''Fruits'' (stylized as ''FRUiTS'') was a Japanese monthly

street fashion Street style is fashion that is considered to have emerged not from studios, but from the population at large. Street fashion is generally associated with youth culture, and is most often seen in major urban centers. Magazines and newspapers co ...

magazine founded in 1997 by

photographer A photographer (the Greek φῶς (''phos''), meaning "light", and γραφή (''graphê''), meaning "drawing, writing", together meaning "drawing with light") is a person who uses a camera to make photographs. Duties and types of photograp ...

Shoichi Aoki. Though ''Fruits'' covered styles found throughout

Tokyo Tokyo, officially the Tokyo Metropolis, is the capital of Japan, capital and List of cities in Japan, most populous city in Japan. With a population of over 14 million in the city proper in 2023, it is List of largest cities, one of the most ...

, it is associated most closely with the fashion subcultures found in Tokyo's Harajuku district. The magazine primarily focused on individual styles found outside the fashion-industry mainstream, as well as subcultures specific to Japan, such as

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and

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, and local interpretations of larger subcultures like

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and

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Content

''Fruits'' featured a simple layout, with the bulk of the magazine made up of single full-page photographs accompanied by a brief profile of the photographed person, which included their age, occupation, and a description of what brands they were wearing (if applicable), as well as their self-described "point of fashion" (style inspiration). Most issues included only a couple of advertisements, and typically only for local businesses. Occasional special-edition issues of ''Fruits'' also included more extensive profiles of frequently photographed people, or reader-created artwork.

Reception

''Fruits'' helped lead Western interest in Japanese fashion as some of its photographs became first popular in the fashion community, then synonymous with Japanese fashion in the West. A selection of photographs from its earlier issues were showcased in the books ''Fruits'' (2001) and ''Fresh Fruits'' (2005), both published by

Phaidon Press Phaidon Press is a global publisher of books on art, architecture, design, fashion, photography, and popular culture, as well as cookbooks, children's books, and travel books. The company is based in London and New York City, with additional of ...

. An exhibition of Aoki's photographs for the magazine, developed by the

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, has toured museums in Australia and New Zealand.

Closure

After nearly 20 years and 233 issues, Aoki announced in February 2017 that ''Fruits'' magazine would cease publication effective immediately because "there are no more cool kids to photograph".

Revival

As of May 2023, the first volume of ''Fruits'' has been brought back as an ePublication with an English-language version. Aoki has stated that he hopes to bring back the whole catalogue into circulation in English. From April 27–May 12, 2024, ''Fruits'' held an exhibition in Laforet department building in Harajuku. Unlike a regular exhibition, which would center the content in one area, the photographs and features from previous ''Fruits'' publications were scattered throughout the walls of each floor of Laforet.

References

External links