COMME DES GARCONS WHITE BOX OPENING IN HONG KONG

I have expected Comme des Garcons established a shop in Hong Kong for ages. On 31st March, my dream comes truth, this is very impressed to me, also for fan of Comme des Garcons. This is the 4th shop of Comme des Garcons in the world, each shop of Comme des Garrcons has a main colour of itself, Tokyo-blue, New York-green and Paris-red, so what's next? White! (White also is for Martin Margiela, I think this is the reason why CdG shop is just right next to Margiela shop! What a high contrast.)

The Comme des Garcons new shop is like a plastic box. This White Box is designed by Japanese artist Yuichi Higashionna, who designed the interior for Dover Street Market too. For the shop, go through the white automatic door, it is a fancy world inside there, where has three floors. Ground floor is showing accessories and CdG perfumes collection, 1st floor is womenswear, 2nd floor is menswear and 3rd floor is an exhibition area called ''Ice Palace'', its decorated by UK artist Michael Howell. Now the Ice Palace is showing 5 CdG outfits, which are selected by designer Kawakubo from ''Comme des Garcons Archive Pattern Exhibition'' in Tokyo.

Designer of CdG Rei Kawakubo came to visit Hong Kong with her husband Englishman Adrian Joffe, who is her business partner as well. He created Guerrilla Store and Dover Street Market. At the opening night, Kawakubo was wearing her signature sunglasses and stand behind her husband. (What a sweet couple!) Kawakubo was hiding the camera all night long.

Best,

Koji

FASHION GROUPIES HOUSE OF HOLLAND

Today I have received my House of Holland T-shirt from the UK. The T-shirt is proclaiming

''Cause Me Pain, Hedi Slimane''.

I got an attention from House Of Holland during the London Fashion Week last year, when his bright t-shirt emblazoned with catchy rhymes were worn on the runway by Giles Deacon and Gareth Pugh. The catalogued his best rhyming fashion slang:

''Do Me Daily, Christopher Bailey''

''I Know How To Party, Donatella Versace''

''Who Needs A Husband, I've Got House Of Holland''

''Get Yer Freak On, Giles Deacon''

Henry Holland is a stylist, 23 year-old. He also is a designer, he is launching his ''House of Holland'' line at Harvey Nichols and Barneys - no wonder the latter of which is include US designers too. "I have a very bad rhyming dictionary which sometimes helps me come up with the slogans! I have a lot of fun thinking of the rhymes - I've just done Olivier Thyksens, but Alaïa really stumped me. What on earth rhymes with Alaïa?" Henry said. He is proof that London doesn't take itself too seriously and that fashion is fun.

www.houseofholland.co.uk

Best,

Koji

ART OF DECADENT: JIMMIE MARTIN FURNITURE

Jimmie and Martin marked the registration of Jimmie Martin Lt since 2004. Jimmie Martin has been creating one-of-a-kind furniture with a decadent and funky with the antique style and urban. All pieces are individually finished off to either the customer’s personal taste, or to the ideas of the founders, Jimmie and Martin.

Most of their furniture features traditional lines paired with very non-traditional finishes. It's something to think about if you have heirloom furniture that you love, but it doesn't fit with your style. If you are brave, a black painted finished or a screen-printed upholstery fabric can take the formality out of a stodgy, antique silhouette. There is a rare sophisticated pieces combined with a sexy and modern design element.

Best,

Koji

MAISON MARTIN MARGIELA EXHIBITION IN MILAN

The exhibition selects of pieces from Maison Martin Margiela artisanal collection. Maison is a conceptual fashion designer, he was bringing his conceptual spirit to his exhibition in Milan. Every piece has its own point of reference displayed behind it. From the point of the reference, viewer knows what makes Margiela inspired from, like the socks behind the white screen, its the sweater patched together from cut-open, resewn raglan socks and two cupped heels of which formed the bustline (fall/winter 1991-92). There is a definite common thread of the Maison signature - these garments and dresses are made of unusual materials such as porcelain, poker, gaffer tape, gloves, etc.

Best,

Koji

MA KE FOR WU YONG'S COLLECTION F/W 07/08

This is my first time to hear of this Chinese designer Ma Ke, Bron in Jilin Chang Chun. I am surprised that Ma Ka brings her new collection Wu Yong to Paris. ''Wu Yong'' is Mandarin, it means Use-Less, Ma Ke setting up a creative lab and workshop for artisans and craftsmen, she took a philosophical view of fashion with Wu Yong, which is based on the design philosophy, ''archaism and violence mean rebirth and poetry.'

Wu Yong is Ma Ke's third label. For the past 10 years, Ma Ke, together with her husband and business partner has been a running a successful fashion house that creates and markets the labels ‘Mixmind’ and ‘Exception.’

Ma Ke presented her collection as a exhibition. There has no runway and supermodels. Models are straight on a stand, which is very claim to showing the outfit. On model's face, they are very darkly, their total imagine are as a sculpture. Ma Ke is the fashion new blood, we should play attention on her career.

Ma Ke's exhibition also will be shown in Joyce Ma's gallery in Paris.

Best,

Koji

FASHION ARTIST AMIE DICKE

Amie Dicke graduated from the Willem de Kooning Academy in Rotterdam, Dutch-born artist. After graduating Amie Dicke traveled to New York and hoped to develop her art career, and perhaps begin a new life for herself. In New York Dicke has not many friends in there, loneliness that led her to feel closer to the familiar faces of Kate, Gisele, and Lily, who graced every billboard and bus stop.In a city, the ubiquity of supermodels occasionally comes in handy.

From then on, Dicke blanketed herself with fashion magazine, trans fixed by the eternal covenants of beauty. And at the same time she was deconstructing those pages with surgeon-like precision. ''While looking at the glossy pictures...... I started to draw black lines on the faces and bodies of the women using a pen. By adding flowing lines of black ink, I covered the original colours and other compositional elements. After that I took a knife and removed the space between the lines—the fashion, the jewelry, and parts of their faces and bodies.''Dicke recalls. This is the technique that she began applying to all of her icons. She coloured in and sliced up all but a few elements—usually leaving the model's hair and upper lip, occasionally a pair of stilettos, or the nipples of a nude. What remained was skeletal, almost diaphanous, revealing not only a metaphorical void, but a network of very real negative spaces. Beside ''sliced up'', Dicke likes to put something on her page, like powder and joss stick. Also on Paris Vogue cover of December 2005, she pinned nails on Kate.

Best,

Koji

CONTEMPORARY JEWELLERY DESIGNER CECILE YAU

Contemporary jewellery designer Cecile Yau born in Hong Kong, Graduated from Central Saint Martins College of Art & Design in 1993. In 1994 received a Sir Edward Youde Memorial Fund Fellowship to study a Master of Arts degree at Royal College of Art in London, graduated in 1996. Her studio is base in Hong Kong, and began making jewellery in early 1990's. She established her own shop in Hong Kong since 2002, she also as Visiting Lecturer at SPEED in Hong Kong Polytechnic University.

Cecile's designed like a piece of art or sculpture more than a jewellery, very unique. She makes the art for the body. Also, she is very conceptual designer. For her designed, each piece of jewellery has a concept meaning behind itself.

This collection is inspired by the ancient Chinese ''i-ching'', the ''Book of Changes'', - a book that interprets the cyclic changes of the universe and the balance of the yin and yang. My favorite one of this collection is Void.

Cecile Yau - G/F, 15 Aberdeen Street, Central, Hong Kong.

Best,

Koji

IQONS WANTS YOU

Iqons is a new online fashion community. I have registered it since last year.

There is a platform where people contact, show their works and promote themseleve. If you enjoy fashion, you should join it! There have a lot of designer like Christopher kane, Mikio Sakabe, Richard Nicholl, Marios Schwab etc, even a shop owner Maris Luisa. Currently Iqons had a featured interviews with Maria Luisa.

Let's set fashion free there. Have fun!

Best,

Koji

GIANFRANCO FERRE'S OPENING PARTY AT LANDMARK

When I was inviting my friend Ted Lau for going Ferre's opening, he was like ''Ferre?! It's very old-fashioned''. But I tell you what, Ferre is not really that ''old''.
About two years ago, I was traveled to Shanghai. And I have been Gianfranco Ferre's shop there, where I tried on a leather jacket. It was fabulous! Ferre's leather goods are nice as well.
Tonight I went to Gianfranco Ferre's opening with few of my friends. The venue was a empty office at Landmark, I love the lighting in there. (Make me feel like a Vmagazine!) We had a couple of champagne and chilling out later, then the show were started. A white sailor style short jacket with black hot pants at the begun, I was surprised that I saw Ferre silhouette as a print on a man shirt. After the fashion show, there had a dj from japan who is playing some 70's and 80's music, like Another Brick In The Wall and Tainted Love...... People were enjoy the music there, they are dancing. It was a nice opening party.

Best,

Koji

GEOMETRY DESIGNER MATTHEW AMES S/S2007

I have heard of Matthew Ames From the competition at Festival d'Hyeres 2004. Since then I am interested in his career. I think this collection is the most mature collection. Before he designed womenswear, he was making menswear out of cartoon printed fabrics with exra legs. For the past serveral seasons he has been focused on geometry. Some of his piece make me think of Shelley Fox (London Fashion Designer).
www.matthewames.com

Best,

Koji

WELCOME BACK MARTINE SITBON

Martine Sitbon sold her own label ''Martine Sitbon'' to Korean company, and she left Paris Fashion week since 2004.

Now she returned, and presents her new label ''Rue du Mail'',which is named after the address of her atelier, ''Street of Mail''.

For view Rue de Mail collection, please click on www.style.com

Best,

Koji

P.S. A magazine has announced the next issue coming out in May 2007. After Martin Margiela, Yohji Yamamoto, Haider Ackermann and Undercover's Jun Takahashi. The next curator will be Martine Sitbon.