こんなにファンタジーなものを着るのは久しぶり。
SNSの時代になってしばらく経ち、生活の一部になり、自己表現やビジネスツールとして立派に確立されるようになった今すごく感じることがある。「制約の多い大きな企業よりもむしろ、自由な個人の方が影響力があったり、注目度が高かったりする」ということ。
ファッションも、いろいろな大人の事情の中で作った”プロダクト”より、若い感覚で自由に、パワフルに作り上げた学生の”クリエーション”の方が、何倍も心を動かされることが多くある。彼らが毎日の生活で感じていること、思い入れ、刺激を受けたこと…”自分”の全てでぶつかって取り組んだ作品のスピリットをぜひ感じてほしい。
こちらの作品はみんな、先月行われた全国文化ファッションコンテストのファイナリストより。私が審査員を務めさせているが、ランウェイだけで見るのが勿体無い！と思い、自分も着用してみました。
It’s been a long time since I put on a piece of fantasy.
After entering the era of the “Social Media” craze/haze/daze, things have changed not only for me but everyone who uses it and looks at it. What once was merely a tool for self-expression has become a business machine unto itself, and determining what is real and what’s genuine is as clear as sludge. There’s one thing for sure; that more than in corporations with rules upon rules on what someone can do, personal expression and freedom is what truly grabs attention.
Fashion also has become a product of its own demise, a fault of the “adults” who have their own reasons for doing what they can to keep whatever going because it’s comfortable that way But there are still some people, and especially the youth, who see fashion as more than a product, but as something with transformative power. And what’s interesting about young people’s collections is that they’re usually a direct response to what is going on in the world, but without the marketing jingo and heaps of trend forecasting books stacked behind them.
Perhaps it had just been too long since I wore something truly unique, but I surely felt that spirit in the clothing here, all courtesy of some creative and talented up-comers. These three pieces are from the finalists of the national Bunka Fashion Contest last month where I was judging. I just couldn’t let the storage rooms and boxes swallow them up without taking them out for a spin.
