Tokyo Fashion Week AW15 – Stretsis & a kawaii take on the 70’s trend

Hi, long time no see!

It has been a bit quiet here, but since today is the start of Tokyo Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week AW15, and I am attending a few shows, I figured this is a good moment to re-activate the blog and, myself. I’ve been very busy, and I also paid a month long visit to Finland back in December, but am now back in Tokyo, ready for spring and ready for new discoveries!

So, today and the TMBFW started with the Stretsis AW15 show at the wonderful Hikarie building in Shibuya. Stretsis (‘sisters’ spelled backwards), is a romantic and feminine ready-to-wear line for women, designed by Pim Sukhauta. She started the brand officially in 2002, after graduating from the Parsons School of Design. The core of the brand is sisterhood, and the strong bond between Pim, her older sister Kly and younger sister Matina. They are all involved with the brand, with Kly taking care of marketing, and Matina designing accessories.

The 70’s vibe is all over the catwalks currently (and I’m loving it!), and so it was also in the Stretsis show. The theme was fairytale like, magical forest, where these ethereal fairies would glide amongst the flowers and mingle with cute animals of the forest. The Stretsis take on the 70’s was the romantic one: flowers, frills, pastels, embroideries, chiffons, billowy dresses. For me personally, the brand is maybe bit too ‘young’, as the color scheme and materials are very girly and ‘kawaii’, but I did love the silhouettes and the details. I’ve had my mind on the 70’s flare pants for a moment now, and Stretsis had some pretty nice proportions for these. There was also another nice blast from the past – the head scarf. A very simple idea, but after a 20 year absence (it remember this being a trend in the 90’s as well), it feels very fresh. I for one will definitely cover my locks with some nice scarfs this summer! Below are some of my favorite looks from the collection.

All images below except for the last one via 

http://tokyo-mbfashionweek.com/

Beauty for a Moment

All images from: http://wasara.us/

I recently went to see a small exhibition in Axis Gallery in Tokyo. While there, I also had a look on the selection at Living Motif lifestyle shop. The shop carries many carefully selected goods for interiors and garden, and among them yet again, familiar Finnish products from Iittala and Artek.

My heart fluttered however when I came across this clever and beautiful product line of plates, mugs and cutlery: WASARA. Beautiful, timeless and practical design. With the kind of form and feel that makes you want to pick them up right away. The catch here is, that this collection of plates, mugs and cutlery is actually disposable, but they surely are hands down the coolest party plates I have ever seen.

Currently there are four different kinds of plates, two different kinds of bowls, four different kinds of drinking cups (a Japanese choko, tumbler, wine cup and coffee cup), and a set of cutlery in their selection. All have an ergonomically (and ahh so beautifully) designed shape – for example the cutlery feature a small carved vent, so they can be attached to the plates.

I didn’t fall in love with the plates and the cutlery only because of the way they look, but also because of how they feel in hand. Their texture reminds you of, say, Japanese washi paper. Warm and somehow rustic, yet refined. I reckon they are so beautiful, it will be actually painful – in a good way – to have to dispose of them after eating!

I was happy to learn that despite being disposable, WASARA products are however as environmentally friendly as disposable plates can be. They are manufactured from quickly renewable bamboo and bagasse, which is a by-product of sugar refining process. Bagasse is also often discarded, so I was happy to read they have discovered it can be used as the perfect base for paper making. The WASARA plates are also fully biodegradable.

I have to say though, that the first thing that surprised me with this brand was actually it’s name: ‘Vasara’ means ‘a hammer’ in Finnish. This is of course not where the name refers to however, but it is actually a clever combination of ‘WA’ ( the concept of harmony in Japanese aesthetics) and ‘SARA’ (plate or dish in Japanese).

WASARA has also teamed up with the popular Finnish Moomin Characters, and embossed them onto a selection of their plates and cups. Fun for the kids, but I have to say I personally prefer the original plates.

The WASARA concept incorporates Japanese traditions, aesthetics and knowledge from Japanese craftsmanship into their products – all facts that make me fall in love with the line even more. I feel like these plates *belong* in this house. We are thinking of hosting a small group of people for after-matsuri drinks and nibbles a couple of weeks later, and as we don’t have enough tableware to host a group of people,  these plates will most likely find their way onto our party table.

Clever little thing

 

I had a meeting yesterday in the cool, somewhat posh area of Daikanyama. I love the area, as there are lots of small but cool cafes, shops and boutiques, without the crazy hustle and bustle of the neighboring Shibuya, for example. There is also some greenery, which makes the area even more enjoyable.

On my way back, I decided to check this small, cute shop called Allegory Bureau. I’m glad I did, as I found a source for many little things that are both useful, but also stylish. The shop sells stationery, small items for home and jewellery. Their ‘sister’ shop is called Allegory Home Tools, where you can find also tableware and home textiles. Both shops are located in Daikanyama.

The clever little things that made my day this time, were small blocks of wood, in different sizes. There’s a small carved slot in each piece, so you can insert postcards, notes etc. in them, and pins behind each piece so it’s easy to to mount the pieces on to wall or a noteboard. I just love them. A simple idea, but makes the room look so much more fun, organised and also stylish. I decided that I *need* to go back and buy a pile of these in different sizes, as I realised they’re perfect for hanging my jewelry as well. Until now, I’ve had them hanging just from regular pins – which really don’t look that lovely.

I’m sure that a crafty person could make these at home easily, but as we don’t have the tools and these weren’t that expensive (prices range only between 108 and 324 yen!), I’ll just stock up from the cute Allegory shop. I was also glad to see they sell a variety of Finnish items: Fiskars scissors, Moomin stationery and Bliw soaps.

The Usual Scenery

 

 

The usual scenery every morning – both on the table and from the window. I do love my ‘office corner’, as we’re situated right next door to a temple. A sparrow family also has a nest on that pole you can see from the window, inside that big lump of electric-what-ever-it-is. Quite lovely, as they often just sit on the wires below the nest and keep on singing.

Me & Koi have taken a habit of making fresh fruit & vegetable smoothies every morning to start the day. A nice, delicious way of getting our 5-a-day. That and a big mug of fresh coffee (which we make from local Yanaka coffee beans) are daily essentials! The fruit we buy also from a local fruit vendor, Mr. Tanaka (+his wife & baby),  as often as we can, as he doesn’t keep the shop open every day. It’s apparently some kind of fruit ‘outlet’, where they sell the fruit they haven’t sold to restaurants etc. Because of this, the price is also often quite cheap compared to regular supermarket prices.

Veggie Food Hunting

It might come as a surprise to some, but vegetarian/vegan ingredients, dishes and restaurants can be quite difficult to find in Japan. They do exist, but with the abundance of products and restaurants offering mainly meat or seafood, they are very rare. Quite often the so called ‘vegetable’ dishes also actually contain meat in some form, like thin strips of ham mixed in with salad.

Historically Japan has been mainly a vegetarian/pescaterian country, as meat eating was banned from the 6th century as a part of Buddhist and Shinto religions. Game was eaten in the mountain areas by professional hunters. It was actually “thanks” to the Western people, that meat eating started to gain popularity in Japan, not that long ago: After the Meiji Restoration in 1867, the new Emperor staged a New Year’s feast in 1872 designed to embrace Western values. The feast had an European theme and for the first time in over a thousand years, meat was publicly eaten in Japan. A part of me still hopes the Meiji Restoration never happened, so that I could’ve experienced Edo as it was..

Me and Koi are mainly ‘pescaterian’, i.e. we love seafood, but don’t really eat red meat of chicken. For me, the reason lies within the unethical mass production and poor animal welfare. I do eat game on some rare occasions for example, as to in my opinion, it has had a good, free, natural life.

I would like to have some variety in the dishes we cook, and therefore wanted to buy some soy meat and couscous for example. It’s been a small hunt, but I recently found a chain of stores selling veggie&natural ingredients: Natural House. I visited one of their shops in Shimo-Kitazawa and bought my soy meat, both as granules, and as strips. It is more expensive than in Finland for example, but in relation to meat prices, I reckon it’s reasonable. Works fine too!

I have also found online shops selling vegetarian and organic food products, and finally decided to try one of them out: Tengu. Other option I was considering is Yoyo Market. The reason I picked Tengu though was that they are also selling my dear, dear, black gold – Finnish black liquorice!! So a few boxes of this addictive black treat were the first things I placed in my virtual shopping cart. Liquorice is even harder to find than soy granules – it’s virtually impossible. Liquorice and Japanese tastebuds just don’t meet. Other things I got were whole wheat flour (also difficult to find, as Japanese flour tends to be very fine, and also very white), whole wheat pita breads, couscous, and some organic whole wheat pasta. The most expensive items were my precious liquorice boxes, but I definitely think it was well worth it. Other than that, I think their prices are quite reasonable, depending on the product. When your order is over 5250 yen, they deliver for free in the Kanto area. I got mine delivered in a couple of days, straight to my door.

On Saturday night we decided to try some of these goods out and have some filled pita breads. We made our own fresh guacamole (heavenly!), bought some fresh ebi (prawns) from the local fish monger, and made a “chicken” filling from the soy strips. Enjoyed these with some small brewery beers, that actually go well with the veggie theme. I love the Buddha bottle, and I reckon it will find a place on our window sill.

 

にっぽり繊維街- Fabric Wonderland

I am actually surprised I haven’t written anything about Nippori Fabric Town, or ‘Nippori Sen-i-gai’ (にっぽり繊維街) before. Especially now, that we live just a walking distance from there. Anytime I’m in need for some kind of sewing supply, I can just have a stroll to the other side of Nippori station to fabric wonderland – just like today, when I was in need of some lining for a skirt I’m revamping.  Nippori Fabric Town is actually a street packed with fabric and haberdashery stores next to each other, at least 85 of them.  The area was established during the Taisho era (1912-1926), and has both retail stores and wholesale stores that sell to retailers. The street is great especially for inexpensive fabrics like printed cottons or fabrics for toiles, but they also have more expensive good quality fabrics, sewing supplies, leathers, patterns etc. available.  If you ever decide to go or have a chance to go, Tokyo Craft Guide has kindly uploaded the fabric town map on their site. The map is also available at the fabric street stores. Most stores close at around 6PM and are closed on sundays.

 Momo is a small, but atmospheric fabric shop. They have a beautiful selection of fabrics with a touch of uniqueness to them.

Tomato is a favorite for many fabric street goers, as it is basically a fabric department store in 5 different buildings, with very inexpensive fabrics -sometimes for 100yen/meter. I like it too, as I can always find stuff I need for toiles in particular, but also some nice silks, silk chiffons, chirimen cottons, Sou Sou prints etc. My personal favorite in the fabric street is however a little shop called Momo, peach.  They have a good selection of various kinds of cottons, silks, linen, hemp etc, often with interesting dyes and beautiful colors. I also like the tranquil and somehow rustic atmosphere in the shop – unlike the crazy hustle and bustle that goes on in Tomato.

And so, did I find the lining I was looking for today?

I sure did, and plenty of other things too. That’s the danger of this street – you may go there thinking you’re only going to get one small thing, but end up going home with bags full of fabrics. I think I was very reasonable though, as I didn’t spend a fortune, and it’s all of nice quality. Got some sewing supplies for ridiculously cheap (100yen/bundle), some discount chiffons for summer tops and my skirt lining. I also bought some unbelievably soft and comfy grey cotton jersey and some dreamy, light, cotton silk from Momo. I’ll do some home dyeing experiments on the cotton silk one of these days.

My catch of the day!

P.S. I also just noticed that HandMade in Japan Fes 2014 is on at Tokyo Big Sight from July 19th to July 20th. Might go!

 

ただいま – I’m Home

My new baby on the left. Pyörre dress by Vuokko Eskolin-Nurmesniemi , from 1965, on the right.

 

I have the tendency to make certain pieces of clothing my treasures, my babies. When they join my family, I know they are there to stay, they are at home.

Today a new member arrived. This baby is made by Vuokko, the brand by legendary Finnish designer Vuokko Eskolin-Nurmesniemi.

I’m home too – I’ve been in Tokyo since April again, but haven’t gotten around to writing any posts yet. Somehow this bright bundle of joy inspired me to start again. So many things have happened already, so many things are yet to happen. There’s always something going on in Tokyo.