WHEN A SLEEPY JAPANESE FASHION INDUSTRY IS SHAKEN AND STIRRED. PHENOMENONs BANKRUPTCY AND LESLIE KEEs ARREST 眠ってたファッション業界が突然に竜巻に巻き込まれたら・・フェノメノンの倒産とレスリーキーの逮捕について
It’s not often that I actually feel like a “blogger”. Not in the sense of “look at me being all stylish next to this flower garden” or “Today I bought a bunch of stuff, LOOK!”. No, I just talk. And it’s at times like this I actually feel an obligation to TALK since most Japanese bloggers are part of a magazine and maybe can’t talk freely (or they don’t want to. I don’t know.)
突然ではありますが、いつもこのブログを見て下さっている皆様、
So here’s the deal, yesterday was a HARD day for the Japanese fashion industry. First, news came out that PHENOMENON had filed for bankruptcy. If you don’t know the industry here, that is the biggest **SHOCK** we could possibly get. This is like…like…”shooting star” Christopher Kane going bankrupt! Or if you were to look at the influence the brand supposedly had, it would be more like Marc-effing-Jacobs going kaput. Inconceivable! ….and yet, here we are. If this could happen to them, what about all of those other small, no-buzz brands still out there?? What about MY little brand?! Is the future bleak…?
なにを改まってと思うかもしれませんが、
The last show was possibly the most “age-age” (upbeat) of the entire season, especially with DJ Maar of the Dexpistols at the front of the runway blasting out beats so hard it shook the entire 10th floor of Hikarie in Shibuya. Perhaps the floral pattern wasn’t as big a hit with the male customers as it was with me? (And they had just released their first mini collection for women as well!)
直近のPhenomenonといえば、ランウェイでDJ Maarをゲストに迎えて開催された２０１３年春夏コレクション
So what’s going to happen to the next collection that was supposed to walk the runway at Tokyo Fashion Week? No news yet. Some have been decrying that Japan is to blame for not supporting them enough with the Government-sponsored “Cool Japan” fund, but perhaps it was just some bad business choices. Is France to blame for Christian Lacroix? No…
今後の展開についてはまだ発表されておらず、
But with that said, there is going to be a HUGE GAPING hole in the fashion industry here without PHENOMENON. I`m not interested in mens clothing but there is *no* way i would miss that show, and I have accessories I wear myself by them. Perhaps Hong Kong conglomerate I.T. will swoop in and buy them out…? Worked for BAPE.
個人的にも大きな思い入れのあったこのブランド。
Secondly, news broke yesterday that celebrity photographer Leslie Kee was arrested for selling books depicting nude men. That’s what Leslie does; captures strong personalities in the fashion and celebrity world of people in their most natural state..and that goes all the way to their expressions which are usually smiles. The question is: why now? He has been working on his nude craft and artwork for YEARS. And there is seriously some WAY stranger shit at the book and convenience stores around the corner from my house being sold in Tokyo.
そしてもう一つ、昨日のニュースで業界(いや、
This is not a debate about whether he is “wrong” or “right” (an archaic Japanese law forbids the sale of any kind of nudity, even in art, and everything has to be mosaic-ed. But for some reason it’s become OK to sell photos of naked women but men [again, even in art] is still taboo. WHAT??) , I am just lamenting the fact that we actually had a global-reaching charismatic photographer from Japan (he is actually Singaporean though) who has his own style and takes LOTS of risks, getting a lot of heat for his actions at the same time, but always pushing through anyways. Being a photographer is about personality, not how well one can set up lights and following rules all of the time. (Tangent: Being a foreigner myself, there are not many people in a situation similar to mine who are successful and working in this country… Leslie Kee, fashion essayist Francoise Morechand and super stylist Sonia Park are the only ones that come to mind. I have interviewed them all and admire them greatly).
アートの見解の違い、
My wish is that he gets off with a fine and MILKS the publicity that this will get him. As soon as he’s free, you know he is going to do some insanely awesome shoot.
個人的には、
In fact, it is a well-known fact that until one is asked by Leslie Kee to have their photo taken then they have not yet “made it” in this industry. He took my photo a year ago for a photo printed on the outside of Seibu Shibuya Dept store and I did feel like I “made it” then. And I think I could actually take a better photo and am looking forward to the next time we work together.
ファッション業界、芸能界においてレスリーキーに写真を撮られるということ、
Misha San
Maxine agrees with you about the above well written article, the laws pertaining to morality in Japan are antiquated and labels can go in a flash in this fluid fiscal climate.
Maxine received an e mail from Francoise who told her about this article and also wondered why you had forgotten to mention the fact that Maxine was the pioneer of fashion direction and styling as a foreigner in Japan, indeed since 1971 and knows and has witnessed or indeed been party to every significant event since. She , along with Miyake , Yamamoto , Hanae Mori and Rei helped to create a new fashion capital in the 70’s and80’s and take it global, that is why brilliant young people such as yourself and Leslie can be successful here.
Yours Sincerely
Yoshiko Abiko
PA to Maxine
Bravo Brava Communications Company
Maxine I never forget about you! I just need to sit down and pick your brain, which I have not had the opportunity to do so yet. A lunch date is in order-!