monique: "I absolutely believe that as westerners, we are over representing the Japanese fashion community in many ways. I remember seeing pictures of a fashion walk in Japan, with signs saying things like “Harajuku is not Dead” being held by European and Western people. Maybe it’s not dead, but the worry I feel is accidentally gentrifying the subculture no matter how much you love it. I am biracial and living in Los Angeles, so I see this all the time when it comes to every culture under the sun. However, the diversity of people in Jfasihon I think has a way of balancing things out, as I think there so many kinds of people with so many different ethnic backgrounds that it has become a universal fashion—that it comes with a little twist of whoever wears it. I believe the Neo-Decora kids in Japan are still the blueprint that everyone looks to for new trends and ways of dressing, so I believe the respect and reverence of the origins are still a high priority."
Kamilah: "Yes, I think that could be true (the over representing part)! I notice more followers for western decora accounts on Instagram for example compared to other accounts from other regions. I’m not sure if it’s because social media algorithms cater to the west more or there are more casual fans of decora/jfashion are in the west, or westerners (especially Americans) are very big consumers so advertising to that market is a big deal.
I feel as though the major artists and icons from Japan want to share kawaii fashion and culture worldwide. Sebastian Masuda has expressed that goal specifically for example so I’m not so concerned on the appropriation front as long as we acknowledge where things come from. I think infusing it with different cultures we belong to adds more authenticity to our personal pursuit of cuteness."
-I have heard of Lolita’s feeling like an outsider or a fashion tourist, and I feel a little bit the same, in which this style of Harajuku fashion doesn’t tie into my cultural heritage, so I’m not sure if I can fully identify as a decora to the fullest extent. Can you relate at all to feeling this way?
Monique: "I think joining any established fashion community could make anyone feel like an outsider, especially when it comes from a different country. However, in my opinion, I feel that decora fashion has always been really punk rock, about rebelling against the norm and embracing your inner child. Really wanting to color your world and the world of those around you brightly and beautifully—and I think that feeling is universal. Being a true decora kid I feel doesn’t have to do with your country of origin, or how old you are, I think being a true member of this community means embracing yourself and those around you with the colorfulness and love that is exemplified in this community. I think it’s easier to feel like an outside in fashion communities that have very strict rules or places to be, brands to buy, ways to fix up an outfits, etc—and I feel that decora fashion does not have this kind of rigidity."
Kamilah: "I can understand feeling that way. Some things I try to remember is that j-fashion takes a lot from western fashion styles or media. I can see that with lolita, gyaru, and visual kei to name a few. There are some old school decora stylings that may be pulling from the scene aesthetic. So I think there is an open cultural exchange going on.
I personally try to make the style my own as much as possible pulling in elements inspired by fashions outside of decora. I lean toward black American street fashion or Y2K icons I admire like TLC and Aliyah. I also incorporate ethnically significant hairstyles like afros and braids. I was naturally pulled to do that though. It’s important for it to not feel forced. If it’s forced it feels like I’m wearing a costume. I think everyone will have to tackle this in their own individual way."
-Do you think it’s worth paying attention to decora trends on the streets of Japan, as to represent the culture more accurately? Is it okay to stray from the current trends?
Monique: "I think decora fashion is what you make of it, so I think there is an equal amount of importance in watching the street of Harajuku for the next trend, and also finding your personal fashion perspective and applying it to your outfits. I personally love mixing styles together and trying different ones, and ultimately wearing what feels the most comfortable to me regardless of current trends in Harajuku or any other place (you can pry my track jackets out of my cold dead hands)."
Kamilah: "I personally don’t follow the trends closely, especially now, it’s too overwhelming for me to keep up with. There are trends I don’t think are for me to do and would be inauthentic to how I personally want to dress currently. The Japanese participants get to dress authentically. Why not us too? My personal philosophy is “How can I make decora more me” as opposed to “How can I be “more” decora?” If that makes sense.
If you are interested in following them because it’s fun or educational I think that’s great! We need people to document the global exchange and developments of this style but you don’t need to adopt all the new changes."
-Do you think paying too close attention to the Harajuku scene could become offensive or come off as imitating?
Monique: "Personally, I see a danger in westerners trying to directly imitate certain styles of any culture too much without understanding the meaning and origins of a style. I think Decora fashion is unique in that those who are seen as the founders and originators of the art (like Sebastian Masuda) wish for the style and philosophy of kawaii fashion to be everywhere around the world. I think when anyone starts decora fashion, imitation is seen as the only way to begin—however I believe that if you start to imitate too much and refuse to truly delve into your own style and bring your own twist, it will eventually be insulting to the fashion and community. Of course, this is just my personal opinion, and I know many people would say that what we stand for are just silly clothes, but of course I believe there is a much deeper meaning to what we do."
Kamilah: "Offensive to who? Japanese participants or artists? I think that question is better suited for those parties to answer haha"
-Do you have any parting wisdom for our readers?
Monique: "My best wisdom is to focus on how you can make the style of decora more you if you aren’t already focusing on that. I think it will be more sustainable that way."
Thank you so much, Monique and Kamilah for answering these questions! I really hope our readers find this interesting and don't forget to follow @intl_decoraday to keep up to date with IDD events and activities!
Monique: "Thank you for the opportunity to talk about IDD! Really great questions for real, I hope I wasn’t too wordy lmao. You can always keep an eye out for my decora themed art on my Instagram @decorademon, and check out all aspects of my art for showcase and gallery showings on my website decorademon.com. Feel free to reach out at any time through email or DM. I would encourage everyone to delve more deeply into the history of decora fashion and embrace every step of your style journey—and share it with friends! "
Kamilah: "Thanks for interviewing me Ren! These were some awesome questions! If you are reading this and want another jfashion oriented blog to follow I have a new blog at comic.harddecora.com (https://comic.harddecora.com). I will be covering personal jfashion insights and alt fashion comics/zines!"
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