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Fashion Designer
Date of Birth:
---- 1965
Birthplace:
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Photo © 2001 Kjeld Duits |
After studying fine arts in Tokyo, Arakawa went to Paris in
1990. Here he took the stylism course at Studio Berçot
Studio. During this time he met English fashion designer Christopher
Nemeth and began to work for him as his assistant.
This period was crucial to Arakawa's development because it
was while working with Nemeth that he acquired the techniques
which formed his conception of fashion.
In October 1993, he organized his first show using his own
name in Paris. Many presentations in both Paris and Tokyo followed.
Arakawa defines a theme for each collection and often chooses
a place to reinforce that theme: in 1995, his models strut down
a street of a working-class area of Shimo-Kitazawa. In 1996,
he showed his Koinobori-themes clothes in the Omote Sando avenue,
an expensive area in Tokyo. His kogyaru-schoolgirl walked in
uniform around Tokyo University, symbol of the student uprising
of the 60's.
His theme for the 2001 autumn/winter collection: idol pop
stars; "I was inspired by Seiko Matsuda." Matsuda was
Japan's top idol of the 80's, the time Arakawa grew up. The creations
were typical Arakawa, they looked frozen in an eternal dancing
motion.
In 1999 Arakawa started working conceptually when he created
clothes with a dual function as pictures that could be hung on
the wall.
Arakawa often says that he feels inspired by fabric. His favorites
are wool and linen.
His customers are in his words "strange people".
Stubborn and self-willed. They have their own ideas. Not exactly
qualities which are admired in Japan.
Red is an important color to Arakawa. "Red is a color
with two faces," he explains, "it radiates power, but
also weakness." That makes red a symbol of humanity. "Sometimes
I feel strong, sometimes weak. But nonetheless I want to be myself."
'Being yourself' and 'knowing yourself' are two important characteristics
of Arakawa's life philosophy.
When he first arrived in Paris he watched the movie 'The Last
Emperor', in which the Japanese occupation of China is also shown.
"I had already seen the movie in Japan. but the French version
was completely different. There were all kinds of documentary
materials about the Japanese army." Arakawa was shocked.
"I started to wonder what was true of everything I had learnt
at school."
The young fashion designer came to the conclusion that "if
you are not yourself you will be pulled with the current."
That is what is happening in Japan according to Arakawa. "You
walk down a street and you see McDonalds everywhere, not sushi
shops. "We have to take better care of the Japaneseness
of Japan." Still, you won't see Arakawa design any kimonos.
His clothes are contemporary street fashion as in his Honda line,
or conceptual.
Unlike the Japanese designers of the 80's, Arakawa doesn't
see himself as a revolutionary like Issey Miyake and the like.
"They are the same age as my father. They had very different
experiences." The 'hunger' Miyake's generation felt is not
part of him he seems to say.
Arakawa opened his first boutique in Paris 1996. In 1998 he
started his own shop in Tokyo.
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Arakawa,
Shinichiro
