japan :: tokyo :: general

[seiji]

Btw the eclaireur shop on "Place des Vosges" in Paris which opened last June or July just closed a few weeks ago. Before them, it was the Issey Miyake 本店 which also closed one year ago...

[seiji]

They gonna have the same destiny as Yohji or worse if they keep on trying to beat the market.

[djrajio]

I honestly don't understand how RESTIR is even open still.

And opening ceremony is gonna fail BIGGGG TIME. Swung by last weekend and there was NO ONE in there.

There are way too many "FOR RENT" signs in Tokyo its kinda scary.

They should open goth ninja stores in Shanghai/Beijing...

[herpsky]

Yeah. I totally agree.

The majority of the clientele at places like corso and isetan who purchase big ticket items are from China. It seems more lucrative for those maisons to open up boutiques in Shanghai, Beijin, and etc.

My mom said that she sees a whole lot of people wearing the uniqlo down vests. Apparently that's the big thing right now. It's not J+. It's the multicolor downvests.

[djrajio]

Vests are being pushed hard in general this fall.

All the ura-kei shops are hocking cheap polyester ones in various checks/patterns.

The media aka "Men's non-no, Popeye etc." has been pushing the "Mountaineering" concept hard but I suspect that young kids will still adopt the more cleaned up grunge/bohemian "mode" look.

It's kinda fucking annoying since after awhile you start to realize that all these young kids are just fucking robots adopting one new look for another. You push something "oshare" and they will accept it since the media tells them so. I've grown a bit dejected by the whole thing since I've come to realize this retarded pattern.

[herpsky]

Sucks that I won't be able to bust out my EG down vest. It's gonna be too cold when I get down there. Boo.

[salaryman]

I've grown a bit dejected by the whole thing since I've come to realize this retarded pattern.

Yeah.

I remember when I first got to Japan, since style was so different than anything I had really seen before, I thought it was so unique or something...

but really the media just pushes a certain trend/look each season and kids adopt it to varying degrees and or success.

most of the time they just look like sheep or don't pull it off and look like they're playing dress up. and its shocking how quickly the jump is from seeing something in a magazine to then seeing it on every man, woman, and child in harajuku literally the next day.

still, I do think young people take more chances than their counterparts in Europe and in the States, thats why every once and a while you see some kid in Tokyo wearing something like you've never seen and you think,

"now that's fucking fresh."

[herpsky]

I think the action-sports style and shibu-kaji are still fresh. They just never go out of style.

[salaryman]

but its still depends on execution, I agree that when done right, both of those can be dope, but not everyone pulls it off, not even close.

[herpsky]

原宿に「ナイキ」東京旗艦店

10/14 2009　enomoto

前々から噂はありましたが、ついに11月14日オープンとのこと。

店名は「NIKEフラッグシップストア原宿（仮称）」。

[djrajio]

Where?

I might check it out since the afternoon is a bit slow.

[djrajio]

Oh shit.

It's right next to Softbank on 表参道通り

And the interior design was done by 片山正通 of Wonderwall:D

[herpsky]

it's gonna be pretty sick

i cant believe weve never had niketown in tokyo

[djrajio]

Apparently they used sneaker-sole material for the walls of the store.

[FunkyFrenchy]

it's gonna be pretty sick

i cant believe weve never had niketown in tokyo

Yup but your NSW store in the former HH.Style casa is pretty impressive.

[thewindsong]

yo guys i'm looking for a cool jacket but don't know what's hip these days. i check out zara and saw a bunch of military style jacket but i heard those are out of style.

what cool jacket does guy in japland wear now?

edit: i'm gonna go with a bomber jacket, too bad there's no uniqlo where i live.

and trying to paid for sex in tokyo is the worst thing u can do there unless u got the inside scoop on soapland spots and shit. there're much cheaper places in asia.

[mrip]

sup herpsky

http://hypebeast.com/2009/10/ben-davis-2009-fallwinter-collection/

[herpsky]

yeah

that's where i got my ben davis gear

a lot of shops are doing collabos this season

i think beauty and youth has really clean BD pants.

[herpsky]

[herpsky]

I'll be going to this

Madsaki A.D.I.D.A.S. Painting All Day I Dream About Sunsex

待望のペインティングによる単独個展が開催！

MADSAKI は進化し続ける。作風を固定しない。自らの感性に対して自問自答を繰り返す。その帰結としてリアルを生み出す。リアルは酷だ。時には過去と別離しなければならないし、自らに懐疑を抱きがちになる。だから、リアルを明確に描けるアーティストは希有であることを忘れてはならない。そんな彼の単独個展 adidas “painting” all day I dream about sunsex が11月20日から青山「clear gallery」にて開催される。今回は2004年に行なわれたUNDERCOVERデザイナー高橋盾氏との共同エキシビション『インターミッション』以来のペインティングによる作品を展示。MADSAKI曰く、和の要素を取り入れたという独創的（彼にとっては恒常的だが）なアートピースの数々は、観られた各人の千差万別な個性というセンスを刺激する。また、それらの作品は騙し絵のように目の錯覚を起こすような仕上りだという。さて、真相は一体？　もちろん、その答えを知るには実際に会場へ足を運ぶほかない。さらに会期中の場内ではMADSAKIがデザインを手掛けたadidas Originals FIVE-TWO 3 City artist pack のリミテッドシューズ“SAMBA”の先行予約も可能！観る側に楽しさと緊張感を与える生粋のアーティストMADSAKI。彼のリアルシングをぜひ体感してほしい。

MADSAKI's solo show "paintings"-all day I dream about sunsex- will be held at the "clear gallery" in Aoyama, Tokyo. The opening reception is on November 20, 2009. Everyone is invited and welcomed.

SO STOKED

[kiya]

HELLO TOKYO.

THANK YOU FOR SUCKERING ME INTO BUYING AN $11 BOTTLE OF TOMATO JUICE LAST NIGHT CAUSE I WAS DRUNK.

Hey Herp, what's that Pepsi supposed to be?

I saw one at a Lawson's last night but couldn't figure it out.

Is is sugar free and does it have caffeine?

Edit: Nevermind, found it here: http://www.japanprobe.com/2009/09/29/pepsi-azuki/

[djrajio]

[FROM NEW YORK TIMES]

Jun Takahashi, the Japanese designer behind the cult label Undercover, is as reclusive as he is recondite. In a rare interview, The Moment caught up with Takahashi after his recent Paris showroom presentation.

A few months ago, you relaunched Nowhere — your first retail experience from about 15 years ago, in collaboration with Nigo — at Dover Street Market in London. It seems that everyone is doing collaborations these days, including Rei Kawakubo with her almost simultaneous teaming with Louis Vuitton & H&M, and now Jil Sander for Uniqlo. What do you think of those?

I find their collaborations far too business-oriented. In the early ’90s, when there was no such thing as a category called collaboration in the fashion industry, I worked with Nigo just because we were very good friends and wanted to create something purely out of interest. We just enjoyed working together without thinking of our activity as business. Under the current difficult economic situation, such collaborations between the big maisons have impact. But to me, they seem to lack a pure intention to pursue something for fun or creativity. In other words, their collaborations are productive only in terms of business. If you ask me whether or not I’m interested in such kind of collaboration, my answer would have to be “no.â€

Music has a strong influence on your designs. Product design as well, as we saw with the first full men’s collection you showed at Pitti Immagine, which was inspired by Dieter Rams. Can you expand on your interest in other fields of pop or traditional culture, such as art?

Yes. For example, I create my Graces [the name given to Takahashi's doll series] and take photographs of them. I also draw pictures and jog.

The Graces reflect something more personal and intimate, but now that they have appeared a few times in your work — first in the collaboration with A Magazine, then in the Undercover Tokyo shop and most recently at Pitti — how do you feel about using intimacy as a tool for the commercial purpose of selling clothes?

The Graces spontaneously come out of me, genuinely, while making clothes is something more calculated, an entire process that requires teamwork. But doing both allows me to keep a balance in my creativity. Therefore, it makes sense to me to have everything linked.

What do you find most repellent about the fashion system?

The misguided upper-class mentality, the mass media that place ultimate importance on money, the mass media that excessively seek the latest trends and all the incredibly fast changes in the industry. I want to introduce my own creations at my own pace. I’m fed up with the magazines that are effectively catalogs and that place so much emphasis on money that you cannot obtain exposure through them unless you invest a large amount of money.

Do you see yourself different from other designers, either from your generation or from the past? Could you please explain what those differences are and how they inform your designs?

I’ve never compared myself with other designers. But if I have to, one of the characteristics unique to me is that I believe that fashion is not my only means of self-expression. In addition, my perverseness probably makes me slightly different from other designers.

[thomas_highstreet]

good post rajio.

ill be in tokyo from 26nov til 10dec, doing some work for candy, fancyhim, dazed+confused. etc.

anything happening during my stay i shouldnt miss out on?

[prima]

ill be there.

im probably arriving on the 20th.

anytime after that should be good.

i know i contacted a bunch of you guys for possible meetups this summer but didn't pull through. i ended up in the boonies/earthquake regions for china for a few weeks

if anythings happening around thanksgiving time i'd love to join in

[herpsky]

ill be there from nov 20.

i think the TOJ will be visiting at the end of november

[prima]

how long ya staying this time herp?

[herpsky]

until 12/28

will take a 5 day tour to hiroshima/kyoto/osaka/kanazawa in early december

[derek_]

hey guys, heading to tokyo end of this month...

could anybody recommend me some dining/lunch/breakfast places? i've been a few times already so i have some places to go back to, but i'm also interested in trying out some new places.

budget isn't probably less than 12,000 yen pp for a decent meal

thanks in advance

*edit*

area - staying in shibuya, so area isn't really an issue, but preferably reachable on the JR line.

type - ramen, sushi (already know about midori as it's right next to the hotel), izakaya, okonomiyaki (probably best to try it in hiroshima/osaka when i go)

[herpsky]

http://www.gnavi.co.jp/en/

http://r.tabelog.com/tokyo/

are your best bet. I prefer tabelog but it's not in English.

It's fucking impossible to answer super generic questions like that.

At least, you should give us: area/budget/type

Has anyone seen Ryukyu disco live? They are playing at liquidroom in a few weeks.

Booking tickets in Japan is fucking ridiculous. People are fucking insane. Shit sells out within seconds.

I was trying to reserve:

-Act against aids - Kuwata Keisuke solo live

-Sakai Yu @ club asia

-Kreva

-Asian Kung-fu generation

I struck out completely. I'm looking for tix on yahoo auctions. This shit blows.

[herpsky]

Also, I'll be traveling to Kyoto, Kanazawa, Hiroshima, Tokyo for a week in December with some people from my school in the US.

Any decent clubs in Kanazawa, Kyoto, or Hiroshima?

I guess "world" is one option in kyoto.