Fresh Fruits [Turtleback]

Shoichi Aoki (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: June 1, 2005

Presented in an identical format to Phaidon's previous Fruits, published in 2001, Fruits Too is a collection of Tokyo teenage street fashion portraits selected from Japan's premier street fanzine of the same title. Published every month by Shoichi Aoki, who is also the sole photographer for the magazine, Fruits was established in 1994 as a project to document the growing explosion in street fashion within the suburbs of Tokyo. Over the last decade the magazine has grown to cult status and is now avidly followed by thousands of Japanese teenagers who also use the magazine as an opportunity to check out the latest styles and trends. The average age of those kids featured in the magazine is between 12 and 18 years old. Most of the clothes that they wear are a combination of high fashion - Vivienne Westwood is a keen favourite - and homemade ensembles which when combined together create a novel if not hysterical combination. This latest publication of the best of Fruits will follow the original Phaidon publication by including translations of the various Japanese captions that were originally attached to the photographs that list the name, age and clothing of each person photographed.

Editorial Reviews

From The New Yorker

In 1997, Aoki, a Japanese photographer who specialized in capturing street fashion in Paris, London, and New York, turned his eye to Tokyo's Harajuku district. There young people swarmed the streets in a playful riot of candy-colored, eye-catching ensembles, creatively blending hand-modified designer-label items with T-shirts and thrift-shop finds. Fruits, the magazine Aoki founded to feature his Harajuku photographs, went on to acquire an international following. A previous volume of Fruits pictures appeared in 2001, and in this follow-up the eclecticism seems inexhaustible. The portrait subjects, asked to explain their outfits, are drolly laconic ("boring feeling," "like Snow White"). And though recognizable types-punks, hip-hop kids, jocks-regularly appear, the over-all effect is less that of a tribal identity than of a super-cute costume party.
Copyright © 2005 The New Yorker

About the Author

Shoichi Aoki (b.1955) is a leading publisher and photographer of street fashion in Japan. He is the editor of popular fashion magazines such as Street, Fruits, and Tune. In 1997 he established his much acclaimed Fruits magazine that to this day records and celebrates the freshness of Japanese street fashion.

Product Details

• Turtleback: 272 pages
• Publisher: Phaidon Press (June 1, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0714845108
• ISBN-13: 978-0714845104
• Product Dimensions: 6.3 x 0.9 x 8.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.6 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (22 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #318,360 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

21 of 21 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Inspiring fashions and combos for designers and creative people. March 19, 2006

By C. Wallis Davenport

Format:Turtleback|Amazon Verified Purchase

I got this book after getting "Fruits" for Christmas last year, and I just love it. The fashions, are sheer inspiration for those of us who sew or knit for fun. The Japanese teens and young adults simply seem to be trying to out-do one another in terms of daring eye-candy. One things that I love is that each page is unique and outrageous. No two pages repeat.

One disappointment over the first book, "Fruits", though is that there doesn't seem to be as many truly outrageous fashions as the first book. The styles seem less over-the-top in this one. Still, subdued has to be put in the context of this eye-popping culture.

An interesting feature of "Fresh Fruits" is that it includes more men in its collection - something I enjoyed seeing this time around. Also, there seemed to be more animation amoungst the pictures with more people posting instead of just standing there with their arms at their sides, as in the "Fruits" book.

Still this book is filled with stunning photographs which are sure to inspire the aspiring designer.

15 of 16 people found the following review helpful

3.0 out of 5 stars Fresh Fruits not so Fresh... July 20, 2005

By L. Deering

Format:Turtleback

When I recieved Shoichi Aoki's first book, Fruits, I was amazed and awed by what I saw---fashion in overdrive! Crazy colors, big personalities, funny little profiles...a great and entertaining book. When I heard about 'Fresh Fruits' I was greatly excited! I expected something new and different...what I got was a rehash of the first Fruits book. It seems as if most of the fashions were just repeating themselves. I wanted to see new and different styles...not the same ones I had seen in the previous book, and even on the previous page.

'Fresh Fruits' is simply not so Fresh.

11 of 13 people found the following review helpful

3.0 out of 5 stars it's lacking something. September 2, 2005

By C. Urzua

Format:Turtleback

i enjoyed the first fruits book very much. this one wasn't as good as i anticipated it to be, however, the clothing and geeky poses are still fun. i'd still reccomend this book to see the styles and if you just like japanese style in general. maybe the way people are dressed in the last book caught my eye more. if you have neither book, i'd get the first one over this one.