18 International Herald Tribune
Friday, October 4, 2002
Watanabe’s
lyrical creativity
From Page 17
dedicated to the products that emerge from more exper-
imental ideas. Although this show lacked a buzz, each
piece had a personality.
The show opened with overalls, anticipating an-over-
size theme of the show: square tailoring or silky para-
chute silk pants with a sturdier coat. Overall straps were
pulled down to the hips over a small tank top, introducing
the concept of little and large and giving a discreet sug-
gestion of deshabille. That came too when singlets, each
scissored differently at the bust line, went with ultra-
wide low slung pants from which peeped fringed shoes.
The sweet disorder in the dress included sweaters,
ribbed and one-sleeved or tumbling off a shoulder and
wrapped apron skirts. To emphasize that Yamamoto is a
romantic designer, rose prints flowering on black
bought romance to city clothes.
For the first time, Margiela showed a collection under
his own name that hinted at his other role as design direc-
tor at Hermes. The clothes endorsed all the elements that
he has made his signature, from flea market makeovers
through an unabashed plainness to frame a woman’s per-
sonality. But there was a new sense of elegance and lux-
ury in the skirts and dresses where the fabric was drawn
up and back like a window drape. Margiela’s famous toe-
shape boots were replaced by the bright footwear and sil-
ver shone through the show, painted on the soft dresses
that looked like they were vintage lingerie; and the metal-
lic color appeared as wrist bands or detached collars.
Margiela was as inventive as ever, sewing a fistful of
shoe laces into a bustier top and using the lingerie as an
appliqué on a skirt. This melding of dress and undress
gave a new intimacy and sensuality to the designer’s
work and made for a powerful collection which ended in
a tinkle of bells — dangling from belts under the skirts.
The laudatory introductory speech by Arnault, before
he pinned the Legion d’Honneur medal on Lacroix’s pin-
striped suit, traced their joint venture since the fashion
mogul first saw the colorful creations of the designer
from a small Provencal town. That was 15 years ago and
Lacroix showed in his current fusion of his own vintage
couture pieces with contemporary drawstring pants or
jeans how much he is master of the mix. A velvet bolero
from a decade ago, embellished with sequins and feath-
ers, was worn casually with baggy pants, while the heart
emblem from the debut collection has become street-
smart enough to appear on casual culottes.
The dress-undress thing appeared again at Lutz on
Thursday, when the German designer used strips of fab-
ric, as in a car wash, to offer glimpses of what might be
underneath. The story from this precise, modern-
minded designer was putting style in the hands of the
wearer. So a tiny jacket could tie taut at the back — or be
left with dangling straps; a cut-out shoulder might re-
veal a strap of underslip; or a scarf was sashed was made
into a vest. Often the collection did the thinking, giving a
slightly longer hemline at the back to give a kick to a
knitted dress, or adding an apron of cut-out foliage
Underwear has always been an inspiration for Australi-
an Colette Dinnigan, but she has taken her pretty, decorat-
ive clothes beyond beaded dresses. Her light touch was ex-
tended to cut-out shoulders or a top sloping off and for red
carpet events she produced grand but graceful gowns.
Suzy Menkes is the fashion editor of the International
Herald Tribune.
COSTUMENATIONAL.COM
MILAN ROME PARIS NEW YORK
FASHION
Japan’s invisible revolution
By Kaori Shoji
TOKYO
or all their dedication and commitment to fashion, it’s
F only in the last decade or so that Tokyo women have
added lingerie to their shopping lists. History, or lack
thereof, has much to do with this.
Japanese women only started wearing Western-style un-
derclothes about 70 years ago. Until then, they wrapped
themselves in layers of kimonos and let that suffice.
This all began to change as the result of a department store
fire in 1932 in which 14 young women were killed. The wom-
en, dressed in kimonos, had escaped to the store’s roof. When
they tried to climb down a makeshift ladder, they could only
use one of their hands since the other was needed to keep
their kimonos from flapping in the wind and exposing their
lower extremities. Thus handicapped, they lost their balance
and fell to their deaths.
Today, lingerie is considered the chicest of all clothing,
simply because it’s concealed. Known to part with huge sums
of cash for suits and bags, Tokyo women will now bestow the
same favors on underwear, presumably without blinking.
Several small manufacturers run by young women have
zeroed in on this relatively fresh market, supplying women
with functional, durable underwear that is also unabashedly
sensua l.
Mika Noguchi, 37, president of Peach John, a lingerie com-
pany, got her start at age 21, when she started a home shop-
ping company with her husband. Peach John, which emerged
in 1988, is one of Japan’s most successful small companies, re-
gistering sales of more than 1 billion yen ($8.19 million) last
yea r.
Noguchi firmly believes that women want sexy, beautiful
underwear in whatever situation they happen to be.
Naughty-sexy, nasty-Lolita, functional-sporty, artistic-lacey,
Peach John provides all the clichés.
‘‘A woman’s life is one long series of costume parties,’’
Noguchi has said on several occasions. ‘‘And Peach John is
here to help her along.’’
Kiriko Ueno, a self-proclaimed Peach John ‘‘fanatic,’’ says
that the brand liberates her from the rigors of her work, i.e.,
‘‘the awful grind of the Japanese corporate world.’’ She loves
to feel that underneath her receptionist’s uniform of white
blouse and dark blue vest is ‘‘an entirely different world.’’
Ueno also says she appreciates the way Noguchi complies
the Peach John catalogue that urges women to try lingerie
costumes with titles like ‘‘Widow’’ (black lace everything)
‘‘Nun’’ (mini black chemise offset by white cuffs) and ‘‘Miss
Muffet’’ (white lace cotton bloomers and matching bra).
Says Ueno: ‘‘Peach John recognizes the inherent need in all
of us to be bitchy, at least in the context of what we wear un-
derneath our clothes.’’
Taking the cue from Peach John’s success are companies
like Amo’s Style, which is a spinoff from the major lingerie
manufacturer Triumph. To shed its stolid, corporate image
and appeal to a younger, more fashion-conscious clientele,
Triumph created Amo’s, a chain of small outlets that features
lacey, frilly, candy-colored lingerie at the polar opposite of
Triumph’s functional, stoic lineup consisting of no-nonsense
lift bras and beige-colored girdles.
Amo’s Style outlets aim to provide ‘‘more love and dreams
into your everyday life,’’ and have designed the interiors to
match the small colorful explosions of silk, Lycra and lace
from every shelf. The price tags are also designed to seduce,
as they’re 20 percent cheaper than standard Triumph
products.
A 25-year-old shopper giggled as she said: ‘‘Amo’s knows
how I want to feel, which is beautiful and full of confidence.
Nowadays it’s okay to just go around in a T-shirt and jeans
but underneath, it’s tacky to be cheap.’’
Amo’s caters to that need, but with Triumph as the parent
company, it also knows that often functionality will have the
last word. The recommended item this autumn is something
LOS ANGELES TOKYO
*
Kaori Shoji/Courtesy of Peach John Kaori Shoji
Peach John’s fall catalogue offers an array of lingerie ‘‘costumes.’’ Sexy lingerie on display at an Amos’s Style outlet in Tokyo.
called ‘‘the vitamin bra,’’ the result of a tie-up with the textile pure white and baby blue. Demure shopgirls await customers
company Fujibo. The fabric of this bra is injected with vita- in ankle-length, navy blue aprons. Each item is exquisitely
min C and will supposedly enhance circulation, smooth the designed to enhance comfort. Shorts gently encase the hips
skin and equip the wearer with more energy. ‘‘Lifting and en- but leave an attractive silhouette; featherweight bras only
larging is all very well, but we want our customers to beau- brush the rib cage, and chemises are made of pure linen and
tify themselves from within, and realize that health equals silk. And to stress tranquility and relaxation, shops also
true beauty,’’ says Rie Ohmura, an Amo’s shopclerk. carry pajamas, bed linen and general homewear.
If Peach John and Amo’s is all for promoting sexy attire, Costume party or spirituality, sexy or angelic? Japanese
then Kid Blue Inc. aims for something spiritual. Founded in women may not all give the same answer, but as Kiriko says,
1979 and now a household name for quality inner wear, Kid ‘‘I could put up with a lot of things; but I think I’d rather die
Blue’s doctrine has always rested on comfort and modest than be caught in cheap underwear.’’
chic. Nothing offensive like leopard print thongs are ever
found in a Kid Blue outlet, where the predominant colors are Kaori Shoji is a free-lance journalist based in Tokyo.
The Associated Press
Adalina Taylor competing in the Quiksilver Roxy Pro in Australia last year. Women are taking up surfing with a passion.
Surfwear’s making a big splash
Sales explode to cater to wahines and their wannabes
By Jessica Michault cessful Roxy was, and now in the space of less than five years,
women’s surfwear is representing up to 40 percent of the an-
PARIS nual revenue of some of these companies,’’ says Kai Stearns,
alifornia, the pioneer of skater chic and sophisticat- editor of Surfing Girl magazine.
C ed sportswear, has now sent out a tsunami of trendy Jessica Trent-Nichols, a marketing manager for Billabong,
surfwear for women. When most people think about which provided a large portion of the clothing in ‘‘Blue Crush,’’
women surfing, images of the 1960s Gidget films sees the flurry of films as perfect timing. ‘‘Surfwear for women
and Annette Funicello, the star of ‘‘Beach Blanket Bingo,’’ has expanded to encompass everything from board shorts and
come to mind — with men wearing wigs to double as the fe- beachwear to clothing to you can wear to a party.’’
male stars for the necessary surfing shots. In the spring/summer 2003 ready-to-wear collections,
But those days are over. which so far have shown a
The recent release of the wide range of themes,
Walt Disney Pictures an- there is one prevailing un-
imated hit ‘‘Lilo and Stitch’’ dercurrent — sportswear.
and the success of Univer- Fashion houses like Luella
sal Pictures ‘‘Blue Crush,’’ a Bartley, Jil Sander and Miu
film about a group of fe- Miu demonstrate the grow-
male surfers, has created a ing impact surfwear and
groundswell of women the casual surf lifestyle is
aiming to become wahines, having on the clothing in-
or women surfers. dustr y.
‘‘There has been a defin- Sales of the women’s
ite increase in people com- lines reflect in part the
ing in since the films came huge rise in the number of
out,’’ says Nicole Cabral, women surfers. ‘‘Women
the co-owner of the who surf every day leaped
Wahine Blue Surf Shop for 120 percent from 1999 to
women in Miami. 2001,’’ says Marie Case,
Expect the demand to managing director of the
soar when the next James action sport industry mar-
Bond film ‘‘Die Another ket research company
Day’’ is released in Novem- Board-Trac Inc.
ber; it includes a surfing ‘‘The number of women
scene. And the release next who come to us wanting to
year of the Charles Angels learn how to surf has dou-
sequel ‘‘Halo’’ features bled every year since we
Cameron Diaz surfing the opened in 1996,’’ says Isa-
waves in a white bikini. belle Tihanyi, founder and
Surfwear, long con- The Associated Press/John Johnson, Universal Studios; Christopher Moore owner of Surf Diva surf
sidered a fringe market, Kate Bosworth in the film Blue Crush, left; a Luella Bartley creation. school in La Jolla, Califor-
has seen the sales of wom- nia. And the same goes for
en’s clothing explode with many surf apparel companies re- the Surf Diva clothing line which plans to extend the line and
porting a double-digit rise in sales, outpacing many of the make more products available on its Web site.
men’s lines. Roxy, Quiksilver’s women’s line, has been so suc- However, the success of surfwear lies in selling more than
cessful that a new line for younger girls called Teenie just board shorts. Women who don’t surf will have to be per-
Wahine has been introduced. suaded that the clothing is about more than a summer sport.
Billabong reportedly has seen its girls line grow by 50 per- ‘‘The lifestyle is so appealing and surfing is a sexy sport
cent every year for the past three years. that is beautiful to watch, a girl in Topeka, Kansas, might not
‘‘Surfing was such an old boys’ club, it never occurred to be able to surf, but she can buy a pair of Billabong shorts and
most of them to have a women’s line until they saw how suc- feel part of a community,’’ says Stearns.
Case agrees. ‘‘The people who buy the clothes are not just
buying a T-shirt, they are buying the beach attitude.’’
There is no better example of the potential power of the
$3.8 billion surfwear industry than the purchase of Hurley
raoul et curly International by Nike earlier this year. Set up in 1998 by the
former Billabong USA president Bob Hurley, the four-year-
Welcome to the best duty free in town old company’s fastest growing division is its women’s Hurley
All major brand perfumes and cosmetics, designer gifts Girly line.
The success of women’s surfwear for the core surfing
Watches Baume et Mercier, C. Dior, C.K., Gucci, brands like Billabong, Quiksilver and Hurley has also caused
Omega, Tag Heuer. a trickle-down effect into the mass market of fashion. Aber-
Handbags Mandarina Duck, Cerruti, Lagerfeld, crombie & Fitch, Old Navy and Gap have all started to sell
Lamarthe, Sonia Rykiel. surf apparel.
Pashmina and Silk scarves. Ties Cerruti, C. Dior, Lanvin... ‘‘It’s cool and sexy now to be a woman who surfs,’’ says Tiha-
Jewelry C. Dior. Pens Dupont, Mont Blanc. nyi. ‘‘When I was growing up a woman surfer was a freak.’’
47, avenue de l’Opéra, 75002 PARIS Jessica Michault is on the staff of the International Herald
Tel: 01 47 42 50 10 – Métro Opéra Tribune.