Christmas: Shibuya 109 style

Freed of its weighty Christian implications (since most Japanese people are not Christian), Christmas in Japan has morphed into a high-pressure romantic extravaganza (have a date or feel pathetic and depressed) marked by expensive dates and present exchange between young couples.

Christmas illuminations (light displays), which go up as early as the end of October, play a big part in this, as one part of the Christmas date might include going to see the lights and maybe a little shopping. Catering to a moneyed (or would like to be) crowd, the displays at Tokyo’s upscale shopping malls typically endeavor to create images of sophistication and refinement. Take this Swarovski display at Omotesando Hills for example:

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Meanwhile rival crystal company Baccarat does the display for Ebisu Garden Place. How would you feel if your boyfriend took you to the place that puts out the same light-up plastic Santa every year? Right, you get the point.

Teen fashion mecca Shibuya 109, though similarly intent on conveying wealth and glamour, however, wants nothing to do with refinement. Presenting Shibuya 109 “Xmas in Las Vegas!”

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The ideal behind “real fashion” shopping complexes like Shibuya 109 that carry almost entirely trendy domestic labels is that they project an image of giving young shoppers what they really want, with a “by girls for girls” attitude, and thus stand in contrast to the imposing luxury malls and their unattainable foreign goods.

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Linking Christmas with Sin City may seem inappropriate, however, I’m sure cynics would agree that 109 hits the mark in depicting the contemporary commercial Christmas experience.

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Come on girls! Time to start looking for that perfect Christmas date dress!