What is Visual Kei? Substyles, Fashion, History & More

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Plus, learn where to buy visual kei in the States & Japan

Co-authored by Natalie Tincher and Marcus Pruitt, BS

Last Updated: July 16, 2025 Fact Checked

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• Visual Kei Explained
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• Fashion & Aesthetic
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• Subgenres
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• Origin
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• Bands
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• Where to Buy
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• Video

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Japanese fashion aesthetics have been dominating the fashion space, with visual kei being one of them. Visual kei draws inspiration from rock acts like Queen and Kiss, taking their dramatic looks and performances and blending them with unique proportions to produce an iconic look and genre. In this article, we explain what visual kei is, how to style it, all of the different visual kei substyles, and more! Read on to learn everything you need to know about the artistic, expressive style.

What is the visual kei style?

The visual kei style is a bold Japanese fashion aesthetic that blends vibrant colors with boxy, slim proportions to make for a visually expressive look. It utilizes lace, cobweb fabrics, nets, and other accessories to elevate the look, dressing it over gothic bases made up of black, grey, dark red, blue, and purple.

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Section 1 of 6:

What is visual kei?

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   Visual Kei is a bold style that draws visual inspo from the 70s & 80s. Drawing inspiration from rock acts like Queen, David Bowie, and Kiss, visual kei is a style that blends vibrant colors with large, teased hair and slim, slightly boxy clothing proportions. It blends music, fashion, and theatrical performance into artistic, stylistic expression and is characterized by its bold, flamboyant visuals.

   • The visual kei aesthetic emerged in the late 1980s in Japan.
   • Female visual kei fans are called “bangya,” which is a shortened version of the phrase “band girl.”
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   It's also a music genre characterized by bold visuals and exciting sounds. Visual kei brings the heavy metal ballads popularized by American and British glam and heavy metal bands together with colorful, feminine visuals. The instruments of visual kei are heavy, aggressive, and powerful, juxtaposing with the soft, catchy J-pop style choruses for a striking, exciting sound.

   • Popular visual kei bands include Malice Mizer, Plastic Tree, X Japan, Buck-Tick, and Luna Sea.
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Section 2 of 6:

Visual Kei Fashion & Aesthetic

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   Makeup Visual kei face makeup is heavy, typically consisting of light foundation on the face and bold, dark makeup around the eyes. Depending on the subgenre, your makeup choice will be different, but when you’re going with the traditional visual kei style, the makeup is bold without being overwhelming. Focus on bold, black eye outlines and lighter foundation across your face to achieve the look.
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   Hair Visual kei hair tends to be long, big, and bold. It’s often dyed vibrant colors, teased on the top of the head, and straightened, so you’ll want to tease and straighten your hair, dye it, and/or wear a colored wig. While colors tend to be bright and synthetic, like red, yellow, and purple, simple colors like blond, brown, black, and silver are also common in the genre.
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   Colors Visual kei is heavily reliant on dark colors, with outfits and makeup typically being dressed in black, grey, dark red, dark blue, and purple. The feminine looks of the genre tend to sport lighter color profiles and loud patterns, while monochromatic looks tend to dominate just about everything else. So if you’re getting into the genre, dark colors are your best friend.
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   Clothing Visual kei clothing typically consists of boxy, gothic looks that utilize lace, cobweb fabrics, nets, and lots and lots of silver chains and buttons. More elaborate styles tend to feature ball gowns, skulls, crowns, and crosses, while ripped and misplaced items are common across all pieces of clothing in the genre. While the pieces may be messy and elaborate, the final look is typically clean and put together.

   • Flowy skirts, boxy leather pants and jackets, and silver accessories are a must for styling visual kei.
   • Pair flowy skirts with boxy tops to form the base of your visual kei outfit.
   • Style strategist & wardrobe specialist Natalie Tincher says the most important thing is to incorporate elements that reflect your personality and preferences into your wardrobe.
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   Shoes Big, clunky boots are a staple in the visual kei genre. Doc Martens, engineer boots, and platforms are the most common types of shoes worn by visual kei fans, so get your hands on a pair of big chunky boots to help complete your visual kei look.
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   Accessories Visual kei accessories tend to vary, but the most popular are usually studded bracelets, silver chains, biker chains, arm warmers, cuffs, and piercings. Chains can feature pendants or be bare; it’s all about your preference and how it pairs with the rest of your outfit.
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Section 3 of 6:

Visual Kei Subgenres

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   Oshare Kei Also known as “osare kei,” oshare kei is a more vibrant version of visual kei that emerged in the 2000s. It is characterized by colorful, youthful aesthetics and an equally youthful pop-rock sound. Oshare kei bands and trend-lovers typically wear bold and clashing patterns, hats, headwear, and colorful hair.

   • Popular oshare kei bands include Dog In The Parallel World Orchestra, Charlotte, LM.C, Sug, An Cafe, and aicle.
   • This subgenre eventually transformed into kirakira kei around 2007, replacing the bright, vibrant colors with dark, popping colors and emphasizing a more mature look and sound.
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   Okeshou Kei This one is a special case, as it existed across several Japanese fashion and band genres, rather than being confined to a subgenre. Okeshou kei was a trend where bands wore eccentric hair, makeup, and/or costumes to stand out from their peers during the rapid explosion of bands in the 1980s. Costumes ranged from multi-colored armored shirts to all leather outfits accessorized with metal.

   • Makeup ranged from light red lipstick to a full face of white face paint.
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   Nagoya Kei Nagoya kei is a darker, more gloomy subset of visual kei. It is characterized by all-black clothing, heavy black eyeliner and lipstick, heavy theatrics, and a particularly gloomy worldview. As far as its sound, Nagoya kei is known for bass-heavy, sludgy instrumentals, and violent, poetic lyrics.

   • Those who follow the Nagoya kei aesthetic typically wear sickly makeup, spiderweb accents, and gauze.
   • Popular Nagoya kei bands include kein, Phobia, Vizell, DEATHGAZE, HOLLOWGRAM, and AUTO-MOD.
   • Nagoya kei performances tend to have crosses, chains, mannequins, flowers, and masochistic items. They’re typically less about being energetic and more about exciting the audience through theatrics.
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   Soft Kei Also known as “soft visual” and “sofubi,” soft kei is a visual kei subgenre that intentionally looks less visual than its mother genre. Rather than utilizing flowy, vibrant clothing with flashy accessories, soft kei utilizes light makeup and hairstyling for a fresh, professional look. This is paired with fitted streetwear, tailored suits, and 70s-esque pastels for a look that’s more fashionable than the average person, but less flashy than visual kei.

   • Popular soft kei bands include Glay, Janne Da Arc, and L’Arc~en~Ciel.
   • Soft kei is also characterized by its catchy rock sound, which infuses pop elements to tone things down and make the music more accessible.
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   Shiro Kei In contrast to the dark look of other visual kei genres and subgenres, shiro kei utilizes light colors and a soft, delicate sound. Shiro kei outfits tend to feature white bases with black accents or layered pieces. These outfits are flowy, often with feathers, flowers, lace, and tulle, and have oversized silhouettes. It is a vocal-heavy genre, with smooth, well-trained singers laying a feminine sound over strong, non-violent melodies.

   • Popular shiro kei bands include L’Arc~en~Ciel, La-cryma Christi, LAREINE, and Raphael.
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   Angura Kei Often associated with the eroguro kei subgenre, angura kei is a subgenre of visual kei that’s extremely similar, but draws inspiration from traditional Japanese styles. Angura kei outfits often feature kimonos and traditional dresses from the Showa era (1926-1989), typically with dark gothic elements infused. The subgenre mostly encompasses underground bands that are still progressing in their careers.

   • Popular angura kei bands include MUCC, Metronome, and Nookicky.
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   Kote Kei Kote kei is a dark, fantastical subgenre of visual kei that’s equipped with over-the-top costumes. Their costumes are often heavily decorated with vinyl, leather, lace, cotton, and gauze with black bases and colored accents. The hair is often colored and big, while the makeup is white, sickly, and oddly beautiful.

   • Kote kei’s sound is rough, aggressive, and full of shouts, screams, and other unique vocals.
   • Popular kote kei bands include LUNA SEA, D’ERLANDER, Kuroyume, and DEAD END.
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   Other Visual Kei Subgenres There are plenty of other subgenres of visual kei, some of which slightly veer from the typical aesthetic and others that completely flip it on its head. The kurofuku kei subgenre is characterized by black fabrics, tailored suits, netting, and tight leather pants, while tanbi kei is inspired by historical European styles from the Rococo, Baroque, and Victorian eras. Other visual kei subgenres include:

   • Lolita kei
   • Eroguro kei
   • Iryou kei
   • Koteosa kei
   • Misshitsu kei
   • Cosplay kei
   • Wafuu kei
   • Shironuri kei
   • Pikopiko kei
   • Showa Kayou kei
   • Loud kei
   • Koteosa kei
   • Art kei
   • Kirakira kei
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Section 4 of 6:

Origin of Visual Kei

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   Visual kei emerged in the late 80s thanks to Western musical influences. During Japan’s cultural transformation in the late 1980s, glam rock and punk genres began to influence the Japanese youth. Bands like Queen and Kiss inspired the creative youth to carve their own identities that went against Japanese tradition. As a result, Japanese culture fused with the Western sound and aesthetic to create the bold visual kei sound.
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   As the visual kei sound was born, so was the visual kei style. Not only did Japanese youth draw inspiration from the sounds of Western bands like Kiss and Queen, but they also drew their style from them, as well. Their rebellious spirit and gender-bending aesthetics inspired the visual kei style, which donned the same bold face makeup, dark clothing, and extravagant visuals as their Western inspirations.
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Section 5 of 6:

Influential Visual Kei Bands

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   X Japan X Japan is often considered the visual kei band, combining heavy metal with melodic elements to produce dramatic drumming, powerful, serenading vocals, and colorful, encapsulating performances. Their performances were full of flashing lights, elaborate costumes, and dedication to the music, setting the stage for future visual kei bands.
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   Buck-Tick Buck-Tick is one of the bands that helped pioneer the visual kei aesthetic, as they were one of the first of the genre to merge goth and punk elements. They also had an extremely powerful stage presence, presenting themselves as silhouettes that gradually became empowered performers as their songs progressed. Their artistic vision and stage presence laid the groundwork for future visual kei bands.
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   KISS The bold costumes of KISS, which often consisted of dark leather pieces and white face paint, and their powerful stage presence inspired a host of visual kei bands, from X Japan to Buck-Tick. Their use of pyrotechnics and bright lights influenced visual kei performers, while their face paint and glam rock aesthetics helped set the stage for the visual kei look.
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   Dead End Dead End was all about authenticity and extravagant visuals, so much so that it helped influence the entire visual kei genre. Their raw energy showed in their elaborate visual performances, showing other bands in the genre how to represent themselves on stage and helping shape the genre’s identity.
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Section 6 of 6:

Where to Buy Visual Kei Clothing

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   Order online from brands like Sex Pot Revenge and Hot Topic. There aren’t any brands that are officially associated with the visual kei genre, but places like Sex Pot Revenge, Hot Topic, Algonquins, and h.Naoto offer clothing that fits into the visual kei genre. You can also check out Hellcatpunks and Moi-meme-Moitie, as they’re considered staples in Japanese goth and punk fashion.
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   In Tokyo, go to Boutique Takenoko, Yellow House, & Takeshita Street shops. While there aren’t many shops dedicated to visual kei left in Tokyo, there are still a few shops in Harajuku and Shibuya to check out, especially on Takeshita Street. So if you’re in Tokyo, head to Boutique Takenoko at Takeshita Street Junes Building 1F, 1-6-15, Jingumae, Shibuya City, Yellow House at 1-6-15 Jingumae, Shibuya City, or Rin at Shibuya 109 1F, 2-29-1, Dogenzaka, Shibuya City.

   • Head down Takeshita Street and check out other clothing shops, as they may have pieces that work well with the visual kei style.
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