Harajuku Lovers is singer Gwen Stefani's brand of apparel, fashion accessories, and stationery launched in 2005. The concept for Harajuku Lovers revolves around the Shibuya, Tokyo area of Harajuku and the four "Harajuku Girls," Gwen Stefani's Japanese back-up dancers and entourage (Love, Angel, Music, and Baby).
Unlike Stefani's other fashion line, L.A.M.B., launched in 2004, which aimed for a more mainstream demographic; Harajuku Lovers instead tends to focus specifically on 'Kawaiiness' made famous by the streets of Harajuku in Japan. Kawaii depictions of Stefani and her dancers are common features of the products as is the kanji 原宿 (Harajuku) logo.
Clothing for the line is produced and licensed by JerryLeigh with stationery line produced and licenced by Nakajima USA & FAB/Starpoint [www.fabny.com]. There is also a fragrance line with five different scents: Love, Lil Angel, Music, Baby, and G.
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Gwen Stefani decided to create another clothing line, in addition to L.A.M.B., that would be more accessible to her fans and the general public, originally dubbed "Sub-Lamb", but later changed to Harajuku Lovers. Stefani started Harajuku Lovers as another layer and extension to her debut solo album Love.Angel.Music.Baby. She has said that HL is an extension of the music and a visual to the lyrics, as many products allude to verses and themes in her songs ("Bubble Pop Electric" as a logo recalling Double Bubble packaging, "a fatal attraction to cuteness" from the song "Harajuku Girls", "this shit is bananas" from "Hollaback Girl", etc.) Stefani's original inspiration for a Japanese-inspired line came from her first trip to Tokyo in 1996, where she was amazed by the self-expression and individual style of Japanese youth.
There are four Harajuku Girls who are part of the group- Maya Chino (stage name Love), Jennifer Kita (stage name Angel), Mayuko Kitayama (stage name Baby), and Rino Nakasone-Razalan (stage name Music). Each one represents a different kind of woman, plus Gwen Stefani herself, the fifth kind of woman.
Love is played by Maya Chino. She represents a nice, soft, caring person. The perfume is described in the same way and is categorized as a floral fragrance.
Jennifer Kita is the inspiration for the fragrance Angel, being described as a someone who has always cared for others but is not a saint. The scent reflects this personality. It has floral notes but has a touch of fruity fun.
Baby is innocent and exciting with floral and woody musk notes. Mayuko Kitayama is the inspiration for this.
The strongest of the five fragrances, Music also has floral and fruity notes like Angel. Rino Naksaone-Razalan is the Harajuku Girl with the personality like this.
"G" is the fragrance inspired by Gwen Stefani herself. It is named for Gwen, being the first letter of her first name. Also a floral/fruity scent, it has been described as "a modern and lively scent" (Fragrantica.com).
Sunshine Cuties is the more recent collection of fragrances, launched in 2009. After "the Sunshine Cuties" "the Snow Bunnys"followed. In 2011 the new edition is called:"Wicked"
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