6% Dokidoki: Influenced by '90s Raves, Sebastian Masuda Launched a Company That Infuses Fashion with Symbolism

See more photos in "Japanese Street Fashion Hits L.A. with 6% Dokidoki Fan Event" and "Sweet Streets II @ Gallery Nucleus".

Sebastian Masuda, the man behind the cool Japanese clothing and accessories line 6% Dokidoki, was twenty-two when he first opened shop in Harajuku. It was 1995 and Masuda had been going to raves and nightclubs.

Shannon Cottrell

Sebastian Masuda of 6% Dokidoki

​ "I really wanted to stand out," he said through an interpreter to the crowd of fashion-forward young people who had gathered at Alhambra's Gallery Nucleus to hear him speak.

Masuda's shop wasn't about fashion, though. He was selling odds-and-ends that the young people frequenting this Tokyo neighborhood went on to add to their wardrobes. Toys and ribbons became accessories. Even curtains, he said in the lecture, were re-imagined as fashion.

Masuda cited this as being the beginning of decora, the Japanese fashion style that relies on lots of color (pink being a favorite), lots of patterns and lots of accessories. He said in his lecture that decora is different from other Japanese styles that have gained popularity globally in that it's not influenced by Western fashion (as, he said, is the case with Lolita) and was "purely born on the streets." It was fitting then that Masuda chose the opening weekend of Sweet Streets, the group show at Gallery Nucleus dedicated to work inspired by Japanese street fashion, for his Los Angeles stop on the 6% Dokidoki world tour.

Shannon Cottrell

Yuka and Vani of 6% Dokidoki

​ Of the many Japanese street fashion styles that exist, decora might be one of the more difficult ones to explain. Unlike Lolita, you can't point to certain books (Alice's Adventures in Wonderland) or movies (Kamikaze Girls) for reference. Unlike gothic, there's no real U.S. equivalent. While decora may have come to exist during the 1990s rave heyday, it's not rave fashion as we would know it in the U.S. Decora is more about layers-- flouncy skirts, knee socks, t-shirts and hoodies-- and mountains of accessories ranging from barrettes and ribbons to plush toys hanging like necklace charms.

When we spoke with Masuda after the lecture, he said that he began designing accessories about two or three years after he opened the store, initially making products in Los Angeles with the people who became Mighty Fine. Amongst his earliest hits were oversized ribbons that girls could wear for a doll-like look. Over the years, 6% Dokidoki evolved as customers began making suggestions.

"Using their opinions, we created items that would suit the girls who came to the store," he said through an interpreter.

Shannon Cottrell

6% Dokidoki items at Gallery Nucleus

​ These days, 6% Dokidoki is a brand that can be incorporated into many different styles, it's not a decora-specific label, and Masuda does more than supply cool items to young women. Joined by two members of the 6% Dokidoki shop staff, Vani and Yuka, Masuda has been traveling the world to give presentations similar to the one at Gallery Nucleus.