By Kayla Nwaki
Right now, gyaru, a Japanese fashion subculture, is known as a flashy, boisterous fashion trend with striking makeup and outfits. As of 2026, it has had a resurgence in popularity in Japan, and there is so much to learn about yaru and its history.
Emerging in the 1970s, gyaru was a trendy fashion subculture that originated in Japan, with its looks being characterised by tanned skin, blonde hair, and droopy eye makeup, which was often compared to the appearance of ‘the eyes of a racoon’.
While it existed for a while, it did not become popular until the 1990s, where it served as a direct rebellion towards societal norms. While the Japanese beauty standard valued dark hair, pale skin and even a submissive personality, the gyaru subculture was the direct opposite – proudly using deep tans, blonde hair, and an almost excessive amount of bronzer to create an opposing beauty standard which would intentionally appear as ugly to the societal traditionalists.
A popular gyaru substyle was kogal gyaru, which was extremely popular and used by highschool students at the time, to subvert the expectations of uniformity (the dress codes at schools) and the country’s rigid and high-pressure school system that often provoked a lot of stress. Kogal gyarus would style their hair flamboyantly, like other gyarus, and wear loose socks, shortened skirts, and bring flashy makeup looks to school.
Another popular substyle was ganguro, the original one, that was there since the 1970s. This was described as the extreme, final form, of gyaru rebellion. While kogal gyarus were flashy in their own way, ganguro gyarus and their appearance and mindset were the extreme opposite of the traditional society during the 2-decade period going from the 70s to the 90s. While characterized in the 1970s by slight tans and minimal white eye makeup, by the late 1990s, ganguro gyarus were tanning to the point where it was actually deemed problematic, with extremely light blonde hair to contrast. Ganguro would use concealer as their lipstick and around their eyes, creating that ‘racoon eye’ look that many talk about today.
While the ganguro style and their movements were impressive, there were many reasons why people today and at the time thought it was problematic: the excessive tans that almost made it look like these gyarus were doing blackface. Gyarus that did this would argue that it was to oppose the beauty standards of Japan, but there were other things, like B-Gal (a type of gyaru that is literally translated into ‘Black Gyaru’) styling cornrows and braids, along with afros even, were seen as a direct imitation (and appropiation) of the western artists of the 90s, like Lauryn Hill, TLC, and Missy Elliot, to name a few. This undoubtedly contributed to ganguro’s significant drop in popularity in the coming years.
Many different substyles were bought into the spotlight by ‘egg magazine’, a popular gyaru magazine that started releasing magazines in September 1995. These magazines often featured the advice of senior gyarus, fashion and makeup tips, and tips on the mindset, which was an extremely prominent part of gyaru culture – you had to not care about what people thought about you, or you were not truly a gyaru at least by mindset standards. Gyarus often believed that while the style and makeup made you gyaru, the mindset was what would push you to have the confidence to dress like that in public. In 2014, egg discontinued their magazine before coming back digitally in 2018 and physically in 2019, due to the regrowing popularity of the gyaru culture.
While it was extremely popular to the Japanese youth demographic in the 90s, it decreased significantly by the 2010s, due to a lack of development within the style. Even so, its popularity has resurged in the 2020s with the help of nolstalgia, new gyaru social media personalities, and social media in general. The younger generations of today are now being introduced to different substyles through archive videos or even modern videos that have sparked their curiosity, and even created new, younger gyarus.