Why does JRPG fashion... look like this?
You know...
asymmetrical, big belts, big hair, dripping with accessories. Just like... extra.
That wasn't always the case. Before the bare midriffs and buckles and... knee pillows
and what-have-you, early Japanese RPGs were inspired by
Western fantasy–- especially Dungeons and Dragons. Like Dragon Quest, with its
knight in armor. Or dragon slayer, which looks more like a blood-and-sandal
Schwarzenegger vehicle than a video game.
All of that changed with the Final Fantasy franchise.
Yoshitaka Amano, the character designer for early Final
Fantasy games was heavily influenced by European movements like Art Nouveau.
But he was also inspired by ukiyo-e, Japanese woodblock printing.
In the USA, the most
well known ukiyo-e print is Hokusai's "The Great Wave off Kanagawa," but early
ukiyo-e artists were more into geishas and kabuki actors-- specifically, people
who turnt it out on the runway.
"While men were attracted to the suggestive
poses and physical perfection of these beautiful women, their wives studied the
prints for the latest fashions. They took great interest in the courtesans elegant
and dramatic robes."
Basically it was the 17th century equivalent to Idol culture.
Think Babymetal meets woodprints.
The lineage of ukiyo-e can be clearly seen
in Amano's elegant and elaborate costumery.
Full-weekend-at-the-salon hairstyles.
The freshest of fresh patterns.
Drapes you could smother your lover in.
Even simplified for 90s screens, Amano's dramatic and uniquely Japanese style became the
iconic look of Final Fantasy. It also laid the groundwork for Amano's
successor, Tetsuya Nomura. Nomura began as a debugger at Square during Final
Fantasy IV, but worked his way up to character designer for Final Fantasy VII.
He brought his own style to the franchise-- specifically street wear style.
Nomura grew up alongside the Japanese fashion industry, which set the runway on
fucking fire in the early 1980s when Rei Kawakubo opened her shop in Paris.
And western designers like Vivienne Westwood brought punk to Japan.
At the same time, small designers in Harajuku gained huge followings leading
to a boom of "DC" or designer character brands. Each year saw new subgroups like:
Lolita
Schoolgirl
Body-con
or Crow Tribe.
In Nomura's own words: "one of the biggest
elements that helps the player to better imagine a character's personality or
background... is fashion."
To get a better idea of just how much streetwear
influenced Nomura's designs I talk to Reggie Casual of The Casual, a youtube
channel dedicated to Japanese street fashion.
A lot of the characters in Final
Fantasy used body conscious style, actually. What's interesting about Riku,
though, is that she has elements of not just body conscious, but hip-hop, punk and
you know deconstruction. And also a little bit of Comme des Garcons there.
You see her sleeves? That's something very much that Rei Kawakubo would do,
turning something as simple as a sleeve into something that's like filled with
ribbons. That's just like... highly impractical.
Kawakubo is also notable for layering
black on black on black... on black on black on black... which you see with like a
lot of Final Fantasy characters.
With Aerith, like it was always interesting to
see how that dynamic with a dress and boots and the jacket was performed. It
was kind of like adding a more sensual take on it, but also a more outdoors kind
of biker Americana vibe to it.
Rinoa's style incorporates body-con and
deconstruction, similar to designers Undercover and Mihara Yasuhiro
Yuna's style reflects a late 90s trend inspired by designer Takuya Angel, which incorporated
kimono elements and patterns into casual outfits.
Titus represents this kind of Metro Punk sport guy. This hair, you'll see
everywhere in Japan. EVERYWHERE, right? This actually comes from a lot of the
idol groups that are famous in Japan: Sexy Zone, Kinki Kids, they all, you know...
Arashi. And all these groups that have like the guys with the kind-of more
metro-style haircuts. And that's what he like represents.
Modern audiences are as
inspired by pop idols as they were in the 17th century.
His character inspired me.
Right, that inspired me- the flow, the drape,
the long coats, the jackets. Western culture influences it a lot but there's
still an element of Japanese like tradition, element of Japanese detail-
"monodzukuri" is what we call it now. And that really inspires me to keep going
and doing what I'm doing.
Fashion influenced both Amano and Nomura,
and their art has in turned influence modern fashion. A menswear magazine
featured a Prada spread with Final Fantasy VIII-2 characters.
And Lightning proved that actually, women don't need pockets,
in this Louis Vuitton purse ad.
Final Fantasy XV completes the cycle;
The main cast's outfits were designed by Hiromu Takahara, the
creative director of Roen. And Lunafreya's wedding dress was designed by
none other than Vivienne Westwood herself...
"Everyone looks so happy, and it's all because of this one dress."
...who as it turns out, is a canonical resident of Altissia.
Since Nomura brought his love of streetwear fashion into Final Fantasy-
and to The World Ends with You... and to a little thing called Kingdom Hearts, it's
become a prevalent style across the JRPG genre.
So the next time somebody tries to
convince you that a JRPG characters outfit is dumb, tell them actually...
it's fashion.