Harajuku and Omotesando: Where pop and luxury fashion are friendly neighbors | The Japan Times 28/05/14

28/05/14 10:26 AM

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Harajuku and Omotesando: Where pop and luxury

fashion are friendly neighbors

A Fashionable ‘pearing’

A shrill and rather bouncy yellow pear has captured the public’s imagination. Funassyi, an
unofficial city mascot of Funabashi in Chiba Prefecture, takes its name from “Funabashi” and
“nashi,” the Japanese word for “pear.” It has become so popular that it’s already close to
saturating the media — and now, the affable character seems to have its cute eyes on the
world of fashion.

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Harajuku and Omotesando: Where pop and luxury fashion are friendly neighbors | The Japan Times 28/05/14 10:26 AM

Laforet Harajuku mall, the hub of Tokyo youth fashion, is promoting 13 different brands
offering their own takes of Funassyi in their respective fashion genres. These range from
Sweet-Lolita fashion line Angelic Pretty placing a bonnet on the character as it rides a
unicorn, to gothic-punk HellCatPunks splattering the pear in blood. Chiba Prefecture may
not consider Funassyi the official mascot of Funabashi, but it’s still taking Japan by storm.
(ST)

The Funassyi Collection in Laforet runs till May 18 at Laforet Harajuku, 1-11-6
Jingumae, Shibuya-ku, Tokyo; 03-3475-0411. www.laforet.ne.jp/special/funassyi
(http://www.laforet.ne.jp/special/funassyi)

Omotesando ups the ante

Omotesando promenade is becoming even more

of a luxurious shopping destination with a recent
slew of high-end shop openings. At the
Omotesando crossing, French luxury house
Balenciaga opened quietly on March 29, with the
gothic-couture stylings of Alexander McQueen
soon to set up next door. Both are the first
freestanding flagships in Japan. Kitty-corner to
them, in the LVMH-occupied building, will be
Japan’s only Givenchy flagship, which opens on
May 16 with a revamped Loewe and Celine to
share the prime space.

Meanwhile at the Harajuku end of the street,

Chanel is undergoing an expansion in the GYRE
building, taking over the space occupied by
Bulgari to command the street-level. All this
comes after a flurry of other local fancy fashion
openings, including a Hugo Boss store and Prada
group’s footwear-label Church’s. (MJ)

(http://jto.s3.amazonaws.com/wp-
H. Naoto goes full steam ahead content/uploads/2014/05/p11-onfashion-b-20140513.jpg)

“Steampunk” is finally joining the ranks of other overseas trends that have left their mark on
Tokyo’s fashion scene. Defined as an indulgence in turn-of-the-century Victoriana, clockwork
mechanisms and a grimy brown palette, it’s easy to see why the style is fitting for those
rebelling against the current technology-obsessed and clean-cut youth.

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Harajuku and Omotesando: Where pop and luxury fashion are friendly neighbors | The Japan Times 28/05/14 10:26 AM

Until now the genre has found itself trapped in

cosplay conventions and similar events due to
the costume origins of the genre abroad.
However, thanks to H.Naoto Steam, a new brand
from gothic fashion impresario Hirooko Naoto, it
has started to hit the street.

H.Naoto Steam was originally tested as a sub-

brand of H.Naoto in 2013, but it quickly rose to
the forefront by early 2014. Now that it’s center-
stage and toned down for the street, all that
remains to see is how Japan’s ever-inventive
youth localize it. (ST)

H.Naoto + Harajuku, 3-18-23 Jingumae,

Shibuya-ku, Tokyo; 03-3478-6454.
www.hnaoto.com (http://www.hnaoto.com)

Tete Homme duals ‘City Hunter’ (http://jto.s3.amazonaws.com/wp-

content/uploads/2014/05/p11-onfashion-c-20140513.jpg)

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Harajuku and Omotesando: Where pop and luxury fashion are friendly neighbors | The Japan Times 28/05/14 10:26 AM

(http://jto.s3.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/05/p11-onfashion-e-20140513-のコピー.jpg)

Cult 1980s manga “City Hunter” by Tsukasa Hojo is making an unexpected foray into fashion
courtesy of Tete Homme, a Japanese label renowned for dressing Tokyo gents since 1981. At
the core of the collaboration is a jacket inspired by that of “City Hunter” protagonist Ryo
Saeba.

The jacket is designed to be worn with the sleeves rolled up like the ’80s original and it
amusingly sports Ryo’s concealed condom pocket. The line also includes T-shirts featuring
illustrations from the series, notably one that will make the wearer appear as if he has Ryo’s
Colt Python 357 tucked into his belt. Be quick if you are interested, though, each item is
limited to 200 units and will be on sale nationwide at all Tete Homme shops from mid-May.
(ST)

www.tetehomme.com (http://www.tetehomme.com)

Pharrell Williams gets ‘Happy’ in Tokyo

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Harajuku and Omotesando: Where pop and luxury fashion are friendly neighbors | The Japan Times 28/05/14 10:26 AM

(http://jto.s3.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/05/p11-onfashion-d-20140513.jpg)

Singer and producer Pharrell Williams is once again making his presence felt in Japan with
this month’s upcoming release of a Japan-exclusive video for his song “Happy,” which has
already peaked at the No. 1 position on music charts in some 25 countries. Though the actual
release date has yet to be announced, we do know the Japan video is directed by Nigo of A
Bathing Ape fame and stars an A-Z of Tokyo’s music scene, from rappers such as Verbal to
the idol unit BiS.

Stealing some of the thunder from this official video, however, is an already released
Harajuku-specific clip directed by Tokyo-based creative agency Smotion. A homage to the
street fashion that made Harajuku the tourist attraction it is today, Smotion’s video —
despite flashes of the eccentric sub-cultures often over-associated with the area — does a
good job of capturing the reality of Tokyo style. (ST)

Follow #harajukuhappytimes for updates on the unofficial Harajuku video, which can
be seen on YouTube: www.youtube.com/watch?v=rVvUxM0ywrc
(http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rVvUxM0ywrc).

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Harajuku and Omotesando: Where pop and luxury fashion are friendly neighbors | The Japan Times 28/05/14 10:26 AM

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