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December 19, 2007 9:50 am
International fashion insider Tiffany Godoy (a contributor to Vogue Nippon, Interview, and V magazines) lives in Harajuku, Tokyo’s über-trendy, constantly evolving, youth-driven fashion district. Her new book, “Style Deficit Disorder” (Chronicle), traces the area’s ascent from a post-war home to U.S. troops to one of fashion’s most influential neighborhoods. Packed with photos, the book features commentary by the likes of John Galliano and Patricia Field, along with essays by Harajuku insiders. Reading it is almost like watching a Harajuku outfit remix: Each font is made of three different types, because one look is never enough. For more information, see www.styledeficitdisorder.com.
Why did you decide to write this book now?
I’ve been in Japan for the past ten years, working at independent magazines and freelancing. I dreamed of doing a book, and I thought it would be fascinating to do a history of contemporary Japanese fashion. Harajuku had become a key word for cool, partly because of the success of Gwen Stefani, and in my research I found out that contemporary Japanese fashion started in Harajuku. Designers like Comme des Garçons and Yohji Yamamoto had their first studios there.
What makes Harajuku different from other Japanese neighborhoods?
Harajuku has been a hot spot for youth culture since the sixties. During World War II, it was a place where all these foreigners lived; the architecture was different and people were picking up different information from abroad. The teenagers of the fifties and sixties, who were born just after WWII, were searching for their identity, asking themselves, “How do we modernize? How do we catch up?” They came to set up shop in Harajuku, and in some sense, they were starting from zero.
What does the title mean?
ADD is an American disease, but SDD [Style Deficit Disorder] is a very Japanese thing. They are always interested in and hungry for new things: clothes, brands, stores, magazines. When you go to a Japanese restaurant, you get a lot of little dishes, not a big main steak. Even the Japanese palette gets bored very quickly.
How wide is Harajuku’s reach?
Harajuku is like Disneyland on a really crowded day. At the main intersection, there are usually five or six camera crews from different publications taking pictures of people on the street. The magazines are sold throughout Asia, where Japanese fashion, magazines, and media are quite influential. Japanese menswear has translated well abroad, as well. At the menswear shows in Paris this season, Karl Lagerfeld was wearing all these brands from Harajuku. Number (N)ine started there, as did Mister Hollywood and Mastermind.
What do you think of Gewn Stefani?
Gwen is known in the States for her style, which is this remix of Chicana, Hollywood bombshell from the fifties, and a surf/skate look. She connects really well with the Japanese sensibility because of that mishmash. It was smart of her to pick up and introduce this sense of style to the West. She focuses more on Japanese trends from the nineties, but the brands she talks about were at one time super, super popular. I tried to get her comment for the book, so Gwen, if you’re reading this, call me!
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