By AnimeEv 1 year, 9 months ago
Every now and then life throws you some delightful and fun curveballs. The idea of Japanese animation conventions changing in constitution from being piss-ups for a predominantly older, classic sci-fi fandom crowd into 3 day parties for kids who just graduated high school was a strange enough evolution, as was the coeval introduction of Japanese pop culture fixtures into US fandom such as J-rock and visual kei style. But change is certain, and with it comes exciting opportunities, like the chance to catch a fashion show by Japanese designer h. Naoto at OTKN 2010.
Not quite sure what to expect, I awoke Saturday morning and headed to the convention hall armed with a laptop and a willingness to crouch down on the ground in front of the massive runway to catch the show. The auditorium was sparse, large, and dark, with light focused broadly on the walkway for the models and a large press pit for the photogs and journos who came out. It was an alarmingly professional production, one that had obviously been labored over by pros, and the crowd’s expectation was palpable.
As everyone took their seats an impressive mélange of dark, Lolita-inspired fashion imagery filled the main video screen, accompanied by the strains of moody cello music. Finally, this segued into the actual fashion show, wherein leggy, thin women dressed predominantly in black and silver paraded around the stage in a phlegmatic and stolid manner, replete with so much black eye shadow as to not only obscure their eyes but completely occlude their place as a standard physiognomic feature. The result was an enraptured and stunned audience, taken aback by the 1-2 combination blow of Naoto’s design and the show’s production.
I will not pretend to be a professional fashion journalist. Hell, I buy 20 dollar too-tight-for-most-13-year-old-boys wrangler polyester pants and coordinate them with obscure band hoodies and poor hair dye choices. At the same time, however, I love style, and I think it’s cool when people work hard to find and define their own sense of style and have the means and ability to convey it through various permutations and changes. h. Naoto is one such person, even though I can’t see myself wearing his clothes.
Let’s be honest: practicality is not the defining factor in Naoto’s designs. That’s not the point. But there is something that is surprisingly everyday about his works. Although the full frontal assault of dark, clean lines combined with rugged denim and futuristic foot-ware might be too much when concentrated together, you can always take a piece or a bit or a section and transmute it into your everyday wear: the leggings, the blouse, or the skirt you purchased could all become a part of your wardrobe, their gestalt and mutability dependent upon your own skill at coordinating and contextualizing clothing as daily ritual. The long coats with jeans and boots could be extreme set pieces, or commonplace accoutrement. Either way, there was no denying Naoto’s skill and flair in terms of his work.
A refreshing component of Naoto’s design is the use of many colors and fabric types as opposed to the over-used conceit of slavishly adhering to black, black, and some grey. This trait was present not only in the largest pieces the models wore, such as their overcoats and shirts, but in small flourishes such as the flats of their boots being pink or the small traces of blue in their outerwear. He did not shy away from using white, blue, or dark maroon either, which led me to conclude that he was not a one-trick pony as far as design goes but an artist comfortable enough to expand upon what could be seen as the narrow confines of his milieu. Good on him for stepping out of that trap and avoiding a cliché so common that it risks turning the style into a punch line.
While the nature of the designs varied, the music (and attitude!) stayed brooding and distant all the way through as disjointed, processed speech was coupled with skittering electronics and mutated subsonic drones. All of these were laid over dark and throbbing bass tones, giving the show a frozen tundra-via-Blade Runner vibe. The departure of Naoto’s final model from the stage smoothly led into his appearance, wherein he happily made his way through the promenade and greeted the audience with a warm smile and small, graceful bows. The crowd ate it up with great enthusiasm, cameras whirling as applause filled the dark cave.
Not a bad way to start a Saturday morning.
Official website.
Online store.
Sandrine Artemille’s lovely pictures of the event.
SparkNorkx
7 months, 3 weeks agoLooks okay.