The Landmine Style Phenomenon: Style Construction and Cross-Cultural Dissemination in East Asian Subcultural Fashion (2010–2026)
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Keywords
landmine-style, subcultural fashion, style construction, cross-cultural communication
Abstract
Since the late 2010s, landmine-style fashion has rapidly spread among young women in East Asia. However, systematic academic research on this emerging subcultural aesthetic remains limited in China. This paper reviews studies published between 2010 and 2026, integrating Hebdige's theory of subcultural style with a framework for meaning reconstruction in cross-cultural communication. The review unfolds along two dimensions: style genealogy and construction, and cross-cultural dissemination. Findings indicate that existing research has accumulated substantial descriptive work on visual characteristics and localization processes, yet lacks a systematic explanation of how derogatory labels undergo semantic reversal to become globally circulating fashion styles. A central tension emerges between interpreting landmine-style as an active form of stylistic resistance and as a symptomatic expression shaped by structural conditions. Future research should pursue cross-regional comparisons and examine the dynamic processes of meaning transformation in transnational style circulation.
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