Misaki is a student at Bunka Fashion College in Tokyo.
She’s currently in her second year at college. After I saw her picture on a
website dedicated to Japanese Fashion, I contacted her through Twitter and very
kindly Misaki accepted to tell me all about her life in Japan.
The fourteen-hour
time zone difference meant a bit of trouble when exchanging messages to set up
our call, but after a week we finally got to sit down and Skype. However, once
we were ‘face to face’, communication became a bit of a problem. “Wait, wait,” she said slowly as she was
looking to translate what I had just asked her. With a kind smile on her face,
Misaki kept apologising, “Sorry, I’m not
good at English.” It was early in the morning for her, but she was already
dressed up. With a tartan blue blazer, she had her hair divided into two ponytails
and a thick fringe covering all of her forehead. It looked like a small place,
there was a rack full of clothes behind her, and on her left side there was a
closet.
“I like Japanese kawaii. Do you know Japanese kawaii?” asked Misaki when
I questioned her about why she chose fashion design as a career. Kawaii in Japanese means ‘cute’, and
everything Misaki does, including an illustration she showed me, carries this
style. She took a black leather
jacket out of her closet that had taken her one month to make, and showed me
the label: Sweet Misaki.
“I belong to the
apparel design department,” she said. Bunka Fashion College
in Japan has a very good worldwide reputation, so I was very surprised when
Misaki told me that “students are
friendly”. How would you describe studying at Bunka? “Ohmmm
it’s very tired and busy but it’s very cool and interesting.” We kept struggling
with the language barrier, but with a smile on her face she kept on trying to
understand in any way possible. “Oh!
School time? From 9 am to 6 pm”, after that there’s “many sewing and many drawings”.
She is on a three-year
course, in which time she has done around ten garments per year, including
swimwear, a hat, a jacket, kimono and a skirt. Misaki described her course as “fundamentally free”. In the first year
of Bunka the items to be made are decided by the teachers, along with the
materials and silhouettes. When you get to the second year only the materials
and garment are decided for the students, and finally in the third year only
the item is picked.
“The
teachers are strict at times, but teach us very nicely!”
she said. Boys make up a third of the people in her class and she mentioned in Bunka
there’s “many unique people”.
Was it hard to enter Bunka? “Entrance may be many people, 200”, she said while signalling the number with her hands just so I was sure I was
getting it right. “Resign
from school, many people.” Both of her classrooms only have 120 students now.
“Being a
designer is not easy in my country,” Misaki kept repeating. Being “picky”
as a designer might affect your chances of getting a job. “If you do not choose the company or type of occupation, then you can get a job. However, if it doesn’t apply to your taste or you do not come to
an understanding with the company, then it may be difficult,” she explained. Wanting to work for a specific company with
little experience might be hard. “But my goal is to make my brand”, said Misaki.
When I asked her
whether being a fashion designer was a respected profession in Japan, she
answered that fashion design is made to be thrown away. “Because Japanese fashion is fast fashion.” Misaki is referring to
the fast retailing that has been growing in Japan; new stores such as Uniqlo,
H&M, Forever 21 have been appearing on the streets and are highly
frequented.
In Japan there is a particular fashion style in almost
every city, and Tokyo on it’s own has so many different tribes that they have
caught the world’s attention. These include ‘Shibuya’ girls, who are
tanned women with short skirts, or the very popular Lolita fashion, which has
been inspired by Rococo and Victorian styles. If you walk around the city you
will find the most impressively dressed people, highly accessorized, and with
many different hair colours.
 |
Garment made by Misaki
Courtesy of Sweet Misaki
|
Women wearing kimonos can also be found around Tokyo,
living proof that in Japan, long-standing traditions co-exist with contemporary
fashion. Misaki owns around ten kimonos; “I wear kimono on celebration
occasion.” Then she explained that the kimono varies in colour and fabric
according to the season. I asked her if she feels there are limitations in
terms of fashion. “No, no, no”, answered Misaki. “Japanese
people are conservative but there are many individual people, including me. Not
all the members are conservative.”
Japan’s ever-changing fashion scene has become such a
great source of inspiration that trend-hunters are often sent there to look out
for the latest new look. “Lolita
fashion, anime, the kimono, Kabuki” are just a few elements
that make Japan very interesting in terms of culture and tradition for Misaki. “I don’t only focus on
garments, but also in the subtleties of Japan. I like that attitude of doing things with
dedication.”
By the end of our conversation she asked how to
pronounce my name. Then she smiled at me kindly and said goodbye by leaning her
head and putting her hands together. “I’m
very happy to talk with you”, she said.
A couple of days later I asked Misaki to answer some questions in
Japanese so she could explain in a broader way certain topics, and I’d like
to thank Maya Renee Talley and Marimar Gomez Villalon for their help
translating.
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But do Latvian people actually buy their own national
fashion? “More or less, if they have chance to buy it, they will”, she
explained. So it seems people in Latvia are supportive of national design,
“I start to think that most of my friends have Latvian designers clothes”
she said.
