Interview by Jeff Carvalho and Nick Schonberger.
A lot of people [in the West] consider the district Harajuku as being very prominent as far as trend guidance to what's going to be happening in Western markets, especially street [fashion], 5-6 years beyond. How in touch is the District in regards to how it influences the world today? In the 60s, 70s, and 80s, everything going on was Western influenced. Today that has been reversed.
TG - It's interesting because a lot of people I interviewed for the first section of the book, "The Roots," are people that have been in Harajuku since it first became the center of fashion.
Back in the late 60s, 70s, it was people in their late teens and early 20s. Because there was much less information available from abroad, it was more likely they would see something and they may not know the context so the imagination worked overtime.
You had this really strong base of Japanese sensibility; I wont [call it] "traditional culture" but a Japanese sensibility that was mixed in with other ideas. i think now because of the Internet in general, no one digs really deep into anything anymore.
[The culture is] remixed because Japanese sensibility is very different from many cultures and that doesn't really change even as far as how they place food on plates. But I think the Japanese people are too wrapped up with themselves and what they want to think so much outside... and thats why there are some quotes in the book from people like John Galliano* and David Byrne that surprise people. They never really make the connection between these well known creative people and the Harajuku.
What do you thinks accounts for the sustainability of the area as a center of new invention in revitalization of what's cool? In other cities, there is sometimes a center of the sphere... as you say, Kings Road is not really what it was... do you see the District as being able to turn itself over multiple times and remains culturally relevant? It seems a little ADD.
TG - Hence the name of the book. Its something thats making me sad and quite worried.
I don't think city officials quite get it. They're not trying to preserve the area in terms of zoning rules. One part that makes the area so special is that it has little maze like streets... old houses next to cool little boutiques. Now some of those places are being knocked down to build high rise apartments.
There is a transformation of the main road called Omotesando... all the major [fashion] brands have moved in the last few years. They have been building and building. With that you have different kinds of people coming into the neighborhood and since Harajuku has been a key word in fashion (because of Gwen Stefani and Fruits [Magazine]), you have all these tourists coming in. Weekends are like Disneyland... which is fine as long as the city would make some kind of effort to preserve things.
H&M is coming in next year and I am concerned how that will affect all the small brands in the area... it gets pretty difficult to compete with [their] prices. I am afraid the culture of the the District -what makes it so special- will be impossible [to sustain].
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Photo credit: Gallermic Tanaka.
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