The 2013 J-Pop Summit Festival to Showcase Japanese Harajuku Fashion Culture with "Harajuku Kawaii!! in S.F." Event

J-Pop Lovers And Fashionistas Invited To Catch A Unique And Colorful Fashion Event At The 5th Annual J-POP Summit Featuring Top Japanese Models Highlighting The Epitome Of “Kawaii” Culture And Design

San Francisco, CA, June 17, 2013 – The 2013 J-POP Summit Festival, San Francisco's annual celebration of Japanese pop culture, music, fashion and film, has announced “Harajuku Kawaii!! in S.F.,” a special fashion event that will feature popular Japanese models and live music. The colorful show, which is produced in conjunction with ASOBISYSTEM, an entertainment company based in Harajuku, Tokyo, will showcase some of the latest hip Japanese fashions from a variety of designers and augments this year's J-POP Summit theme of “Make Kawaii Universal.” The 2013 J-POP Summit Festival takes place across Japantown Saturday and Sunday, July 27th and 28th.

“Harajuku Kawaii!! in S.F.,” will take place at 1:00pm on Saturday, July 27th on the J-POP Main Stage located in Japantown's Peace Plaza. The dynamic fashion show will feature a number of popular Japanese models including Una, Saki Sato, Ayumi Seto and YURA. Una will also complement the show with a special live on-stage musical performance. Admission is free!

“Harajuku Kawaii!! in SF” will also have a pop-up store on the NEW PEOPLE Mezzanine Floor selling exclusive lines of fashion merchandise imported strait from Harajuku! Participating brands include: SPINS (spinns.com/) , GLADNEWS (gladnews.jp/) as well as Innocent World (innocent-w.jp/), and Helcatpunks (hellcatpunks.com) and many more!

“Kawaii” is a universally celebrated Japanese word that means “cute” or “loveable” and has become a prominent aspect of Japanese popular culture and expressed in fashion, music, anime, games, characters, and cosmetics. The word has become part of daily youth vernacular and is widely used to comment on style and fashion. The Harajuku, Akihabara, and Shibuya districts of Tokyo are regarded as the birthplaces of kawaii culture and legions of devotees around the world follow these trends closely to catch the latest fashions coming from these areas.

Additional details are available at www.J-POP.com.

UNA (http://una.asobisystem.com)
Una was formally a charismatic shop assistant in Harajuku and began her modeling career as a model by getting a snapshot taken by a fashion magazine in 2010. It didn't take her long to begin appearing regularly in numerous fashion magazines. With her beautiful looks, edgy fashion style, and perfectly balanced body proportions, she represents a new type of model capable of expressing not only kawaii style but also showcasing other cool aspects of Harajuku culture. This iconic figure of the Harajuku street scene will also debut her first musical single, "JUICY JUICY," on August 14th.

SAKI SATO (http://asobisystem.com/satosaki)
Born 1993, her unique fashion style caught the eye of numerous magazine editors and she has been featured in many fashion spreads. Eventually Sato became an in-house model for the fashion magazine, “Zipper,” and she has participated in many fashion events since.

AYUMI SETO (http://asobisystem.com/setoayumi)
Born 1993, Ayumi Seto mainly models for the fashion magazine, “Zipper.” Her coordination and creative hairstyles have caught the attention of many teenage girls in Harajuku, and her popularity in the scene has skyrocketed. Today, Ayumi models for magazines, participates in fashion events, and also works as a buyer for several apparel shops.

YURA (http://asobisystem.com/yura)
Born 1993, YURA mainly models for the fashion magazines, “KERA” and “Zipper.” The contrast of her bright cuteness against unique personality as a nerdy gamer draws attention and has grown her popularity among Japanese teens, especially through her eccentric tweets. YURA became one of the most wanted cover girls in fashion now and participates in numerous fashion events in Tokyo.

“Showcasing the latest popular and emerging fashion trends from Japan has always been a prominent aspect of the J-POP Summit Festival and this year, we are especially proud to partner with ASOBISYSTEMS to present this special event,” says Seiji Horibuchi, the President/CEO of NEW PEOPLE, Inc. and Chairman of the J-Pop Summit Festival Committee. “Our goal is to create and celebrate true culture rather than mere trends and for the 2013 J-POP Summit, we have put an extra emphasis on supporting and nurturing the unique content born in Harajuku such as music, fashion, and overall lifestyle. ‘Harajuku Culture’ has evolved into ‘Kawaii Culture’ and gained an ardent global following. We look forward to J-POP Summit attendees joining us to celebrate this colorful and creative movement!”

About J-POP SUMMIT FESTIVAL
The J-POP SUMMIT FESTIVAL is an annual Japanese Pop Culture celebration that features live bands and artists from Japan, pop culture panel discussions, film premieres, fashion and DJ dance events, and celebrity appearances. The Festival is hosted by NEW PEOPLE in cooperation with the Japantown Merchants Association. In 2012, the two-day event attracted 65,000 attendees. More information about J-POP Summit Festival is available at: J-POP.com