Walking Intrusive Thought has carved out her own niche by marrying together elements of sound, aesthetic and ideas from western and Japanese pop culture and firmly places itself at the heart of where these worlds collide. Homages to Japanese pop-culture can fall short of true cultural exchange and be more of a lazy pastiche over unrelated music- this is absolutely not the case for Walking Intrusive Thought who truly understands how she is tastefully incorporating Japanese pop-culture and street fashion into her music. Pragmatic straight-talking perspective-bending dialogue within lyrics, ability to understand the assignment and unapologetic delivery when it comes to keeping the tone fun. The authentic interest in J-Fashion emanating from Walking Intrusive Thought doubtlessly has already begun to attract a loyal following who are drawn to her ability to demonstrate and flaunt her understanding of Western and Japan’s Pop Culture, and style subculture aficionados will not be able to help but appreciate the cultural bridge an artist like this can build across cultures. It would be easy to make Nicki Minaj comparisons (as Walking Intrusive Thought is also an unconventional and outspoken New York Rapper/Artist with a pop flair who draws inspiration from Japanese Street Fashion)  however while the ingredients may be similar, the recipe and outcome is wholly different and unique. Walking Intrusive Thought is a new generation of artist, her music is a reflection of online subcultures and feminist rhetoric accompanied by tasteful elements of alternative rock and underground hip-hop subgenres from around the world. Whether it’s Afro-beat or emo there is a consistent thread and a stand-out style that differentiates Walking Intrusive Thought from other J-fashion enthusiasts who make music.  

Walking Intrusive Thought presents herself as an artist with a great deal of versatility, originality and no shortage of thoughts and feelings to disseminate. Walking Intrusive Thought approaches song-making in unconventional ways that defy her predecessors and sets a new standard. While she has yet to break into the mainstream fully, she has the makings of an icon with a cult following. Walking Intrusive Thought’s work is a new benchmark for emerging artists.

Gyaru and Japanese Street Fashion:

A striking and central element of Walking Intrusive Thought’s persona is her embrace of Gyaru fashion. Gyaru is an iconic Japanese subculture that emerged in the early 1990s with its roots stretching much further back. Known for its rebellious, exaggerated sublimation of beauty standards, Gyaru fashion is characterised by bold black and white eye makeup and bronzer, dramatic hairstyles, and clothing that defies traditional norms of modesty and conformism.

The subculture, which translates to "Girl" or “Gal”  in English, was a direct reaction against Japan’s traditional standard of femininity and beauty, with Gyaru women adopting heavily stylised western inspired look that emphasised a rebellious era in Japanese fashion. Gyaru fashion was in part inspired by American fashions of the 1980s and 90’s. 

Particularly taking influence from various elements of American pop culture trends over the century and mirroring some of the glitz and glamour A-List celebrities in the form of perfectly sculpted bleached bouffants, mini skirts and the kind of animal print motifs that you would otherwise expect from a Soprano’s mob wife. There are too many influences to name, from rock-a-billy, malibu barbie, hollywood starlet and an eclectic mix of early 2000’s fashion inspired by western pop, r&b and rap artists. By the 2010s globalisation had a great deal of influence on the culturally dispersion of Gyaru fashion, as this style was now being adopted in the west there is an ongoing increasing frequency in the mutual exchange and growth of this style- helped in part by the gyaru communities becoming more integrated as social media took hold. 

Gyaru communities (or Gyaru-Sa ギャルサークル or “Gyaru Circles”  ギャルサー) can now be found world-wide via tik tok, twitter and instagram with ease, allowing for this subculture to flourish inside of and outside of japan. For this reason an artist such as Walking Intrusive Thought feels like a full circle moment.

The origins of Gyaru fashion- as well as the predominantly male counterpart; “Bosozoku” (and Gyaryo- but that's another topic!) to this day take style influence from the pop culture of 1950’s as well as the 1950’s Pop Culture revival during the 80s in the USA (see movies like Grease), while women's fashion within these circles evolved past this look after the 90s, from the 70s-90s all-Girl gangs known as the Sukeban became prevalent in Japanese Pop Culture. 

By the time the 90’s came around gangs and violence on the streets became less overt and slowly the roots of the aesthetics and social status of the Gyaru fashion shifted from being a bad girl to a spoiled princess. Since the 2000’s and now onwards to the 2020’s Gyaru is now a symbol associated with designer brands, enormous hair, bling that would make 2007 shake- though the spirit of rebellion remains. Gyaru fashion has been popularised in the west for many years as a niche interest but has yet to have a real breakthrough moment- perhaps Walking Intrusive Thought can deliver? 

Walking Intrusive Thoughts visual identity blends nicely with her music, Gyaru is already a club-ready fashion, after all. She uses these markers not as just stylistic choices but a mirror to the art she creates which also challenges gender roles and embodies defiance. The Gyaru influence isn’t just superficial; it’s at the core of her artistic expression. Her sound is girly, bratty and bad girl in a cute sparkly package. She’s rough and tough and doesn’t take any messing but her aesthetic- sonically and visually remains sweet and kawaii. Her aesthetic speaks to the future of globalised subcultures, music and cultural exchange- and it’s looking bright!

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