Blokette meets anime-inspired styles in China — RADII

Blokette (a portmanteau of Blokecore and Coquette), known as Shaonüyundongfeng (少女运动风) in Chinese, is the combination of hyper-feminine clothing with more typically masculine pieces that often have their origins in British men’s culture and streetwear American. A classic example of this style would be the combination of a football jersey with a mini skirt. Coined as a term by the Nymphet Alumni podcast in 2022, blokette has been celebrated in the West as a style that encourages an open approach to gender identity. And since the start of this year, the trend has been attracting attention on the Chinese mainland, with fashion aficionados appreciating its casualness and potential for self-expression.

In China, Blokette found an unexpected synergy with the ACG (Animation, Comics and Games) subculture, local to Greater China but rooted in the fandom of Japanese cultural production. ACG-inspired clothing, such as the “JK uniform” (JK制服), a pastiche of Japanese high school uniforms for girls, is a huge hit with China’s Gen Z. A typical ACG outfit would include knee high socks or stockings with a mini skirt, paired with a blazer or traditionally more masculine sailor uniform over the top.

A classic JK uniform look. Image via The Paper.

Although they come from different cultural contexts, blokette fashion and ACG share key similarities, both blending the feminine and masculine in women’s fashion. However, before Blokette arrived in China, the two styles had not interacted much. There are clear visual similarities between the two looks, and their collision could be an opportunity for China to create something even more aesthetically innovative. As the streetwear scene in China grows, this could be the start of a distinctly Chinese, yet global street fashion trend.

Banner image by Haedi Yue.