HIROMIX / Girls Blue

Hiromix, one of the most influential yet often overlooked photographers of our time, played a key role in shaping 1990s Japanese female youth culture. She rose to prominence during a major cultural shift in Japan, marked by the rise of coin-operated photo booths, point-and-shoot cameras, and film developing kiosks—all of which helped create a new visual language for Japanese teens.

In 1996, she released her first photobook, girls blue, a vibrant collection of 122 images, some taken when she was just 17. Published during the peak of the "girly photo" boom—when young female photographers were gaining attention—the book offers intimate snapshots of daily life: friends, food, flowers, and pets around Tokyo. One photo features Sofia Coppola, who later gave Hiromix a cameo in her 2003 film Lost in Translation, set in Tokyo.