Cast your mind back to the giddy days of 2010, when the group of subcultural artists Chaos Lounge issued its first proclamation. While its stated goal was earnest and postmodern, the output was seen as a shock to the art world as it brought the dregs of Japanese pop culture to "white cube" galleries. While Takashi Murakami got away with it by using original characters, the aforementioned group's crime was to splice copyrighted characters and imagery into collages, which ultimately mired the group in controversy.
But Chaos Lounge resonated with the fashion world, with upcoming designers such as Chloma's Junya Suzuki participating in its exhibitions, and soon Mikio Sakabe was bringing underground idols to the Tokyo fashion week catwalks.
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