Some people are hard to please. Though he was a member of the committee that chose the term "Cool Biz" for the campaign launched last week to bring government dress more in line with seasonal realities, fashion designer and critic Don Konishi is very disappointed with the sartorial choices made by Diet members.
Suits and ties, claims Konishi in last week's Shukan Asahi, give politicians the requisite air of "respectable sensei," and once they shed them in the Diet looks more like a "meeting of condominium trustees." One can't dismiss 200 years of masculine fashion protocol with a simple environment ministry directive, he says. Removing one's necktie may seem like a liberating act, but the visual result is chaos. Who would want to copy these men? he asks.
Having seen Konishi on TV in his role as fashion pundit, you could ask the same about him. With his fleshy face and narrow glasses, ponytail and yakuza-standard pinstripe suits, he's an uninspiring example; more a parody of fashion propriety than an upholder of it. Nevertheless, the basic point he is making -- that a politician's role is at least partly related to his image -- is worth considering. "Saving energy is, of course, important," he says with regard to the purpose of the Cool Biz campaign, "but effectiveness is the main point."