Hilarious West Lothian t-shirts launched by Japanese fashion designer create social media meltdown
London, New York, Paris... and, er, West Lothian. Yes, you read that right. T-shirts branded with the names of Scottish councils – including Falkirk, North Lanarkshire and West Lothian – have gone viral on social media after becoming unlikely fashion slogans in Japan.
The T-shirts in the range, launched by Tokyo-based brand Shoo-La-Rue as part of its 'Cutie Blonde’ collection, are being sold for around 1,489 Yen, which is around £7.20.
The tops are said to be appealing to a long-standing fashion trend in Japan called ‘gyaru’ – a Japanese transliteration of the English word ‘gal’. Beginning in the 1970s, the fashion subculture was meant to be nonconformist and eschew traditional social and aesthetic standards expected of women in Japan of the era.
Shoo-La-Rue’s new range went viral on social media after freelance football coach David Clements spotted them while at a shopping centre in Saiki, Oita. Posting a picture on X, he joked: "Paris, New York, Tokyo, Falkirk."
Mr Clements, who is originally from Glasgow, has lived between the city and Saiki in the Oita region after meeting wife Nozoki 14 years ago. Speaking to the BBC, he said: “I have been coming here since 2010 and I have barely met another person from the UK, let alone seen Falkirk on a T-shirt. I couldn’t believe it when I saw it. It was on their promotional rail, so it is obviously something they are proud of.
“I think even if you saw someone walking about one of the really fashionable areas of Tokyo, you would be confused by it.”