I've really enjoyed watching the evolution of Japanese artist Aya Takano. She uses acrylic and diluted gouache paints to create fictional, erotic, and sullen images featuring thin, big-eyed Geisha girls-- there's a taste of sex, sadness, and the future all…
Continue Reading →CommonGate has dozens of fabulous photographs of Shusaku Arakawa's awesomely innovative housing project in the Mitaka suburb of Tokyo. The project called Reversible Destiny Lofts is meant to be anything but comfortable and serene. The surroundings are meant to stimulate,…
Continue Reading →I've always known that giving chocolate is the customary and 'correct' thing to do for Valentines Day-- to the point where there are TV commercials telling me that if I don't get my girlfriend Russell Stover chocolate for V-day, she…
Continue Reading →As I write this, I am wondering to myself how the hell I'm going to get one of these jackets. The vaunted Moncler outerwear lines are sold mainly in Italy and Japan, and although Moncler is sold in 1500 stores…
Continue Reading →Franklin Azzi Architecture, which is a Paris based firm, just finished two projects in Tokyo for French fashion designer Bali Barret, and they're not to be missed. The first is called the Red Bunker, typifying the numerous bunkers that were…
Continue Reading →One of my favorite Japanese designers (although now Brooklyn Dwelling), Motomichi, has a couple of gorgeous new prints for sale for the holiday season. He actually introduced these prints back at the Pictoplasma Conference in October, but hasn't put them…
Continue Reading →Freshness Magazine has some pictures of the beautiful new Yutori Kimono shoes by Puma. They're inspired by traditional Japanese Geisha culture and are actually made of vintage kimono dress fabrics-- but wait isn't cutting a Kimono like committing Hari Kari?…
Continue Reading →I have grown to expect great things from Diesel over the years, and although they have been around since 2001, the three Diesel Denim Galleries (New York, Tokyo, and Osaka) help set Diesel apart from the other denim brands. Diesel…
Continue Reading →When Fall rolls around, I always get an excited feeling in my stomach, because Summer is over and Winter is soon to follow. I think ski film producers get that same feeling, because they always begin their premiere tours in…
Continue Reading →This past weekend, Burton made the hordes of Japanese Shaun White fans jump for joy when they opened their first Japan store in Harajuku (known to be a swanky, trendy area of Tokyo). They issued this standard t-shirt/sticker gift ensemble…
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