Japanese? Yes Please!

The best of Tokyo Autumn/Winter 2013/14 Fashion Week

By: Megan Patterson

Tokyo Fashion Week took place the same week as our fashion week here in Toronto (TWINSIES) last month. Here in Canada, the weather was still appropriately chilly enough to keep us in the spirit of the Fall/Winter collections that were being shown, though the story in Tokyo was a bit different with the sakura trees in full, pink bloom.

Tokyo fashion is known for a lot of things, most notably for not being boring, and I have to say, in this regard the collections did not disappoint. Streetwear tends to reign supreme, and you can always expect to see a lot of playing with pattern, colour, and proportion. Most importantly, Japanese designs are always fun.

MR. GENTLEMAN

First of all, how could you not like this collection based on the name alone? Japanese brands always have the most delightful names (there is a store in Shibuya called Nude Trump, which is probably my favourite). MR. GENTLEMAN is the brainchild of two Tokyo veteran designers, Takeshi Osumi from menswear brand PHENOMENON and Yuichi Yoshii, who is known for organizing the VERSUS TOKYO shows.

The look at MR. GENTLEMAN is classic English prep with a twist. The preppy look is pretty popular in Asia, but because it doesn’t have the same cultural connotations as it does in the West, Asian designers tend to have a lot more fun with it. In this collection the tweed shorts are paired with matching boutonnieres on the jackets, and dress shirts have boxy, high collars.
You’ll find the full collection here.

Facetasm

Pronounced “Facet-asm,” Facetasm has become one of the more well known Tokyo fashion brands since its debut in 2007. Facetasm is classic Japanese streetwear through and through. The A/W 2013 collection is pretty futuristic looking, but some of the skirts almost look like pleated kimono. This kind of haphazard layering is very Japanese. I’m pretty sure I could never pull it off, but here it looks amazing.

Leather and shearling manskirts make up the menswear side—this is not the only collection that seemed to have them. I officially call a trend! Facetasm’s certainly look like they’ll keep your junk warm and cozy (feel free to use this in your marketing copy, Facetasm).
The full collection can be viewed on Style.com.

Gut’s Dynamite Cabarets

See what I mean about the names? I don’t think I would want to go to a gut’s dynamite cabaret though. Sounds messy. Gut’s Dynamite Cabarets is notorious for its drag queen following. It’s definitely a fun, edgy show, and A/W does not disappoint: love all the fur and patterns. I think some of those coats might even be warm enough to survive a Canadian winter. I am also in lusting for the tights in this show (LEOPARD PRINT!). Japan has the best patterned tights ever, and this will not be the only show in which you see them. I even know where to buy them, but unfortunately I am neither short nor thin. Someone please buy some and make me insanely jealous.
See the full collection at Women’s Wear Daily.

Dresscamp

Dresscamp really played with pattern and structure, and this collection has some really amazing detailing that only becomes apparent up close (this dress, for example, whose skirt is actually made up of small, laser cut and edged pieces of fabric). Leopard print is also heavily featured. For women, flower inspiration is evident (a bit weird for a winter collection, but I guess that’s probably the time of year when you need to look like a plant the most). In menswear, the military, both past and present, seems to be heavy influences.
See the full collection at Fashioninsing.

mercibeaucoup

Mercibeaucoup’s fall 2013 collection is for the free spirit in all of us who doesn’t believe in tight pants, or tops, or really feeling constrained by their clothing at all. This free spirit is also obsessed with soccer. This is an extremely Japanese collection, with a typically Japanese sensibility towards both prep and streetwear. And while it’s not really my personal style, I definitely want this graphic, oversized sweater in my closet.

See the full collection at Style.com.

Anrealage

Anrealage definitely falls under the spectrum of classic and pretty, but regardless I absolutely love this collection (especially the dresses that are inspired by kimono). Also love? The wigs made out of paper. This is also one of the few collections where the models are wearing a heel. It’s a very low heel too. I’m not sure why (maybe it’s because everyone has to walk and commute so much), but flats or platforms rule the Tokyo streets more than heels do, and that’s been reflected in pretty much all the fall collections. See the full collection at Fashionising.

Jotaro Saito

Jotaro Saito is one of Japan’s youngest kimono designers (he launched his first collection at 27), and he comes from a long line of traditional Japanese fashion artists. His grandfather was a dye artist, and his father is also a kimono designer. Jotaro Saito takes a different, more modern approach to kimono design, however. Saito aims to design “kimono as fashion matched with modern space.” His kimono definitely are cut and patterned in a much sleeker, more modern style (and definitely with a bit more leg showing). I particularly love the patchwork look on the women’s kimono, and the braided belts on the men’s.

See the full collection here.

Araisara

Pretty much all of the jackets in this collection are perfect and I want all of them on me right now, but especially the blazer-y one. No wait, especially this sheer, cape-y one. And the flower peplums! So much good tailoring at Araisara. I mean…great? Too busy coveting to care.

See the full collection at Fashionising.

motonari ono

Motonari ono’s fall/winter collection is also completely killing it on the coat and blazer front. While it is largely warmer in Japan than in North America in the winter, but I’m still not sure why we’re seeing so many tailored shorts with bare legs looks across a lot of the collections. At motonari ono, they’re small and floral, and wouldn’t look out of place on a Mori Girl (albeit a very high fashion one).

See the full collection here.

Christian Dada

It’s like The Crow decided to give up revenging and became a fashion designer. This is a compliment, because there are GIANT BLACK WINGS ON THE SHOES. HOW IS THAT NOT THE BEST THING EVER? This collection does not give a fuck about looking pretty, and you’ve got to love that.

See the full collection at Fashionising.

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Under Where?

The male gaze dilemma meets pretty panties

By: Casie Brown

“Brevity is the soul of lingerie.” – Dorothy Parker

While borrowing lines from Hamlet to describe panties may seem like a stretch no elastic waistband should endure, Ms. Parker’s witty remark raises many questions concerning what we choose to put on underneath our clothes. It’s a simple decision that arises daily for both men and women, often thought to be mandatory and thoughtless, but is it? For myself (and I hope I am not alone in this one) countless daydreams are filled with visions of me slipping in and out of lingerie; of waking to the early sunlight in my darling (but too rarely worn) vintage babydoll slip. I wish for the moment when passion stops to observe the way silk skims a nipple. But more often than not, these moments are either lost or pass within a flick of the light switch. So why do we invest so much of our time and money on a moment so brief?

One understanding is that our obsession is centered around conforming our bodies to an attractive ideal. From the Victorian corset to spanx, many women have attempted to chisel their way to the ‘perfect’ feminine figure with elastic and whale bone. Jill Fields, author of An Intimate Affair, links the evolution of our unmentionables to the ever-changing gender distinctions and transformation of the twentieth century American woman. While this socio-historical approach helps us understand how we have evolved from bloomers to thongs, it hardly explains our fascination with undergarments within the context of the bedroom.

In her novella Simple Passion, Annie Ernaux describes the events of her intimacies with a married man. At the height of their affair, she pauses to illustrate the wreckage of their most recent encounter: “I would sit staring at the glasses, the plates and their leftovers, the over flowering ashtray, the clothes, the lingerie strewn all over the bedroom and the hallway.” The garments, meticulously prepared, lay discarded amongst the carnage of the evening. Ernaux’s illustration is a scene that I’m sure many women have woken up to, or even caught their feet in as they stumbled sleepy-eyed from the bedroom. The tableaux provokes a common interpretation of intimate apparel. We picture Ernaux, the blood and guts of her affair, and a pair of red lace panties. She dresses—and undresses—for him.

Feminist film criticism has brought to us the idea of the male gaze, and as Fields points out specifically in the case of lingerie, “Women construct themselves in dress and deportment as ‘to-be-looked-at,’ which requires them to look through the male gaze to see whether their bodies are attractive objects on display.” But this is where I seem to fail. I can say with confidence (based on many years of field research—please don’t tell my parents) that hours shopping and countless dollars and debt later, I have found that the only reason a guy ever remembers the colour of my bra is because it was resting on the nightstand beside his iPhone. So why persist?

As I sit on a rainy afternoon, making a chart of sexual encounters, what I wore, and the reaction, I come to a hypothesis. And while I have never been one to air my dirty laundry, here it goes. The results of my oh-so-scientific chart seem to point to one small black g-string as the undefeated champ—which I’ll have you know I have only worn a handful times out of necessity, under a super tight pencil skirt, or this one pair of jeans that fit like they came out of the last musical number in Grease. Revealing cellulite, stretch marks, and the obvious deviance from my squat routine, this particular delicate would not be my first choice. Instead, I tend to opt for things you would expect to see circa Valley of the Dolls. These items, a tiny bit more modest than your average g-string, are how I have chosen to represent my sexuality—despite the often lackluster response.

In the past half century, feminist art has been subverting women’s status as sexual objects by claiming this very status and exercising their ability to choose how it is represented; in the words of Simone de Beauvoir, “To make oneself an object, to make oneself passive, is a very different thing from being a passive object.” While I would never claim my high-waisted satin briefs to be a feminist statement, something does seem to bind these two ideas together. Is our time spent rifling through Victoria Secret catalogues a forfeit to the demands of the male gaze? Or could my obsession with the latest Agent Provocateur collection be a reclaiming of my body and sexuality? While I would prefer to place myself in the latter category, it could very well be that I am simply stuck in a male gaze of decades past, where the movements of Lana Turner across a screen would have forced me to tighten the elastic of my wrap-around girdle. Pushing up and into the unmentionable adventures of my future, however, I will strive with every eye-hook latched and every stocking unrolled to ensure that these private garments become my own quiet reclamation; that, like my outer layers, what I put on under my clothes will remain how I want to be represented, both as a woman and sexually.

photography // Laura Tuttle

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Crushing on Dave Raimey

More than just a football uniform

By: Whitney Wager

In the early ’70s, if you knew anything about Toronto football, you knew about Dave Raimey. Considered one of the best running backs of his time, he was inducted into the CFL Hall of Fame in 2000. Though he played in both the US and Canada, he is best known for playing with the 1971 Toronto Argonauts, named the “greatest team that never won,” after they lost a Grey Cup game following a slip on some wet grass.

Raimey was known in his own right, frequently featured in magazine spreads and news articles, photo shoots and retail ads. This exposure had as much to do with his football playing than it did his groovy threads. Raimey’s eclectic clothing (most of which was hand sewn) made him something of a style icon in the ’70s, creating a cult of fans who followed him both on and off the field. Naturally, WORN is smitten.

How did you first get interested in sewing?
I started sewing years ago. We got hand-me-down clothes: my grandmother would go clean a house somewhere out in the wealthy part of town and bring back clothes that people would give her. I learned how to alter them to fit me.

Who taught you how to sew?
My mother died when we were eight, nine, 10, and 11. I was 10. So I became very attached to my aunts; there were four of them, but one sewed. She had a business going; she’d make hats for women. I used to watch her. Now my son, he sews. And he learned by watching me. I was a single parent, raising him by myself, and he watched me sewing. I bought him a Mustang, when we were living in Columbia, South Carolina. I reupholstered his Mustang for him, brand new seats. It was the first time I had done that, but it turned out fine, and I think that may have sold him on sewing.


So how old were you when you picked up your first needle?
Probably 13 or 14.

How did it evolve from there, from altering your own things to making clothes from scratch?
I used to make clothes, but right now I just alter things. I’ve been shopping at thrift stores for 30 years; I was shopping at thrift stores when I was playing for the Toronto Argonauts. I just always did that. I guess because of my upbringing, I love to shop at thrift stores. I have so many clothes, it’s unreal. Like nice stuff! Fabulous clothes, well-made, high-end clothing. You know, I will pay full price for stuff too.

I’m also really fond of reupholstering. I was a member of the Interior Decorating Society in Dayton, Ohio. Paid my dues! And I decorated a few houses for some folks that I knew. I just always liked that. I still re-upholster. In fact, I’m going home this weekend to get my machine. It’s real big and heavy; it’s a walking foot. I have other machines: here in town, I have three—sorry, four.

So do you ever go to a tailor?
Oh yeah, I go to tailors. I’ve got a jacket now that I’m doing. The shoulders, you’ve got to take all the padding out, and it’s such a complicated job. My real good stuff I take to the tailors! But, I’ve made vests and pants. I’ve even made hats! I made my daughter a graduation dress when she graduated from high school. It was a bold pattern, sort of form-fitting. But she wanted it, so I made it up for her, and she wore it. I was kinda proud (laughs).

What’s your favourite thing you’ve ever made?
I made a men’s jacket with pockets here and pockets there (pointing to his chest and sides), and epaulettes here. Black. I still have it, I made it a long time ago. Kept it all these years ’cause I was so proud of it. I’ll tell you a story: In elementary school in Dayton, Ohio, Grade 6, they had this class where half the year you could cook (home ec), and the other half was sewing. I couldn’t cook, but I got an A in the class. I made a corduroy shirt: orange corduroy. It had what they call a Billy Eckstein collar, a big collar. It went up and folded down. But the worst thing I did, is I made French cuffs on a corduroy shirt. It was ugly. I went home, put the shirt on, and the French cuffs were in here (points to the insides of his wrist). The teacher didn’t even notice. I ended up just making it short-sleeved.

Do you think that class influenced you at all?
Yeah, it did. It showed me how to sew the right way. Since then, I’ve been altering clothes, fixin’ things. I’ll buy a suit, take it home and put the cuffs on myself, and shorten the sleeves if I have to.

A lot of people would find it surprising that a football player was so openly into sewing in the 1970’s…
Yeah, I got kidded quite a bit about it.

Was there anything that ever bothered you?
No, never. You know they kidded me, and you can imagine what they’d say (laughs). They just did a special on our team (The Greatest Team That Never Won), and [the director] called me a fashionista. She said, “Dave, were you offended by that?” It doesn’t bother me, never did. I enjoy it because it’s creative, and it’s very relaxing. And I enjoy looking good and appreciating things that I’ve made.

I heard a rumour that you used to take your sewing machine with you when you traveled, is that true?
(Laughs) No.

Do you have fabrics that you lean toward, or things you like to make?
In the last ten years, I’ve liked vests, real loud vests. Loud and bright, you know, I think that it’s sharp for men to wear a white shirt, or short-sleeve shirt, and a colourful vest. I’m looking at making one now. I think it’s great to wear with a suit. Now they’re making sports jackets with that kind of design already sewn into them, I don’t know if you’ve seen these, but they’re really big right now. But I can’t find a pattern, so I’m going to have to make my own. That’s my next project.

Do you take a lot of pride in the stuff you make?
Yeah, everything. The stuff I’ve made, the stuff I build, the things I’ve fixed. With the knowledge I have, I try to do it the best I can. It’s the only way to do things. Like football, I gave it my all. Every game, every play.

Has anyone not liked something that you’ve made?
No, not that I’ve made. But one day I was wearing an overcoat, down in Dayton, and I loved the coat; I had got it at a thrift store. And some woman told me, “What you doin’ with that old coat on?” It hurt my feelings! I kept wearing it that season, but then stopped wearing it the next season.


Has your style changed much since the ’60s?
Yeah. I’ve always liked shirts with lace on them and they used to kid me, but I’ve always liked that. I think it’s sharp. Paisley, that is one style I did not like. And I never did like bell-bottoms; I’m a short little guy with thick legs, I never looked good in bell-bottoms.

I marvel at some of these designers, some of them are just geniuses, the way they figure out clothing for men and coordinate it. I look at a lot of that today, and there are some talented folks out there.

Do you think in another life that could have been you?
Yeah, but I’m not sure I would have been as good as some of these people I’ve seen. I would have loved to have designed clothing for men. Women’s fashion, I know nothing about that.

Is fashion more personal for you, or do you pay attention to trends?
I do, every now and then, in the magazines, but I just kind of dress how I like. I’ve been watching through the years, and they’ll go with the baggy pants, and then go to tight-fitting, and then back to baggy. They have a wide lapel and they go to a narrow lapel. I’ve watched all that, and said to hell with that, I’m just gonna wear what I wear.

photography // Laura Tuttle

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