00:00 Wearing the current fashion makes me express that weirdness that's inside of me.
00:04 Harajuku subculture is really bright and colorful.
00:08 I have so many different reactions.
00:11 They just come like this.
00:12 So I can have some people filming me or yelling at me.
00:19 The worst comment that I got is about my ethnicity.
00:23 Just people comment and say, "You're not real black people.
00:26 We are ashamed that you're black. Why are you acting white?"
00:30 We just embrace our weirdness and our creativity.
00:34 It's not cultural appropriation.
00:36 No, we are not Japanese. We don't act like Japanese.
00:39 We're just inspired by an alternative culture.
00:42 We're just normal humans.
00:44 We're just wearing colorful stuff and pretty jewelry.
00:47 My name is Azbel. I'm 22 years old.
00:53 I live in Paris. I'm a makeup artist.
00:56 I wear Décor & Fashion in my everyday life.
00:59 My style is Décor & Arché, which is Harajuku subculture.
01:02 Mainly a lot of accessories, a lot of hair clips, a lot of jewelry, bracelets.
01:09 It's really based on cute accessories, really bright and colorful.
01:13 We are in my apartment. It's a reflection of myself.
01:17 This is where I put all my main posters.
01:20 Here is the place I put all my manga.
01:23 I started collecting them when I was 9.
01:25 This is the place I do my makeup and everything.
01:28 I have a lot of makeup, but that's because I'm a makeup artist.
01:31 Then I put my accessories here.
01:33 That's really tricky to organize.
01:36 That's basically what I only want to wear.
01:40 When I have to work, I'll wear more regular clothes.
01:44 I don't feel confident at all.
01:46 I remember the last time I wore a black sweatshirt.
01:50 That was really horrible.
01:52 I have so many different reactions.
01:54 I have some people filming me or yelling at me.
01:58 I have a lot of bad comments and haters on my social media.
02:01 Today we have organized a Décor & Arché meeting.
02:06 Before going to the park, I'm going to meet my friend.
02:13 I put all my accessories and clothing around one character or one franchise.
02:18 Today I'm Rendo Dash from My Little Pony.
02:21 I chose to do Hello Kitty because I have so many Hello Kitty things at home.
02:26 I have a bag.
02:28 I'm in My Little Pony.
02:30 I have a ring and my shoes.
02:33 I put My Little Pony on my shoes.
02:36 Pastel and cinnamon things are everywhere.
02:42 I'm worried about Parisian style. It's really boring.
02:45 It's supposed to be the capital of fashion.
02:49 We don't see a lot of people being original.
02:52 I think Paris fashion is like pastels without butter.
02:57 Twice the sauce.
02:59 I've been dressed this way for maybe 10 years.
03:03 For my family, it was complicated at first.
03:06 They have a strong idea that Caribbean people, black people, don't have to do that.
03:11 But with time, my mom became my first fan.
03:17 Every time she said, "Send me photos!"
03:21 Right now, she just loves it.
03:23 Personally, my mother doesn't really like how I wear.
03:27 I was too afraid to emigrate because I used to live in a really small town.
03:31 But now that I live in Paris, I can do whatever I want.
03:34 We just embrace our weirdness and our creativity.
03:39 It's not cultural appropriation.
03:41 We are not Japanese. We don't act like Japanese.
03:43 We're just inspired by an alternative culture, not a traditional culture.
03:48 The reaction is really complicated.
03:51 People are curious.
03:53 They ask questions like, "Why are you wearing this?"
03:57 "Why are you like this?"
03:58 We have a disrespectful reaction.
04:00 They just come like this.
04:04 People are just waiting and taking pictures of us.
04:09 It's normal. We are cultural.
04:11 It's okay to take pictures of us.
04:13 A lot of people now ask if they can take a picture of us.
04:17 When we say no, because we don't know what they're going to do with the picture.
04:21 When we say no, they just move us like this.
04:24 "You're supposed to be taking pictures."
04:26 "What?"
04:27 Last time we were walking, someone asked us if she could take a picture of us.
04:31 We said no, and she said, "But I'm from New York."
04:33 I'm from New York.
04:35 One time I was going from school to my work.
04:38 The metro was packed.
04:39 The woman asked me for a picture.
04:41 I said no.
04:42 The moment I said no, she said, "You will never get a job."
04:44 At first, we were like, "Can I take a picture?"
04:46 We said no.
04:47 She was like, "You should be ashamed of wearing that. You are an animal."
04:51 I think the worst comment that I got is about my ethnicity.
04:55 People comment and say, "You're not real black people."
04:58 "You're ashamed that you're black."
05:00 "Why are you acting white?" "Why are you dressed like that?"
05:03 "You're not white. You actually act black."
05:06 I think most of the time it is racism that's the problem with me.
05:10 I think I've always known I was a little bit odd.
05:15 I never really could express it.
05:17 Wearing the current fashion makes me express that weirdness that's inside of me.
05:21 It makes me feel much better than if I was just dressed normally
05:26 and having the mindset that I have to be like everybody else.
05:30 That helps so much to be in a group
05:32 because people stare at your group and not at you personally.
05:37 When we are in the meeting, we feel really ourselves.
05:40 We are wearing what we want.
05:42 We are with people that are all nice.
05:45 Also, they understand you.
05:47 They know how you are.
05:48 They know the mindset, why you're wearing this.
05:51 It makes you feel great.
05:53 I don't think I'm going to wear Décorat the same way I'm doing it now
05:58 because we constantly evolve, we change, we have references.
06:02 Now I'm dressing full Hellkitty,
06:05 but maybe I'm not going to like it as much in the future.
06:08 I really want my role to be older and alternative.
06:12 I want people to know that being weird is okay.
06:16 Have fun is okay.
06:17 Wherever you're from, you can dress how you want.
06:20 We just like wearing colorful stuff and pretty jewelry.
06:24 [music]
06:29 [silence]
06:34 [BLANK_AUDIO]
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