​

About:

• A rather recent trend alongside yami kawaii. The word "Yume Kawaii" literally means "dreamy"(yume) and "cute"(kawaii)

 

• Yume kawaii seems a bit similar to the older trend of fairy kei, but it gives off a much more soft, mysterious feeling than fairy kei does. (mochilotl, 2018)

 

• Lafary described Yume Kawaii with the catchphrase `Fragility, Loneliness. A little bit of Fantasy`. Yume Kawaii uses pastel colors and girlish objects/motives to express themes like 'dream' or 'fantasy'. It's aesthetic is often associated with Shoujo culture from the 80s and 90s. Sometimes Yume Kawaii also includes 'dark' themes like death or mental-illness.

 

• As a fashion, Yume Kawaii is identified by its pastel colors and shoujo components (sailor uniform, mahou shoujo, laces and ribbons, etc) 

​

History: 

The word Yume Kawaii started gaining popularity from 2013. The trigger was not the media such as magazines, but the blog of one model, AMO. The Harajuku-based model AMO used the term to comment on the Shu Uemura x illustrator ob collaboration. She also use the word to caption her LARME magazine feature page. Yume Kawaii as a genre also spread in the world of handmade resin accessories, which can be found in online marketplace like Minne.

 

In 2015, the street fashion brand WEGO made a collection themed Yume Kawaii and this spread the subculture to even bigger audience. The boom was further when DJ/Model Ichigo Rinaham described the subculture as 'merhen(fairy tale) plus 病み(sickness)', making it more understandable for the mass.

​

Referenced from: 「ゆめかわいい」はなぜ文化となったのか？ メディアを横断して得た市民権

by CHIAKI FUZITANI (https://kai-you.net/article/31184)

​

Brands: Listen Flavor Harajuku, Nile Perch, 6%DOKIDOKI, ACDC RAG, etc

​

Ambassadors: Kimura U, AMO, Ichigo Rinaham, Bisko Ezaki