In Art History, Japonisme refers to an era when Western artists took influence from Japanese prints and art works.
This intercultural exchange pops up today, especially in the realm of fashion, with styles such as Mori Girl and Lolita. One style often ignored, sometimes frowned upon as 'costumey', is Neo-Japanesque style.
For the sake of "Neo-Japanesque" being a mouthful, I'd like to call it 和モデ, Wa-mode.
The aesthetic is completely different from Lolita, which is booming with Western audiences right now. But if the theory is true, that aesthetics mix across cultures, maybe this style could also take off with a Western audience.
You might be surprised to know that when I opened up my very first issue of the Gothic and Lolita Bible, I did not see lolita on the first page.
