JAPAN: New Japanese designers bring out glitz and glamour, drag queens and underwear at Japan Fashion Week

Record ID: 197326

  • Title: JAPAN: New Japanese designers bring out glitz and glamour, drag queens and underwear at Japan Fashion Week
  • Date: 8th September 2008
  • Summary: (SOUNDBITE) (Japanese) JACKAL KUZU, DESIGNER OF "GUT'S DYNAMITE CABARETS", SAYING: "With underwear, we can go overboard with designs and have fun with it. You can feel different inside by wearing a flashy underwear, which is something you can't do with clothes, and that's what makes underwear interesting."
  • Embargoed: 23rd September 2008 13:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: Japan
  • Country: Japan
  • Topics: Fashion
  • Reuters ID: LVA6AU23I6MNUGTX4THFZNZ7UKU9
  • Story Text: Young Japanese designers showcase avant-garde underwear and offbeat performances at the seventh Japan Fashion Week in Tokyo.
    Tokyo Fashion Week brought out the edgy and offbeat on Thursday (September 4) with models of all walks of life rocking and grooving on the catwalk.
    Among the ten collections showcased in midtown Tokyo, "Gut's Dynamite Cabarets," a budding Japanese brand, stood apart.
    The opening of the show was filled with surprises as models and drag queens - each wearing a flashy men's underwear - appeared from dark and strode down the runway.
    The rather unusual models wowed and rocked the audience while they shook their hips, danced and gave out winks and smooches.
    Originally a men's underwear collection, the two designers of this house -- Cabaret Aki and Jackal Kuzu from the central Japanese city of Osaka, have recently branched out to design tailored suits and women's wear.
    Though the brand has now grown into an unisex urban street wear trademark, Jackal Kuzu, designer of "Gut's Dynamite Cabarets", says he still enjoys designing underwear.
    "With underwear, we can go overboard with designs and have fun with it," Kuzu told Reuters. "You can feel different inside by wearing a flashy underwear, which is something you can't do with clothes, and that's what makes underwear interesting," he added.
    The 2009 Spring/Summer collection theme was called 'Eight Beat' as more than twenty-five models, all close friends of the designers, walked and danced down the runway in black punk-rock outfits while a blasting popular rock tunes from AC/DC and Aerosmith also grooved the audience.
    "Japan is now filled with murky atmosphere so we wanted some energy and drive so we had some rock music in the show since we love them so much," said Cabaret Aki, co-designer of 'Gut's Dynamite Cabarets'.
    "Eight beat of rock music basically represents the speed that we wanted to have in our show."
    Models at the show were no carbon-copy models. Dancers, journalists, fashion students, drag queens and just plain fans of the brand joined a handful of professional runway models.
    The designers' aim was to bring a fresh look and offbeat but glamourous performances to the show in order to satisfy the fashion-savvy audience of all walks of life.
    "It was really really great! I meant, it was full of flashy rock style that we love!" a drag queen who goes by her name 'Jasmine' told Reuters after the show.
    "It's definitely for us drag queens!" added 'Deliche' who was also at the show.
    Japan's fashion industry began to stage a twice annual fashion week three years ago in a joint effort with the government -- hoping to dress up Tokyo's image as a global style capital.
    Japan Fashion Week will be revealing collections from more than forty brands including ten newcomers, who are carefully selected by the event organiser.
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