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March 17, 2008 5:37 pm
Laird Borrelli-Persson reports from Japan fashion week.
Saturday, March 15
10 a.m.
I have breakfast at the Cerulean Tower hotel with Gene Krell and his wife, Naoko Inagaki. He’s the international fashion director at Vogue Nippon and helped launch Vogue in South Korea, and she’s a display artist (check out Krell in action on our brother site, men.style.com). As we leave, I spot someone who looks suspiciously like Cory Kennedy, who’s on the cover of Russh Japan this month.
11:30 a.m.
Off to Tokyu Hands, billed as the “Creative Life Store.” It has seven glorious floors filled with…everything. We start at the top, where the model parts for train sets are stocked, and continue down through stationery, cleaning products, electronics, luggage. You name it, they’ve got it.
2:30 p.m.
On my way to the Tokyo Girls Collection, I pass Snoopy World, a huge store dedicated to everything Peanuts. Separate from Japan fashion week, TGC is a huge event held in Yoyogi National Stadium. It features wares from 20 fast-fashion brands modeled by mannequins, actresses, and TV personalities, each of whom is greeted with shrieks each time she appears. TGC attracts about 100,000 visitors, most of them teenage girls with exceptionally healthy lungs.
4 p.m.
On the advice of stylist Kate Young, I head over to Omotesando Hills to check out Noise et Silence, a store which stocks beautiful basics. I can see why she says that I’ll want “to wear these clothes nonstop.”
6 p.m.
Head over to the new Satine store that’s set to open on March 19. It’s airy and bright, with a jukebox that plays old French songs, a TV set that’s playing “Pretty in Pink,” and labels such as Rachel Comey, Katy Rodriguez, Opening Ceremony, and Satine’s house label, as well as a few Japanese brands.
7 p.m.
Visit La Forêt, a new mall that stocks many of the designers who showed at Japan fashion week. The shops range from goth and lolli boutiques in the basement to Nudie, Helmut Lang, and See by Chloé outlets on the upper levels. Also worth checking out are two multi-label stores, Side by Side and Wall.
8 p.m.
Dinner at Yaki Yaki Miwa Nishi-Azabu Ten with Shiseido’s Hiroko Ozeki and Tiffany Godoy, the author of “Style Deficit Disorder: Harajuku Street Fashion Tokyo,” who is fresh off a shoot for her new TV show.
Sunday, March 16
12 p.m.
I start my exploration of Daikayama at nakEd bunch before proceeding to Gallery Lele, a mecca for Blythe doll fanatics. Work in Progress’ Patrick Li had recommended a visit to Okua, “one of my favorites in the whole world—it emulates an old-style shop with lots of indigo dyed clothing.” As an added bonus, there are also turtles in the Japanese garden on the second floor.
2 p.m.
In a few weeks the cherry trees along the canal in Nakameguro will be in bloom, but it’s beautiful even without them. If I were to live in Tokyo, this is the neighborhood I’d choose.
5 p.m.
I spend the last of my yen at Touch in the lobby of the Cerulean. It’s one of the best design shops I’ve seen all week, selling everything from Santa Maria Novella wares to super-luxe menswear by Mister Hollywood (which, despite the name, is anything but flash). I also love the Postalco stationery and the Swedish ceramics and glassware. I could take it all home with me, but my suitcase is now officially full.
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