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Gwen Stefani and the Harajuku Girls

Gwen Stefani was already a fashion icon in the music world long before she launched her own clothing line. So when she started parading music awards show red carpets with a posse of extravagantly dressed young Japanese girls, people payed attention. The No Doubt frontwoman introduced her new entourage, the Harajuku Girls, along with the 2004 release of her debut solo album, Love.Angel.Music.Baby. The clique represented Gwen's new-found obsession with the Tokyo fashion scene, particularly the area around Harajuku Station in the city's Shibuya ward. Neon hair, ballerina tutus, knee-high socks, flashy hats and over-sized hair bows were staples -- and the more the merrier. "I'm fascinated by the Japanese fashion scene/ Just an American girl in the Tokyo streets," Stefani sings in her song, "Harajuku Girls," dedicated to the street style. "Harajuku Girls, I'm looking at you, girls/ You mix and match it girls/ You dress so fly and just parade around."

The girls, who doubled as Gwen's backup dancers, appeared in several of the singer's music videos, and served as the inspiration for Gwen's 2005 Harajuku Lovers tour and fashion line of the same name. But, what Gwen may have considered an East-meets-West exchange of creativity and inspiration, rubbed some the wrong way. "Gwen Stefani neuters Japanese street fashion to create spring's must-have accessory: Giggling geisha!" MiHi Ahn wrote in a 2005 article for Salon. Asian-American comedian Margaret Cho also criticized the new trend on her website, writing, "Racial stereotypes are really cute sometimes, and I don’t want to bum everyone out by pointing out the minstrel show." However, Rino Nakasone, whose time as a Harajuku Girl helped launch a very successful career as a dancer, defended the collaboration in an interview with J-Pop World. "Gwen was so inspired by the Japanese fashion culture and I felt very honored by that ... She loves us and we love her! That's it."

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