Interview by Jeff Carvalho and Nick Schonberger.
For the last 30 years, the [District] has been able to take care of itself... in transforming and re-transforming. Do you not think this will be the case? Is city zoning pushing out the smaller guy?
TG - Yes. it's about real estate and competing with companies that offers super trendy cool stuff at a very low price.
What makes street fashion so interesting is the approach to making clothing. That comes with their talent to work with details... and making it very special, with graphics and fabrics...
That is really so connected with Harajuku in my mind.
The vibe of the area (Harajuku) comes through in the various magazines. Could you talk a little about how these publications are viewed outside the country at large? How do they act as influencer?
TG - Magazines here are really more shopping and informational tools. They're not aspirational. Thats how I always used to look at Vogue as a kid in the States.
I see it in a negative way. The base for creativity is almost zero, when people look at magazines they want to buy exactly what is in the magazines. I have friends in PR... if hey put in a grey Stella McCartney sweater on a page, people will call the magazine wanting to buy the grey sweater -not the black or white one- because it was recommended in the magazine.
And because of that they don't really translate well for Western readers. The one magazine that does is called HUGE which has been around for 5 years of so. It has also changed, becoming quiet catalog'y. It's a magazine that foreign people quite like.
What is it about publications of that nature that allow them to thrive? People simply want to know whats hot and are consistently looking for more?
TG - Yes. The whole cycle has gotten much quicker in terms of presenting collections. Japanese brands have always presented five collections a year because of the weather. There is always a reason to go shopping for something new.
Let's talk about your background and how you got interested in writing the book...
TG - I came to Japan after finishing university. I'm originally from Los Angeles and went to university in San Francisco. That is where I met these crazy Japanese kids who really changed my image of what Japan was like.
I studied photography and wanted to come check it out. I got a job at this independent magazine and was the fashion editor there. I worked at Studio Voice (started by Warhol in the 70s). I was pretty deep inside the Japanese publishing industry. I was working with Japanese companies and had a strong sense of what people wanted there and what sold. It is quite a fascinating journey because its such a different industry (publishing).
I had always wanted to do a book on the history of modern Japanese fashion and was curious to why they loved fashion so much. The place is insane. People consume fashion and change the way they look... it really makes heads spin. The fashion industry is a unique place because people live fashion here.
I don't think there was any really great books for a foreign audience about Japanese fashion. No one really understood what was happening since Rei Kawakubo (Comme des Garcons) and Yohji Yamamoto showed in Paris in 1983. And since then thats all they have been able to write about.
I started to understand things. As I did my research, I found that almost all influential designers started in Harajuku. I realize how a special the District was.
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Photo credit: Takahiro Sakuma.
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