"Who decided what Kawaii means?"

"Kawaii" - often seen as the pinnacle of cuteness in Japan, is an ideal instilled in Japanese women from an early age reinforced through limited diversity, shown in advertising and marketing throughout the decades.

Amostyle set out with the ambition to redefine the expression of Kawaii for the 64 million women in Japan. And within that definition, we’re celebrating that there should be no definition at all – allowing women to experience inclusion and the space individual style.This film takes the audience through a variety of scenes expressing different ways women are "kawaii", with the message there should be just as many ways in which they are uniquely kawaii. We see diverse casts, enjoying being their authentic selves - e.g. playing videogames, indulging in late night pizza and beer, riding a motorbike while rocking a shaved head, or sharing an intimate moment with another girl.

The idea is to start a cultural conversation with a film that ignites a provocative discussion about the “Kawaii”. The idea is to challenge the conventional stereotypical definition of “Kawai” (often depicted as “hello kitty girl” cute” with unconventional “cute”. The goal is to let the audience decide and voice their opinion on what they think cute could be if they were given the freewill to decide and not let society define it for them.

99.9% of lingerie ads in Japan portray "Kawaii" (Japanese for cute, adorable, lovable) in a stereotypical way. Tall thin girls with long wavy hair. To stay true to the concept of democratizing Kawaii, the conventional gloss and beauty was thrown out the window. First it was about casting girls that you normally won't see in Japanese lingerie ads. Through interviews, we took note of the girls' interests and what it means to be kawaii to them, and incorporated it into the set design - whether it's a surf spot in Kujikuri beach or a moto circuit track, we wanted the casts' true colours to shine through in the set.

The campaign targeted women who are between the ages of 25 to 35 as this is when they feel societal pressures, that if they are not tall, thin, and young, they must then dress conservatively and not embrace their full selves.

This film was launched on International Women’s day and was tagged #breakthebias to invite and engage Japanese women into the conversation. On the Amostyle SNS handles, the women who appeared in the film spoke up and shared what their own style of Kawaii is and why they’re so proud of it. At the numerous Amostyle retail stores nation-wide, the sales staff were encouraged to have the same conversation with their customers and encouraged them to explore their own looks freely. “Stay True To Your Kawaii” is not just a campaign tagline, but a movement for the brand to uphold for years to come.

There aren’t precise figures in sales to give a detailed impact on business performance, the response to the campaign has been very positive. 40% of existing customers liked Amostyle more than ever. They all felt there’s a renewed sense of freshness in the brand, the customers felt it fits their style and love where the brand was heading. Numerous feedback from customers indicates that the brand completely “gets them”.