This video was taken inside the original Momotaro Jeans store/showroom in Kojima, a small town located in the Okayama prefecture facing west to the Seto Inland Sea (Seto Naikai). The area is well-known for their textile industry and is hailed as the mecca of denim in Japan. Coming from this “mecca”, Momotaro Jeans has a huge presence for sticking to traditional ways of manufacturing high quality denim and occasionally going over-the-top.
The item introduced here is a pair of Momotaro Jeans that costs 178,500 yen. This comes out to approximately 2000 U.S. Dollars or 1500 Euros with the current exchange rate. Some of you may be thinking, “That’s more expensive than the first car I owned!” For the curious, here are some of the reasons to what makes these jeans Japan’s finest and one of the most expensive today.
First, the cotton used to make the fabric goes through an extremely time-consuming process of hand-dying using only true indigo from natural plants. The denim is then woven by hand as seen in the video, on a loom that used to be used in Kyoto’s Nishijin district for weaving Kimono silks. It takes up to 8 hours to produce 1 meter (3 feet) of denim. The resulting denim is incredibly soft and flexible but at the same time very durable. The button is made of pure silver, and the back of the jeans is lined with silk. Every piece made becomes an authentic handmade “Made in Japan” garment that requires the skill of artisans.
If you aren’t bold enough to purchase this work of art but would still like a nice pair of premium Made in Japan denim jeans we have great news for you. Momotaro makes various lines at different price points with the bottom of the line going for about $200 U.S.. which wouldn’t be considered bad at all for premium jeans by denim fans.
For anyone who may be wondering… the guy in the video isn’t me, although I’ve been to this store myself. I found the video on Youtube, user name: Japanflyer. According to his profile, he is a “foreign person living in Japan.” Thank you sir for the great video!
Made with Japan has some pictures from Kojima, so stay posted for more about Momotaro Jeans and Japanese denim.
綿はまず手間も時間もかかる藍染めの手作業から始まります。その素材がビデオに出てくるマニュアルのシャトルを使って生地を織ってきます。このシャトルは昔、京都の西陣で着物の生地を織るために使われていた物で、デニム用に改造されています。八時間かけてやっと１メートル程度の生地しか作れません。だけど結果できるのは丈夫なのに柔らかくて柔軟性のあるデニム。職人さん達の技術で出来た、質の高い本物の”Made in Japan”ジーンズに。その他に拘りがあって、シルクのライニングやボタンはシルバーで仕上げてます。
‘T’ shirts by Masashi Kawamura and Itaru Yonenaga
Masashi Kawamura in collaboration with Itaru Yonenaga from Osaka-based fashion brand, No Control Air, creates ‘T’ shirts, a line of t-shirts literally designed to have the silhouette of 5 famous typefaces; Cooper, Helvetica, Courier, Caslon, and Baskerville. Masashi was born in Tokyo, Japan in 1979, was raised in San Francisco, and is a currently working in New York as a creative art director. He shares some of his thoughts about the project:
In the world of typography, terms such as typeface, character, body, etc are used to describe the form of a letter. The reason why they use expressions closely related to a human body, is perhaps because each different letter has a distinct quality and personality, in a similar way that us humans are all unique.
In the designing process of these shirts, I aimed to capture the character of each typeface and tried to give them a unique look and presence once worn. By collaborating with Itaru Yonenaga, I feel we were able to produce a collection of shirts that is not only conceptual, but wearable as real clothes. I hope you will find your favorite shirt/typeface. - Masahi Kawamura
What a beautiful way to bring typography and fashion together! Everybody has probably seen a typeface motif print t-shirt over the years, but Masashi Kawamura and Itaru Yonenaga did one heck of an amazing job taking typography off the two-dimensional plane and bringing it to life. We look forward to seeing these silhouettes receive worldwide recognition once they are available for sale from No Control Air in January 2011. All the ‘T’ Shirts for Women come in a one size medium and the guys can rock the Helvetica in a Men’s medium. For those who cannot wait until January and are twitching to put in the order, Masashi Kawamura kindly put up a price list and order form for download on his website.
Made with Japan currently works on our next t-shirt collection, and we hope to create new works as inspiring as Masashi’s ‘T’ shirts.
Miku Hatsune is a Vocaloid (Vocal + Android) and idol character created by Crypton Future Media to market their software package built on Yamaha’s synthesized vocal technology. This technology allows virtually anyone make Miku sing any lyrics on any melody using a computer. There have been thousands of songs made by fans and some of her songs have been featured as anime openings. All over Youtube and now featured on recent news, Miku and her virtual idol friends have taken their next big step into the real world as their 3-D holographic images perform sold out concerts in Japan.
As you can see in the video, the fans just loooove her as they all sing along waving their glow sticks. Is it her sweet vocaloid voice that makes her so popular? her catchy melodies? her 16 year-old physique fans now see in 3-D …? (according to her profile on Crypton’s website, she is 16 and I assume she doesn’t age) Who knows, and whatever it is, she has the formula down to the pixel.
Otakus from the rest of the world have already picked up on Miku’s charm. To give you an idea of her growing international fan-base, she has over 44,000 people following her on Facebook with a petition going around on the web to bring Miku Hatsune on a World Tour.
My opinion is that I think this is what the Otaku community has been long waiting for. I mean, who needs virtual pop groups like AKB48 when you have an eternally young Miku? I know a few hardcore Otakus in Japan, and they are not too keen on well, reality including humans of the opposite sex. “We like to keep it as virtual as possible,” one of the guys told me. In fact, as I was writing this post, I remembered one of these guys let me listen to a track he made using the Miku Hatsune package on his ipod several years ago. I bet he’s thrilled.
But all jokes aside, it is amazing to see what technology is capable of and that as a result of this technology Miku may become, if she isn’t already the most internationally recognized pop idol to come out of Japan.
While I was in Japan this fall, I met with Japanese designers and other cool people who have influence on youth-culture of Japan today. I interviewed these people with the goal to introduce their work while at the same time, to get a more personal view of them as individuals. I also asked them to share their thoughts on various topics about Japan. My heart was filled with appreciation as these people were kind enough to take time out of their super busy schedules to make it happen.
The first people I met was Hashio and Take from Nincompoop Capacity. Nincompoop Capacity is a underground U.K. punk influenced fashion brand from Tokyo, with their original store in Koenji and their newer second store in the backstreets of Harajuku. Nincompoop design and make the clothing for their brand themselves and sell a wide range of original, one-off remakes, and vintage clothing.
2010年の秋、日本でかっこいい事をしている人達、主にデザイナーやモデルさんをインタビューさせて頂きました。Made with Japanのインタビューの目的は世界に彼らの作品や仕事を紹介するだけでわなく、個人の考えやフィロソフィーの事を話すこと。その他、「日本」について様々なトピックを語ります。皆めちゃくちゃ忙しいスケジュールの中、インタビューさせて頂く時間を作ってくれました。一人一人に対しての感謝の気持ちと会えた喜びで胸がいっぱいになりました。本当にありがとう。
Takashi Murakami’s art will be available for public viewing starting this week at the Gagosian Gallery for his first solo exhibition in Rome.
Murakami is credited for creating “Superflat,” a style of art which draws influence from Japanese otaku sub-cultures (manga and anime) in a colorful pop art format. From the galleries to the department stores, Murakami’s techni-color charged illustrations with images of smiling flowers, mushrooms with eyes, and a slew of other characters from a fantasy realm took the world by storm. An instant success, his product collaboration line of handbags, wallets, and purses with French design house Louis Vuitton took art to a whole new level of commercial success.
However, this time Murakami is being highlighted for a style he owns but more rooted in traditional Japanese art. He painted two monolithic dragons that will break your neck trying to look from one side to the other. Painted simply in two colors, red and blue, each piece is comprised of nine panels measuring a whopping eighteen meters (59 feet) long.
It will be interesting to hear what people will say about a style that most mainstream Murakami fans are not used to seeing.
–Made with Japan
The combination of red and blue with a creature that has long been thought as a symbol of one’s destiny is my attempt to reaffirm my devotion to art - the creative process for the paintings resembled a prayer offering.
–Takashi Murakami
“Two epic paintings - Dragon in Clouds – Red Mutation and Dragon in Clouds – Indigo Blue – each comprise nine panels and measure eighteen meters long. Cloud- and-dragon paintings, known as Unryūzu, were also key references for Soga Shōhaku, an eighteenth century Japanese artist whose eccentric and daring visual inventiveness has been a great inspiration for Murakami.
Unlike the dragon’s dark associations in Western iconography, the Japanese dragon - an amalgam of the Buddhist iconography that originated in India before reaching China and then Japan - is considered a symbol of good fortune and optimism. Several Buddhist and Shinto temples in Japan are designated as dragon shrines that denote the creature’s exalted status.
Takashi Murakami
November 13, 2010 - January 15, 2011
Via Francesco Crispi 16
00187 Rome
T. 39.06.4208.6498
F. 39.06.4201.4765
roma@gagosian.com
Hours: Tue-Sat 10:30-7 & by appointment Gaigosan Gallery
HISUI is a Japanese women’s wear brand created and designed by Hiroko Ito. She made her debut in 1999, immediately after creating the company 00S/S (zerozeroesuesu) with artist and art director Takeshi Matsuoka. Ito graduated from the Fashion Institute of Technology New York and worked for Comme des Garcons (1994 to 1998) creating accessories prior to establishing HISUI.
Ito’s designs are a feminine mix of casual and elegant styles. This and her signature layered look is prevalent in this 2011 S/S Collection titled, “Dwarves’ Prank - Clothing that enjoys changes brought by dwarves’ pranks.” The translation is a courageous attempt by me and is unofficial, but you can see what I am talking about if you watch the video at the end of the post.
Hisui’s 2011 S/S collection has uite a few unique items. First are the skirts and tank tops deliberately designed with an excessive amount of snap buttons on them so that when desire comes, what is attached (which is sometimes pretty much the entire garment) may be detached and unravelled. In addition to are shirts that come with a fairly large-sized dwarf doll on them, (yes, we’ll get to the dwarves in a second) which adds another touch of humor to this conceptual collection.
“Yohji Yamamoto - My Dear Bomb” will be the first ever published biography of the Japanese designer Yohji Yamamoto. Based in Tokyo and Paris, Yohji Yamamoto is best known internationally for his avant-garde clothing lines and redefining fashion since his Paris runway debut in 1981. Together with colleagues such as Rei Kawakubo (Comme des Garçons) and Issey Miyake (ISSEY MIYAKE), there is no doubt that Yohji Yamamoto is one of the most influential designers of the twentieth century.
According to the press release from Ludion, “this will be an unique opportunity to discover his philosophy as a man as well as a fashion designer.” Yohji Yamamoto abandons the chronological format of most autobiographies and begins with a series of short fictions interwoven with his memories and inspirations, followed by a philosophical essay discussing the “Japanese elements in Yohji Yamamoto.” The book’s total of 200 pages will be filled with 100 of Yohji Yamamoto’s illustrations and hand drawings. After being mesmerized by all of this, the book closes with a timeline of his life including photos never seen before.
Published in English, Japanese, French, and Chinese. Available December 2010.
ハイファッションブランド「Yohji Yamamoto」や「Y’s」を立ち上げ、Adidas (Y3)やHermèsなどとコラボもしてきたデザイナー、山本耀司。1981年のパリデビュー以来、世界のファッションに深い印象を与え続けてきたこの彼が、初自叙伝「山本耀司- MY DEAR BOMB」を2011年12月に発売予定。
ベルギーの出版社Ludionによると、「山本耀司- MY DEAR BOMB」のポイントはタイムライン形式の自叙伝だけでわないとこ。山本耀司さんの思い出やインスピレーションも込めてあるフィクションシリーズから始まり、「山本耀司にある日本のエレメント」と彼の哲学を語るエッセイに続く。その他、オリジナルな絵やイラストが100かかれている。最後に今までの人生と歴史のアウトライン、写真付きで閉まります。
山本耀司の独特なカリスマ性、アバンギャルドな精神、そして生きてきた道に興味ある方は CHECK IT OUT。
英語、日本語、フランス語、中国語で公開。
Written by Yohji Yamaoto & Ai Mitsuda
Softcover
15 x 22cm
200 pages
100 illustrations
October 2010
ISBN 978-90-5544-979-8 EN
ISBN 978-90-5544-983-5 FR
Our Sunae artist Naoshi will be in Los Angeles this weekend at Barker Hangar as part of Sanrio’s 50th Anniversary celebration event. Inspired by their “small gift, big smile” philosophy, Sanrio’s Small Gift event will offer a multi-dimensional experience for fans of all ages featuring a character product retrospective, pop-up shop, interactive activities and special event programming, in a carnival theme. Curated by Jamie Rivadeneira, owner of JapanLA, Small Gift Los Angeles will showcase works by 50 artists including Naoshi’s on exhibition in eleven unique installation rooms. Artists will transform their favorite Sanrio characters such as Hello Kitty®, Little Twin Stars®, My Melody®, Patty & Jimmy™, Tuxedosam™, Keroppi®, Badtz-Maru®, Chococat® and many more into stunning original works that will be available for sale to the public.
As a special feature in the event, Naoshi will be conducting a special Sunae Workshop on 11/13/2010 from 1:00 PM to 3:00 PM. Everyone who joins will learn how to make Sunae and additionally walk out with their very own Sanrio inspired Sunae. Registration is required. (details below)
「Small Gift」- サンリオの５０周年記念
Los Angelesで行われるサンリオ５０周年記念イベント、「SMALL GIFT」に砂絵アーティストナオ氏が参加。世界中からサンリオに選ばれたアーティスト５０人。描いた絵はイベントのインスタレーションに展示されるサンリオのキャラクターとのコラボ作品。
その５０人の中に選ばれたナオ氏は、13日の13:00から15:00まで砂絵ワークショップも行います。
L.A.にいる方は是非来て下さい！
Sunae Workshop by Naoshi
November 13, 2010 1:00 PM - 3:00 PM
Barker Hangar
3021 Airport Avenue
Santa Monica, CA 90405
Model Kiko Mizuhara on commercial for Japanese fast fashion giant Uniqlo, comments on her debut as actress in movie, “Norwegian Wood”.
Kiko will be making her movie debut playing the role of Midori in “Norwegian Wood,” an adaptation film directed by Vietnamese-French Trần Anh Hùng. For those who are unaware, Norwegian Wood is a 1987 novel, an acclaimed international bestseller written by Japanese novelist Haruki Murakami. Very briefly, Kiku(I think) is commenting on how her experience shooting for the movie has affected her in the Uniqlo commercial. (Dialogue below)
“Who are you?”
“I’m a model. The moment I went to a model job after shooting for the movie, I felt that something had changed inside me. I felt like striving for even better. I think that from now on I will do the same but also because I want to accomplish something fulfilling, the end result to be satisfying. So my feelings with everyone when involved to make it happen became stronger and stronger. By everyone, I mean not me, everyone.”
We are looking forward to seeing Kiko act on the big screen and interesting to see how well Trần Anh Hùng can capture Haruki Murakami’s bestseller. This was the first Murakami novel I read back when I was still in school so I’m extra excited. Just looooooove his mind twisting plots.
Below is the trailer of “Norwegian Wood.” Scheduled to premiere on 12/11/2010 in Japan.
