Pachi Pachi

Japan Blue

One thing that I really like about JFW is the inclusion of random, somewhat related events. For example, this season there was an exhibition from the Japan Jeans Association.

There were examples of new eco-friendly techniques being explored by textile and production manufacturers.

Like fabrics made from banana stems (left, from Nisshinbo) and dyed with mulberry and lavender (center, right, from Nihonmenpu).

And those washed using eco bleach (below) and an “air washing” procedure using ozone.

Of course the exhibition had to point out that the reason for Japan’s extensive involvement in the denim industry is the long tradition of indigo dyeing. And since people don’t really wear the traditional indigo work wear (pictured below) anymore, the facilities and know-how have been turned to denim.

One company, Wahoojin, is mixing up the traditional and the modern.

Then there were some really random entries like this “Milky Way” of rivets created by zipper company YKK and this denim period dress.

While the “Japan Blue” part of the exhibit was invitation only, there was a public element in the form of the “Denim no Mimi Project.” “Denim no mimi” is the Japanese word for selvedge and this project saw textile manufacturer Kaihara team up with jeans maker Edwin to create art style installations from this discarded material.

From this I learned that Edwin opened a new store in April called Edwin Denim Galaxy in Arakawa-ku, which to my surprise, I have absolutely no idea what part of the city that is in. Maybe a textile center?! I’ll have to look into this.

The JJA also sponsors an annual Best Jeanist Award (yay! Celebrity factor) for the public figure voted as “wearing jeans the best.”

Pop singer and icon for the ero-kawaii (sexy-cute) school of dress Koda Kumi (far left) won the prize for the third year in a row.

JFW s/s09, day 1

The Tokyo spring/summer ’09 (already, yikes!) collections started at 10:30 on a very muggy (but at least not raining) morning on the terrace outside of the Tokyo Midtown shopping complex.

Actually rain would have been more fitting, since the runway for the Mint Designs show was bedecked with umbrellas and many of the outfits included plastic-y rain jackets and ponchos. Just when I was thinking that the collection could have done with a little less of these, a really cute clear plastic swing coat with the Mint Designs doll pattern in white appeared. Hmm… kind of want that, as well as swashbuckling rubber boots. Some of the dresses were pretty too, in more grown-up woven fabrics (as opposed to knit). This time the headdresses were a very “Night at the Museum” chic wooden model of dinosaur skeletons, which matched the prints on several of the items. The fitting theme was “Death Pop.”

Mint Designs on the terrace.

PR rep Naoko greeted me with apologizing for not returning my emails (or phone calls for that matter), but more than made up for it by seating me next to Risa Okamura from Ryuko (fashion) Tsushin. Risa writes content for the established fashion magazine and TV program and, bless her, decided to escort me into the Merci Beaucoup show (I was ticket-less) with her.

Then she took me back stage! Unfortunately Reuters was monopolizing designer Eri Utsugi’s time, but I did get to meet the show’s stylist, Mary Fellowes, who used to work for British Vogue. Mary and I went for tea after the show because I wanted to pick her brain about the experience of being a foreign stylist working with the JFW. Not to mention someone with a Vogue background working on something as out there as Merci Beaucoup! Anyway, more on that later…

 
More Mint Designs

During the show Risa had been explaining to me Mary’s influence on the ensembles, how they just looked more pulled together and sophisticated than a few seasons ago. It turns out that it is really just a matter of belted waists and matching shoes, but I could totally see Risa’s point. The synergy of designer and stylist isn’t something I had considered much during the shows, or the fact that some brands use stylists and others don’t.

I thought I should take photos back stage, you know the whole behind the scenes thing, but it just didn’t feel right. The poor models!  Some of them were in the middle of changing—nude colored bras, thongs, and all—with the male TV crews running around. I will post some photos from the JFW when they're up.

Of course no day can be perfect, when I got home I realized why my legs have been driving me crazy all day—18 new mosquito bites, likely acquired during the 45 minutes on the terrace.

 
Mint Designs with designers Hokuto Katsui and Nao Yagi.

New select shop Redio opening party

Sure, Tokyo may need another select shop like “I need a hole in my head” or some more creative analogy that I am too tired to dream up now.

Still, who can miss an opening party? So Friday evening I stopped by to check out the new Omotesando shop Redio.

It may just be the first shop to go for “sento-chic.” Actually, the PR guy explained that the interior is actually supposed to resemble a home. It just happens that the bath area is in the front, and by far the most noticeable. The store also stocks a lot of high-end bath goods, so I say go for the sento look!

With a mix of guys and gals and a complete mish-mash of looks (read: preppy, pop, rocker, boho), I wasn’t sure what to make of it at first. But it turns out the theme is “new designers from New York” and, considering that I don’t make it to NY very often, it is definitely cool to have a means for keeping tabs on the city. I remember liking one brand quite a lot but, damn the champagne, I will have to go back and check the name again.

The shirt on the left says “New York Allstars” in katakana and of course the reception had to feature cupcakes. Though on second thought, they are a little too difficult to eat gracefully.

On the way back to the station I noticed that the Vivienne Westwood window has the SATC wedding dress lit up.  Ooh!

JFW x Tokyo the movie

I went to a party at the Claska tonight for a JFW meets Tokyo the movie collaboration event.

The concept seemed to be that some JFW designers created items inspired by the movie, which were on display and will be then sold for auction. I can't say I found the designs very interesting, but maybe I need to see the movie? I did like this t-shirt from Crystal Ball though.

There were also some speakers, but the room was too noisy to really pay attention. Too bad, since I always see the guy on the right a fashion shows and events and was curious to learn more about him.

I don't really know what to make of the usual young, self conscious fashion industry crowd that attends these events. I guess I am one of them? From the uncomfortable looks of the designers and the bored expressions of the speakers, I am not sure that they can either.

Tokyo Art Beat t-shirts

Tokyo Art Beat has two new shirts out! One by Ko-Zou and one by Tada Reiko.

And a cute original photo shoot that takes place in a love hotel.

I actually found TAB shirts in a boutique in Shoreditch, London! Nobody seems to know how they got there.

Space Invaders meets LaForet

What do they have in common? It turns out that they are both celebrating their 30th anniversary this year, thus the series of tie-in products now available this month at the venerable Harajuku department store.

The game blogs are slamming the products, but I think they are pretty cute! Shouldn't they be applauding that cute girls might be walking around in ruffled hot pants emblazoned with geekiness? This move also demonstrates the growing trend of retro game appreciation. For more on that, see the excellent PingMag piece on retro gaming bars.

A little cute and a little clever

I haven't been into t-shirts for years, but recently I've been coveting a few.  Too bad I can't get my head around paying $50+ for one! The shirts with strings of kooky combinations of nonsense English are well known, but more and more the English isn’t so bad and they are getting kind of cute and clever.

That said, one of the most popular t-shirts for early summer was the “Much too sexy to groupie” one at Shibuya 109. Another trend I am noticing is words scribbled on jeans, though it would be cooler to see more kids decorating their own! Or maybe that was just a bored at school in the country side sort of thing

Fancy men

Tonight I went to the Satoru Tanaka show, off the official JFW schedule, at the LaForet Museum in Roppongi. I brought Craig, in from England for the week, with me. We both agree that the suit pants with the elastic cuffs are cute! Though we thought the models could have been cuter.

Tokyo doesn't have a separate men's fashion week and actually a lot of designers show men's and women's in the same show. Or rather androgynous ensembles on male and female models for a super-future post-gender vibe. Although on second thought it is probably more about not having to pay for two shows.

Harajuku makes history!

If making history means having your very own book that chronicles your birth and development, which is then followed by an internet debate over the accuracy and objectiveness of said book.

Tokyo-based fashion writer and editor Tiffany Godoy (yes, she actually worked for Japanese fashion magazines like Vogue Nippon, much awe and admiration for that) just released a book called Style Deficit Disorder about the ever-changing, ever-fascinating world of Harajuku fashion from the post war period to the present. It is this history, I think, perhaps more than the present, that earns Harajuku a place in the cultural phenomenon hall of fame.

The verbose (and often critical) Tokyo-based writer and market analyst Marxy has a review on his site Neojaponisme where he gets into what he calls the "myths of Harajuku," by which the neighborhood becomes idealized as a haven of creativity and grass-roots fashion and is, as he points out, not quite all that.

While I haven't read Godoy's book yet (top of the reading list!), it does seem true that Harajuku is making less and less of an impact on the Tokyo fashion and cultural scene these days. The shops lack the kind of energy found in the likes of Shibuya 109, and as someone who is monitoring all of the latest fashion developments, I know that the turnover of merchandise is slower there then in Shibuya. Some of the t-shirts, obviously intended for tourists, have been there for years! As have the Lolita girls, but even if their look isn't cutting edge anymore, the commitment to putting together an ensemble like that, complete with perfect blond ringlets, in my opinion transcends passing fads.

And seriously, how many “next cool things” can we expect one neighborhood to produce? I think of it more as a lack of creativity on the cool hunters part rather than the cool themselves.

That said, I was actually in Harajuku yesterday, shooting photos for a report on new denim fashions, since a lot of kids come here to buy cheap trendy jeans.

Takeshita Dori was  almost impossibly crowded! It occurred to me that this narrow strip is perhaps one of the most international places in the city, as I overheard so many different languages from the tourists snapping photos a long with me. It is also spring break at the moment, so even though it was a Wednesday, there were a lot of school kids as well, mostly from outside of Tokyo I imagine.

And in case you are wondering, hippie and prairie looks for denim in Harajuku (think floppy skirts, overalls, and loose jeans with bohemian ribbon trim) are big. Lots of the crafty stuff that I remember doing in high school, like replacing the waistband with colorful fabric, and in the vintage shops, some fantastic patterned denim. I couldn’t help but get nostalgic for a pair of rainbow striped denim hot pants that I adored the summer after the 7th grade... which wasn’t that long ago.

Is it just me, or has the retro cycle sped up recently?

Promotional fun for new LaForet online shop

Iconic Harajuku department store LaForet, which just underwent a major renovation last month, is also launching an online store from April 1st.

Part of the pre-opening hype is the opportunity to create your own "blog parts" avatar.

After the fun of getting to choose your look (I went with a cherry colored mushroom hair style and a space hippie dress), you get a piece of code to implant in your personal blog that will display your avatar as well as animated updates from the store.

Visit the LFH site and create your own before the promotion expires at the end of the month.