images courtesy yusuke kagari | click to enlarge

Whether it’s peeling paint, rusty rails, chipped concrete or graffiti-on-graffiti, for those who love the city, decay is the new vintage. It’s also an overarching theme in Yusuke Kagari’s bags and accessories. The designer, who collaborated with Keisuke Nagami in an exhibition last month, puts the same attention to detail into his pieces as any other designer. Except, instead of trying to make them look new, he tries to make them look 100 years old.

“Living in the city, in my eyes the continuity created by walls and concrete is one beautiful landscape,” said Kagari in a statement in Japanese.

The large junctions. The subway stations. The old town walls that that change color over time. The abandoned buildings. The factories. The colors of the walls on a rainy day. All the various landscapes. If only I could recreate it. If only I could carry them around with me. I think that’s what this is all about.

Simply put, each of Kagari’s pieces is a love letter to the city and all it’s beautiful cuts and bruises.

Ruin: the fragrance. I desperately wonder what these smell like.

images courtesy keisuke nagami

Up-and-coming fashion designer Keisuke Nagami and his clothing label Hatra are shaking up the Japanese fashion industry from the inside out. And I mean that quite literally. An antithesis to street fashion, he designs clothes around the concept of relaxing in a comfortable room. Taking inspiration from both otaku, anime and internet culture, Nagami creates clothes that you can wear outside, while still maintaining the comfort of being in your own room.

At an exhibition in Tokyo last month Nagami collaborated with bag designer Yusuke Kagari in an installation and pop-up shop where bags that look like walls and parkas that can be worn as rooms came together to form an ultimate abode of fashion. The centerpiece, however, was a large kotatsu – a traditional heated table that is a symbol of roomy warmth and comfort. But instead of simply slipping under the covers that rest upon the table, the cover is made from 4 large parkas stitched together. The piece was an epic wearable kotatsu, which warmed the hearts of visitors.

images courtesy changefashion

hatra Collection 1.4

hatra Collection 1.4

hatra Collection 1.4

hatra Collection 1.3

hatra Collection 1.3

images by Angela for Spoon & Tamago | click to enlarge

J-Pop star Kyary Pamyu Pamyu’s costumes are on display this month at the Kyary Pamyu Pamuseum, a pop-up exhibition space located in Roppongi Hills. Visitors can rent audio guides, search for clues to solve a riddle, and pose with popular costumes from her music videos and concert tour.

image courtesy Kyary Pamyu Pamyu’s blog | click to enlarge

One of Japan’s most visible Harajuku Girls, Kyary Pamyu Pamyu’s career started as a fashion blogger and model. She launched her music career in 2011 with PonPonPon and Tsukema Tsukeru and can now be seen on product advertisements plastered all over Tokyo. Her most recent single, Fashion Monster, is an adept description of her style.

Was that a shower of alien monster vomit? I think I know how he feels.

Despite the fact the Kyary Pamyu Pamuseum is mostly fluff — I’m talking crinoline skirts and a lack of any real depth — it is amusing nonetheless. I enjoyed the chance for an up-close inspection of Kyary’s avant-garde style and how these garments are constructed. Fans who visit also get the chance to step into their idol’s shoes. Even big girls like to play dress-up once in a while.

images courtesy Warner Music Japan and Angela for Spoon & Tamago | click to enlarge

Second-Hand clothing may be the darling of hipsters in Tokyo (and abroad) but the creative team THIRD HANDS is taking it up a notch. Using their crafty skills they breathe new life into discarded items by altering them into something completely new.

Baseball bat necklace

At an upcoming exhibition titled “Make Drama,” the team will debut their brand new collection of sportswear that has been altered into fashion items like shoes, hand bags and necklaces. The exhibition will be held at Pass The Baton (a trendy vintage shop in its own right) in Omotesando from 02.09.2013 – 02.24.

Tennis racket bag

Judo uniform shoes

And here’s a look at a few items from last year’s collection:

Japan’s in vogue pop princess kyary pamyu pamyu (often dubbed the Lady Gaga of Japan) released a new single last week and it’s all kinds of Halloween-inspired awesome. “Fashion Monster” as a track itself isn’t bad and the styling is fantastic. I’m especially liking her hairdo (above).

And kyary is certainly capitalizing one her new video. She’s teamed up with g.u. (UNIQLO’s cheaper sibling) to do an ad spot. She’s also released a bundle of cell-phone wallpapers and ringtones that you can get through mu-mo.

Through November 9th, Diesel Art Gallery in Shibuya is presenting “Make up” – the work of Ayami Nishimura, captured by English photographer Rankin. Well known for his fashion photography, which includes a wide range of celebrities, Rankin’s work enters a territory of expressionism as it collides with the vivid work of Ayami.

Ayami Nishimura is a self-made woman, born in Japan but attracted to the US and Europe. She developed a very unique style that is both colorful and pictorial; surprising and beautiful. It’s no wonder that she counts among her clients Lady Gaga and Kylie Minogue!

Ayami transforms the skin into a living canvas in which she sculpts her colors. Her make-up is not intended to enhance a face or a body. Rather, it creates new patterns to reshape and reconfigure the body. I love the last picture in how it resembles a work of Picasso, playing with lights and giving new dimension to the face. The imagination of Ayami seems unlimited as it pushes the viewer to swim between a candy-world full of primary and acid colors. It creates an erotic world that harkens back to the original intent of make-up: seduction.

Below, a video of Ayami at work:

source: Metropolis

Hooray for inflatable fashion! I just fell in love with this new scarf from Monomatopee! From flat fabric you can inflate the ends into 3D volumes. I just tried it, and it completely feels as if you’re touching paper.

And inflating it allows you to infinity manipulate it like origami. Amazing!

 The scarves are 11,550 yen. If you need help ordering from abroad click here for assistance.

Their previous collection is also nice – a series of small pouches like coin and pen cases that you can fold and unfold:

For several weeks strange dotted waves rose from the ISETAN floor in Tokyo. For the ones familiar with it, there was no doubt; Yoyoi Kusuma had arrived.

This pop-up installation celebrates the collaboration between the iconic Japanese artist and French luxury brand Louis Vuitton. This fusion is obviously a success in Japan for two reasons. First, Japanese girls are fond of Louis Vuitton products. In Tokyo they are everywhere – even the beach! Second, there is a strong sense of pride amongst Japanese girls that Yoyoi hails from their home country. Furthermore, right now Kusama may very well be the most popular Japanese artist worldwide. For all these reasons, the collaboration is a major event in Japan and is echoing across various industries and geographies.

And you can follow the echo from shop to shop: after Isetan the “Comme des Garçons” vitrines in Ginza were contaminated by dots too.

(and as indicated above, the echo has spread worldwide where we find similar happenings in Paris, New-York, Singapore…)

Louis Vuitton solidifies their success by transcending beyond the physical product line and carries us into Kusuma’s world through digital tools:

A website:

And a smartphone app:

The website is quite amazing; very easy to navigate, with value-added content and images. For the app, it’s a bit of a different exercise and many brands have struggled to master it. Despite the good design, the content and purpose falls short, and ends up being quite deceptive.

However, once again, Marc Jacobs has demonstrated he knows how to renew a luxury brand, as evidenced by the craze he has stirred up in Japan!

Today’s post is a bit different. We’re excited to be able to work with LINK in showcasing the debut of their new line of Furoshiki (traditional Japanese wrapping cloth). And in addition, we’re also happy to share an exclusive interview and photos of the furoshiki printing process, which was done at Chiffonez, a printing company in Japan. Despite having a large portion of their operations in Kanagawa, their sewing factory is in Fukushima, where they sustained heavy damage due to the earthquake and tsunami. 10% of all furoshiki sales will be going towards recovery efforts in Tohoku.

I really love the modern twist that in-house designer Lucinda and UK-based designer Hannah Waldron applied to the age-old furoshiki.

The Interview

Kyoko, Link’s Tokyo director, and photographer Martin Holtkamp visited the furoshiki printing facility, along with Mr. Tanaka of Chiffonez. The facility is located near Chogo Station on the Odakyu-Enoshima line. The owner of the furoshiki printing facility, Mr. Fukuda, is carrying on a family tradition that has spanned over 50 years and two generations. Fukuda, who emits the faintest odor of salt, has enjoyed a long career. He started dyeing furoshiki all the way back when he was in kindergarten. (interview translated interview by Gengo)

all photos by Martin Holtkamp | click to enlarge

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Giraffe ties is the latest brainchild of Toyama Masamichi, a Japanese entrepreneur and the man behind several niche yet successful ventures like Soup Stock Tokyo and Pass The Baton. Aspiring to become “the world’s cutest necktie brand,” giraffe assigns a certain look to a temperature – 34, 36, 38 and 40 degrees – with the lowest and highest temperatures being, well, “out there.” Their ties are available through online marketplace zozotown.

An added bonus: these pictures of a recent exhibition they held are giving me major tie envy.

images from their spring/summer 2012 collection | click to enlarge