JSTREETSTYLE: November 2010

A brief visit to the city of Tokyo was had recently warranting a moment to visit friends and loved ones and stock up on updating the latest in trends and the many style tribes in and around Harajuku, Shibuya. I even managed to get a brief glimps of street life in super happy town of Ame Mura. As you all know Osaka is party central in Japan exposure to party central though brief was most welcomed and with the assistance of my best friend Noriko, helped me snag a few more great shots under my belt than I would have got on my own.

So what’s happening on the streets you ask? Much the same. The young and stylish hang out in and around Harajuku’s maze of streets in the hope of being featured within the pages of the many local or well know Japanese fashion mags that feature what they call street snap. They don’t care much for the outside world.

Omotosando is very much like a conveyor belt of style. Jump on or off at your peril. I have one profound visual I only wish I could have filmed. Well maybe two.

One was that of a screaming woman in heals seriously legging it down Omotosando at full speed. This is in heels I say so when she tripped and everyone thought Oh! And gasped thinking she’s going to be messed up at that speed, but somehow she managed to correct her balance and didn’t hit the ground. Her keitai bounced many times landing close to me.

All scratched up I picked it up. She’d covered much distance at an impressive speed. A young man approached and accepted it from me saying thanks as he ran off in her direction.

The road was in silence. To the bottom the young in heels wearing glasses was by a taxi and she opened the door to climb in.

Everyone thought her bag had been stolen. She was focused and determined. That taxi had her name on it and in her mind perhaps there would be no other taxis ever again.

This is Omotosando we’re talking. It’s taxi central. So that was an odd memory.

The other was again on Omotosando on a sunny Sunday afternoon. 25C checking out the scene, the stylish as they stroll by and myself waiting for the choice moment to have a chat with the right person. As you know I am not just interested in the stylish but more those with a little something else, the personality and character that adds to the image.

As I stand watching the world go by, a red Double Decker route master bus from London goes by towards to glamorous and high class end of Omotosando Hills.

Naturally I do a double take. One worthy of being caught on film along with the bus that shouldn’t be there and even now I can’t figure out how on Earth it got there.

Back to the trends and styles.

The biggest one was the one the celebs in the US seem to be going for. But in Tokyo the girls call it Date Megane. The trend for wearing super large old 1960s – 1770s style glasses but in Tokyo the girls don’t have lenses in theirs. This look is epidemic. Women of all ages and guys too love this look.

Being the autumn hot on the heels of Chanel’s fall winter collection in Paris. Fur was everywhere too. Much loved by the girls especially in Shibuya.

Fur boots, fur hats, mittens, fur lined ponchos and capes and fur legwarmers.

I hear you thinking, but the temperature was 25C. You’re very right. There were many programs on TV discussing the madness of baked foot in fur doing experiments on

Shibuya teens with thermometers fiving crazy reading from within her boot. What a kogalu will do for the love of fashion.

You’ve got to admire them and you know we do.

Love the slogan on her sweatshirt as a dress

Many a chuckkle

Rena with her pretty blue eyes dressed in Sweet Lolita.

Fresh back from the streets of Tokyo, sorry for the absence folks but I assure you it’s all for a just cause and one i’ll be sharing with you all shortly.

My first thoughts were after a clean break from mainstream fashion nonstop, I needed a break so “Tokyo ikimasho”.

With my street fashion head firmly on and secured, mind in check (you have to get into a mindset for Tokyo as it’s so very different any other city in Japan).

I start off in street fashion mode. Shooting on Omotosando in Harajuku, struggling at first, single male gaijin on his own, yes illusions shattered some of you, I am indeed a guy.

Back to the situation. Two Loli chans, Goth Lolita girls dressed beautifully as they do, I so love their look of perfection. Momentum picking up slowly. The shots are starting to roll in bit by bit. This is what I need to escape a month solid of back to back fashion week madness. You know I love it but who decided to have fashion weeks in tendon simultaneously.

MB New York, Cibeles & London, Milan & India Fashion Week. WHY!!!!

So the plan was to escape it all & knowing it was Japan Fashion Week the temptation was there & I was good avoiding it. Unlike Milan, London, Paris & New York where there is a central point of focus. A central venue for most of the shows, Japan Fashion week is spread out across Tokyo making it rather difficult for me to break temptation and shoot street style arrivals of the most stylish show attendees. Much more my cup of tea than shooting the shows themselves. My point is while escaping the mainstream and taking pictures of these two girls dressed impeccably in Gothic Lolita style, I nice man comes up to me and asks me am I press? Reluctantly I say yes, I don’t like mentioning that I am. There are time it does you no favours to say so.

I am suddenly offered an opportunity to shoot the h.Naoto show at 4:PM. Now I’m from London. h.Naoto is a global brand from Japan and this is a big deal. So much for escaping Japan Fashion Week. It’s 2PM & my hotel is way across Tokyo in Minamisenju. I love the Yamanote line but I had to get my other lens. So off I set back at the Harajuku showroom 4:25 panicking.

The wonderful people at h.Naoto had waited for me. Thank you guys.

So here are the images I shot from the collection for the spring of 2011. The designer Hirooka Naoto is known for is more edgy slant to the Gothic Lolita look, going for the more punk feel and aiming more at street style with is designs. Leaning towards a dark colour pallet, blacks with reds, swashes of blue or green from time to time.

There were influences and inspirations form mainstream western brands I felt within the collection, like tiny snippets of Alexander McQueen’s regal A/W 2008.

h.Naoto