Ametora: How Japan Saved American Style

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I think a common perception is that Japanese men, post–World War II, simply wanted to dress like Americans they saw, but your book says it’s not that clear-cut. Additionally, Marx writes about the impact on the creation of streetwear such as BAPE and Japanese avant-garde brands such as Comme des Garcons (Junya Watanabe), Yohji Yamamoto, Issey Miyake and others managed to evoke on the Western fashion consciousness, representing a genuine two-way communication in style. He connects this to the explosion of Harajuku as THE most dynamic fashion location in the world ... a change that happened practically overnight. I would definitely say so, and I would also say that these Japanese magazines have done way less about moving online. A lot of the best GQ content today can be found both online and in the magazine. And there’s a lot of content that’s just online and not in the magazine. But in Japan, print is really the culture that matters.

Japanese teenagers spend an inordinate amount of time, effort, money, and energy in pursuit of fashionable clothing, especially when compared to their global peers. America, with a population 2.5 times larger than Japan, has fewer than ten magazines focusing on men's style. Japan has more than 50.The book is based on thorough original research, and it includes topics such as the rise and fall of indigo, the myth of the cowboy, American cultural imperialism, advertising and sex. For Blue Blooded, it was particularly helpful for the historical chapters. Cue: Kensuke Ishizu. The most important name to remember on this list. Son of a paper wholesaler and born in 1911 in the southwest city of Okayama, Japan, he became the “Godfather” of Japanese prep, single-handedly sparking the Ivy Style revolution that rapidly permeated through Japan through the mid-1900s. Although he was eternally obsessed with Westernism and was considered to be a mobo himself, Ishizu did not directly work in designing menswear until he scored a position as the menswear designer for Japan’s largest undergarment maker at the time, Renown. For the 3 years following occupation, he learned the rules of the trade, educating himself on high-end retail and the market of western fashion, eventually splitting from Renown and establishing his own brand, Ishizu Shoten. Although a time of great poverty, with few citizens spending time purchasing new clothes, and less so luxury ones, Ishizu was convinced that the desire for Westernized style would soon return. Japanese youth in Ivy Style. (Basic Books / Ametora: How Japan Saved American Style) Japanese youth in Ivy Style. (Basic Books / Ametora: How Japan Saved American Style) Many movies, though I sometimes wonder if Hollywood is just amplifying these cultures that are already established--in a sense, it might not be very creative.

Originally published in 2002—the original, physically bigger version is available here—this book is uncomplicated and inspiring. The perfect book for anyone who wants to get a fundamental understanding of denim; it’s easy to read and the pictures perfectly accompany the words. At the end of the book, I talk about people who are taking this relationship in whole new directions. The beginning of the book is about Japanese men copying American style, the second part is the massive importation of American clothing into Japan, but the new brands now, like Visvim and Engineered Garments, are designers who understand the history and understand the references, but are trying to make something new. When you see a Visvim shoe, it looks like a Visvim shoe. So there will always be brands just making replica versions of old American products. I think the next step is this whole new wave of creativity. At the end of the book, I make the point that the whole menswear-blog scene of seven or eight years ago started because the whole culture of dressing up has sort of disappeared for American men. So young guys couldn’t just go to their dad and ask, “What’s the best suit to buy?” because their dads don’t know. So they had to start from basics the same way Japanese men did in the 1960s.I mean excuse me? Takuya Kimura is an icon in Japan and probably out of Japan too. The “questionable talent” bit sounds vaguely insulting, especially since he’s trying to explain Japanese fashion and Japanese culture to an American audience – it just sounds like after all the trouble he took to take various subcultures in Japan seriously, he could not bother to do the same for pop culture.

Here, Marx explains how he came to write the book, the roots of the Japanese fascination with American style and how Ametora has been assimilated into Japanese culture. Downey now works as a historical and archival consultant. In 2016, she also had a book about Levi Strauss (the man) published, which you can get here. The disparity between the Americans and Japanese in post-WWII Japan during its occupation by American forces “gave a veneer of prestige to anything American” – a concept that makes a lot of sense and which I think still endures till this day. In general, I think the reason why American culture is still dominant is because it’s seen as “better” somehow, like how Singaporean-Chinese try to signal higher status by reducing markers of “Chinese-ness” and taking on habits/speech patterns closer to what they think is present in Western culture. Genius book. W David Marx is a Japanese fashion mensch. Initially he chronicles Japanese history from the perspective of the post-war evolution of fashion (import). In parallel to the growth and confidence in the economy, fashion consciousness mutates and matures. Marx concludes that the same trends and breakthroughs we have seen in the electronics, automobile, and gaming industries in Japan, can be extended to the metamorphosis and global dominance of the domestic fashion industry.Denimhunters is a knowledge portal for denim enthusiasts and newcomers. Launched in 2011 as a pioneering denim blog, we’re a trustworthy source of denim knowledge and advice. Adults may have defeated the Miyuki Tribe, but Japanese youth would triumph in the greater war. Around the globe, from the 1960s onward, rebellious teenagers spurned parents and authorities and forged their own unique cultures, breaking free from their narrow identities as students. In Japan, the first and most important step was to replace the standard-issue school uniform with their own choice of stylish clothing. This interest in fashion started among youth from elite families, but spread to the masses in tandem with the country’s miraculous economic growth and explosion of mass media. Since the Ivy takeover of Ginza, Japan has been on a fifty-year trajectory towards its current status as the world most style-obsessed nation. James Sullivan’s book, Jeans: A Cultural History of an American Icon, was one of the books I hadn’t read before I began working on Blue Blooded. And, boy, was I missing out!