K-pop stars leading ‘stocking boom’ in Japan

Girls` Generation

Colorful patterned pantyhose and stockings are gaining huge popularity among young Japanese women, thanks to leading K-pop stars like Girls’ Generation, Japan’s Mainichi newspaper reported Monday.

According to the paper, Japan’s young generation are gladly embracing the trend of wearing stockings, which was kickstarted by South Korean girl groups.

“I used to wear thick dark tights until last year, but I’ve switched to stockings. Now I wear them every day,” said a 19-year-old female college student.

Up until few years ago, most young women in Japan preferred not to wear stockings, mainly because of the “namayashi” (bare leg) trend introduced during the 1990s.

Now however, attractive female singers are leading a new trend of wearing stockings that highlight their legs.

Girls’ Generation, a nine-member female singing group popular in Korea, Japan and several other countries in Asia, were dubbed a mi-gak (beautiful leg) group when it debuted in Japan.

“The mi-gak fever brought by K-pop stars was what triggered it (the trend). Since then, customers that ‘wanted to make their legs look good’ have flooded us with requests,” said an employee from stocking maker Tutuanna. The company’s stocking sales jumped eightfold compared to last year.



Korea Herald
(khnews@heraldm.com)