Mintdesigns’ refreshing yukata Mintdesigns is a staple brand of the Japanese fashion scene, with its hot-ticket Tokyo Fashion Week shows featuring acclaimed artisan textiles patterned with whimsical, pop motifs. It’s no wonder, then, that it’s decided to produce its first yukata (traditional summer clothing) this year. It’s more of a ...
Nendo’s latest work to catch the attention of this column is its Fusion collection — an entirely new series of ...
The Venice Architecture Biennale, first staged in 1980 and recurring every two years, has grown to become the world’s largest ...
The World Cup uniforms provide a carnival of color and fashion, from Brazil’s bright yellow jerseys to the Netherlands’ classic orange to Croatia’s red checkered home kit and the superhero-inspired looks of Mexico. The tournament this year, which opened last Thursday with Brazil beating ...
Perhaps it’s a case of, “Be careful what you wish for.” For generations, Japanese have tried to make their children taller than themselves — for example, by feeding them milk daily or by making them sleep long hours — and it would appear that ...
Dressed in a gray suit, a model stops at the end of the runway and strikes a pose before taking off his jacket. Still standing at the end of the runway, instead of throwing the jacket over his shoulder, he begins to casually flip ...
Designers, get ready to get crazy The Asia Awards is one of the best contests to discover new creative talent in fashion, music, design and art — and the deadline for entries is coming up fast. The competition is a part of Tokyo Designers ...
Japan’s Good Design Award just got better. Or, at least, broader. First awarded in 1957, those snappy little red “G” marks that are worn proudly on the packaging of recipients have become ubiquitous in this country. Now, with the opening in central Hong Kong ...
Keeping flower books It takes a special kind of vase to make this column and Fumiaki Goto’s Hanabunko for 5×8 Products hits the mark with originality. Designed to slot among the novels on a bookshelf, the Hanabunko is a simple, rectangular container with an ...
Sushi is arguably Japan’s most popular cultural export — and modern design would probably run a close second. So when, in 1988, the two were “combined” in the form of a sushi bar designed by the iconic Shiro Kuramata, well, perhaps it was only a ...
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 ...
Crisp and dry lettuce As the name suggests, Vegetabrella is an amusing umbrella by H Concept that, when shut, looks rather convincingly like a head of green leaf lettuce. Stacked together, they could easily be mistaken for a display at a grocery store. Made ...
Architects often claim to be deeply concerned about protecting the distinctive soul of places and regions, which would seem to imply that architects should stay close to their roots. Yet the export of architectural services and the global circulation of architects has never been ...
The Anrealage experiment continues Mercedes Benz Fashion Week Tokyo wrapped up with some off-schedule shows at the end of March, which included popular local brand Anrealage.
A special Trip for the ardent cyclists Most bicycles have kickstands, but many “fixie” aficionados prefer not to ruin aesthetics by including one on their mounts. If you’re that type of cyclist, this Trip is for you. The heft of Cachicochi’s Trip stand — ...
