Chris Cook - The Japan Times

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Chris Cook

Japan Times

Features

Nov 14, 2004

'Supercasual' Tokyo at odds with fashion elite

The Spring/Summer 2005 Tokyo Collections -- the autumnal tranche of the biannual extravaganza of fashion shows presented by the Council of Fashion Designers, Tokyo, along with their vernal offering in April -- has just wound up giving the press and buyers a preview of what more than 30 Tokyo-based designers...

Japan Times

Features

Nov 14, 2004

Suit yourself Savile Row-style at a price to match

If there is one garment that is ubiquitous throughout the land, it is the business suit. And, if there is one spot on this big, friendly planet that can be referred to as its home -- in its unadulterated form -- it is London's Savile Row.

Japan Times

Features

Apr 18, 2004

Hanging by a thread

Spurned by many top Japanese designers, patchy in quality and sprawling over a month at a mishmash of venues, the twice-yearly Tokyo Collections -- whose fall/winter 2004/05 shows end this week -- still lay claim to being the highpoints of Asia's fashion year. But are Tokyo's days numbered as the `Paris...

Japan Times

Features

Apr 18, 2004

Rebels with cachet revel in paradox

For the young British-Japanese fashion design duo of Patrick Ryan and Mami Yoshida, the words yab and yum -- which, together as Yab-Yum, give their label its name -- are a good fit for this Tokyo-based team when you search out their real meanings.

Japan Times

COMMUNITY

Nov 16, 2003

A world of fashion in the family

Japan's recession, the pundits say, is dragging on. More unemployment, less yen in the government's coffers, and people from Hokkaido to Okinawa tightening their belts another notch.

Japan Times

COMMUNITY

Nov 16, 2003

Spring is in the air

It's party time in Tokyo -- again. You know, that twice yearly event when the capital's trendy restaurants and coffee shops seem to be overflowing with leggy, blonde models from overseas. They're here to make a few bucks, have a few parties -- and also have a stab at furthering their careers.

Japan Times

COMMUNITY

Jul 27, 2003

Have a Bali good time at Shiseido's spa

BALI, Indonesia -- Imagine, if you will, a paradise.

COMMUNITY

Apr 20, 2003

Simple complexity for the men

One of the newest kids on the block in the highly competitive world of Japanese fashion is a menswear brand called Maji Maji, designed by Rynshu Hashimoto.

Japan Times

COMMUNITY

Apr 20, 2003

Catwalk close-up

Tokyo's cherry trees may have been staging their annual spring spectacular, but the capital's fashionistas have been feeling the cold as their twice-yearly catwalk extravaganza focused on what we'll be wearing next autumn and winter.

Japan Times

COMMUNITY

Apr 20, 2003

All roads still lead to Paris

Mother, grandmother, createuse extraordinaire, Hanae Mori is a woman of impeccable taste, the holder of many coveted awards and Japan's -- and Asia's -- only member of the prestigious, Paris-based Chambre Syndicale de la Haute Couture.

Japan Times

COMMUNITY

Nov 17, 2002

Threads bared: Tokyo's Spring/Summer collections

Think Zen: the spirit of darkness; the essence of white. This was one of the main themes from Tokyo's fashion designers, who have just presented their Spring/Summer 2003 collections.

Japan Times

COMMUNITY

Nov 17, 2002

Issey on a roll

The most astounding of Issey Miyake's latest fashion statements isn't about ready-to-wear garments; it's about ready-to-wear fabric.

Japan Times

COMMUNITY

Nov 17, 2002

Menswear in the spotlight

Menswear at the Tokyo collections was, as usual, sparsely represented. Just a handful of designers sent any male models out onto the runways. And as for shows devoted solely to menswear, only Kohshin Satoh (for the Arrston Volaju brand), Kiminori Morishita (showing his own diffusion label within the...

Japan Times

CULTURE / Art

May 15, 2002

Japan's modern master of 100,000 brush-strokes

If, as the Chinese adage goes, a journey of 1,000 miles begins with a single step, then for Japanese artist Morio Matsui, a masterpiece of 100,000 brush strokes begins with the first sweep of the bristles on canvas.

Japan Times

COMMUNITY

Apr 14, 2002

Heading in her own direction

In the fashion world, it's not what's in your head, but what's on your head that counts. A baseball cap? A beret? Or something a little more provincial, like a wool cap? Milliners spend a lifetime mulling such matters and creating new styles of headwear.

COMMUNITY

Apr 14, 2002

Designers unveil new looks to fall for

As the weather warms up and the days get longer, memories of summer's trial-by-heat again begin to send shivers down the collective spine.

Japan Times

COMMUNITY

Nov 25, 2001

Debut designs bring paradise to mind

Mauritius, the theme of Koji Aruga's first collection, might seem at first to be a bit of a misnomer.

Japan Times

COMMUNITY

Nov 25, 2001

High style for high rollers

Over the last few years, most mainstream fashion -- in London, Paris, New York or wherever -- has tended toward a softer, more casual look, and taking inspiration from various genres like streetwear has become the norm.

Japan Times

COMMUNITY

Nov 25, 2001

Japan's designers show they're going places

Sitting under the glare of the runway lights for three weeks of fashion shows, watching model after model sashaying up and down the catwalk, isn't such a bad way to spend time. It's kind of like traveling.

COMMUNITY

Apr 22, 2001

Fashion cuts above and shapes to come

The offerings by over 40 designers at the recent Tokyo collections mapped out the direction for next autumn/winter: bias or asymmetrical cuts, draping and wrapping, patchwork, fringing and quilting, and lots of stripes (both vertical and horizontal).

You can often see generations of families enjoying performances together at Fuji Rock Festival.

Japan’s summer music festivals are feeling the heat in more ways than one

Akiko Trush says her experience with the neurological disorder dystonia left her feeling like she wanted to chop her own hand off.

The neurological disorder that 'kills culture'

By Tomoko Otake

SUSTAINABLE JAPAN

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