This hasn’t taken off yet like we hoped it might — if YouTube video numbers are anything to go by at time of writing — but we wanted to share this video we spotted of an “Avatar Man” roaming the streets of Omotesando at night, amusing and possibly frightening innocent Japanese shoppers.

Here’s the trailer:

And the full video:

The production values are pretty slick, and the hair and make-up in particular are more impressive than anything wandering out of 109 by a million miles.

It is from a series called I AM MODEL, created by Maaserhit Honda.

According to the makers, the series was…

born in August 2011 through the creative ideas of photographer/cinematographer/art director Maaserhit Honda and British fashion model Dean Newcombe. The part documentary, part mocumentary story conveys the experiences of a ‘lost’ model in Tokyo, a metaphor for the unorientated feeling of many of the models in the industry.

Through this model’s exploits, we gain a comical taste of the show business industry.

Kind of like evolution in reverse, the series charts the lost model’s progress from wanderig around Shibuya to regressing to some new primitive state.

“Avatar Man, set free in Tokyo and wandering the unfamiliar streets. Fearful and misplaced, he suddenly encounters a beautiful, foreign-looking doll, and finally warms up to the world around him. Feeling relaxed and in high spirits, he dances his way through the crowds and becomes the life of the party. Is he hungry for a burger?”

Insipid Japanese celebrities, move aside! This “man” needs his own TV commercial right away!

Maaserhit Honda tells us that the next installment, intriguingly titled “Mr. English Teacher” will be out next month. You can stay updated via the I AM MODEL Facebook page.

To know Kyary Pamyu Pamyu is to love Kyary Pamyu Pamyu.

At the young age of 20, she has dominated Japanese music charts and global YouTube viewing lists. If you’re in Tokyo, it’s pretty much guaranteed that whichever neighborhood you’re in, you’ll run into a cardboard cutout, or billboard emblazoned the princess of pop.

While Kyary is on her 100% KPP world tour, fans in Tokyo can still get their fill of Kyary at TV Asahi at Roppongi Hills. From March 1-25 visitors can see some of Kyary’s famous outfits on display at a pop-up museum titled “Kyary Pamyu Pamyuseum”.

There is an interactive program for visitors called “Kyary Pamyu Pamyu Museum ~ Kawaii Wo Torimodose!~”. Participants have to keep their eyes peeled for four symbols around the museum that will help save Kyary from an evil witch who wants to force her to become “plain”.

Roppongi Hills can be a little confusing, and I made the mistake of walking around the courtyards looking for the exhibit while listening to music. I had all but given up when took out my headphones, and there it was: PONPONPON was blaring like a siren’s song. The search was finished in no time and I paid my ¥800 to a very sweet girl wearing one of Kyary’s trademark strawberry-blonde bob wigs.

Seeing Kyary Pamyu Pamyu’s outlandish outfits up close and personal is an experience not to be missed by fans and general fashion lovers alike. Take a look at the official website, get sorted and check it out while you can!

We’ve already blogged before about la farfa, Japan’s first fashion magazine for pocchari larger ladies. Well, now it has held its first fashion show to celebrate the launch of the debut issue on March 21st.

Comedienne Naomi Watanabe, who graces the cover of the magazine, led fourteen dokusha moderu (reader models) in a showcase of the smiLeLand 2013 Spring & Summer Collection. smiLeLand is an apparel retailer that specializes in larger sizes.

Of course, Japan is a land where the girls are known for being decidedly on the slim (if not skinny) side, so the editors and producers of la farfa, while obviously hoping to change attitudes and broaden the market, are still being realistic about demand for the magazine.

La farfa will be initially released just twice a year (spring-summer and autumn-winter), though with the first issue print run clocking in at a healthy 50,000 copies.

[Images source]

As we’ve mentioned previously on JapanTrends, the Tokyu Toyoko line has recently merged with the underground Fukutoshin subway line at Shibuya Station. The merge has made the commute from outside of the city faster, and the Fukutoshin a little more useful. It’s also left a pretty hefty space left wide open in Shibuya station.

Whether you live in Tokyo, or not, it’s safe to say you know what a crowded city it is. There are literally millions of people in the streets at all times. Shops, restaurants, vending machines and train stations occupy every tiny space. If you want to get really particular, there are even all of the above within the train stations. Finding space for a new shop in Tokyo can be a pretty tough job.

So, in the spirit of no space wasted, UNIQLO has opened a pop-up t-shirt shop called UNIQLO UT POP-UP! TYO on the Toyoko platform. Literally on the platform.

While you’re sifting through hundreds of t-shirt designs, if you take a moment to look down, you’ll notice that the tracks are right below your feet. Or that you’re walking along the yellow line you’ve been so conditioned to stay behind.

The shop has more than 1,000 varieties of UNIQLO t-shirts, and boasts an inventory of over 12,000 garments on hand for sale. Given that this is a one-of-a-kind opportunity for a shop like this to exist, UNIQLO is launching 100 new designs while the shop is open.

UNIQLO actually has a history with train stations, having for a few years now already been operating mini branches (more pop-in than pop-up) inside the ticket barriers of major terminals, including JR Shibuya. This is also not the first store dedicated to its UT (UNIQLO T-shirts) line either, though it is the biggest.

The Toyoko Station pop-up is only open until April 7, so get down there and see it for yourself. And, you can get a t-shirt too!

A men’s apparel shop that offers fashion based on anime franchise Mobile Suit Gundam, Strict G, has announced a new collection. Amuro Style is inspired by the clothes worn by Gundam protagonist Amuro Rei, and includes jackets, shirts and more.

While there’s certainly a lot of anime character clothes and accessories out there, they rarely look as sophisticated as this. Strict G deliberately hasn’t copied the exact colors of Amuro Ray’s costume, but rather borrowed certain motifs and a general military look to create a new denim feel.

Strict G launched as a men’s apparel shop in 2012, riding on the bandwagon of the government’s “cool Japan” campaign. It currently has two stores, Gundam Front Tokyo in Odaiba and another in Shizuoka. On top of its original line-up, it also sells collaboration items made with Onitzuka Tiger and more.

Amuro Style goes on sale from this weekend as Strict G’s spring and summer collection.

Fashion and beauty aids often overlap, and here’s a great example of one product that does it in a medically proven way too.

We spotted these recently at a trade fair and feel they desire some exposure.

It’s tough being a Japanese woman — and this is meant without any chauvinism or irony intended! Japanese society puts a lot of emphasis on female beauty and it’s very rare to see women without make-up on. And with this of course comes the prerequisite high heels. All of this takes a strain on skin and feet.

The Ashipita DX is a new kind of footwear to help posture and blood circulation.

It is designed to be easy to slip onto women’s feet when they are working or commuting, or even doing more strenuous activities, like yoga or exercise.

If you suffer from swollen feet due to all those office hours imprisoning your feet in tight shoes, the Ashipita DX will assist your feet returning to a healthier shape. They also support your posture so you use the whole of your foot, stimulating and strengthening your foot in a natural arc suitable for walking. And perhaps best of all, they aid blood circulation and thus keep you warm in the winter.

The design has already been patented in four countries and was developed at the University of Nagoya.

At the moment there are two colors available, black and beige, and three sizes.

Over the weekend I was lucky enough to be offered a free ticket to the “Kawaii!! Matsuri”. What is the “Kawaii!! Matsuri?” Well, it literally translates as “Cute!! Festival”. And that is exactly what it is. A celebration of Harajuku and all things adorable.

While I was quickly getting ready to zip over to Sendagaya station I wasn’t really sure what to expect. All I really knew, was that Kyary Pamyu Pamyu was performing, and that was reason enough to be going.

There were booths from stores like Spins Harajuku, FujiFilm Instapix and an NTT DoCoMo booth, live decorated by Yuka Chocomoo, giving out free, and adorable, mushroom hats to the masses of people.

Harajuku-centric magazines and shops like Kera, Zipper and Laforet had runway fashion shows on the main stage.

And what matsuri would be complete without a parade of Tokyo city mascots? They walked on stage and then unveiled the new mascot of Shibuya, who may I just say, is quite adorable.

The main draw of the event though, were the musical acts playing shows. Tempura Kidz, Sekai no Owari and, as mentioned before, the one and only Kyary Pamyu Pamyu all performed for the crowds.

Photo from fashionsnap.com

It’s no wonder Kyary Pamyu Pamyu has such incredibly dedicated fans. There is just something about her. She has this glow, an aura of charisma that emanates from her waif-like personality while she’s performing. Looking around during her show I couldn’t help but notice that everyone was singing and dancing along. It’s true what they say, to know Kyary Pamyu Pamyu is to love Kyary Pamyu Pamyu.

Photo from fashionsnap.com

The “Kawaii!! Matsuri” was an adventure into the adorable, chaotic world of Harajuku, yet in a single confined area. It was kind of intense, but very, very fun.

For its latest concept bra to announce its new range, Triumph has come up with the Branomics Bra.

Yes, you’ve guessed it. This is a reference to Prime Minister Abe’s “Abenomics”, the fiscal policies aiming to raise inflation, consumption tax and the value of the Nikkei.

Check out the rising arrows, like the surge of the yen in recent months, and the other little in-jokes on economic growth and inflation. The bra is also meant to offer an increase in volume thanks to extra padding, which isn’t a bad metaphor for government policy in general.

It is, of course, just a gimmick meant to promote Triumph International’s regular line-up of bras, so don’t expect to see it on a shop shelf any time soon.

Every season Triumph — which is actually based in Switzerland — has a stunt like this in Japan in which it pays tribute to something topical or trending. This normally results in a bizarre-looking piece of underwear made with unusual materials that must surely be very uncomfortable to wear for any of the unfortunate models who has to show it off to the world press.

Past examples include a metal bra to promote a female revolution (the Women’s Lib movement apparently did not penetrate Triumph’s world), plus a Quit Smoking Bra, a solar-powered bra, husband-hunting bra (not as risque as it sounds), and even a “jury system” bra to celebrate the belated introduction of jury trials in Japan.

Following the Tohoku disaster in March 2011, we’ve all thought much more about the kind of tools and clothes that we need when society as we know it breaks down. From flashlights to emergency supplies, water, geiger counters and warm clothing, you need a surprising amount of “basics” in order to survive the aftermath of a major disaster.

Fortunately, you are not alone and even Japan’s fashion designers are thinking of ways to help you out.

Final Home is a fashion brand run by Kosuke Tsumura, survival wear with a difference.

It proposes to provide ultra practical (and stylish) clothing fashion — to the extent that your coat can become your shelter after your regular home has been destroyed (by flood, typhoon, earthquake, tsunami, nuclear meltdown et al).

The signature product is a funky nylon coat with numerous pockets. These can be filled with stuff depending on the occasion. For example, if you are sitting at a sports game, slip in a cushion to make your seat more comfortable. Or if you roughing it in the wild, scrunch up sheets of newspaper and insert them in the pockets to add warmth (and fuel for fire).

Tsumura has also made clothes out of air cushions, with some pretty spectacular results.

Final Home actually started in 1994 but recently has been gaining a lot of attention, perhaps not coincidentally after the Tohoku catastrophe. Tsumura’s brand has been asked to contribute to the current exhibition at the Mori Art Museum, “All You Need is Love”, as well as an exhibit at the 21st Century Museum of Contemporary Art, Kanazawa until the end of June.

His designs was also spotted at Roppongi Art Night 2013 and he recently presented his work at the Nico Nico Gakkai Beta Symposium.

GU (pronounced “gee-you” — a play on jiyu, meaning “free”) is the off-shoot of UNIQLO that is even cheaper and even more casual.

GU branches have been popping up around major city centers recently and as part of its expansion, it has launched a series of guerilla marketing schemes to pull in the crowds.

These include flash mob events, fashion shows with “living” show window mannequins, and more. It was also one of the sponsors of the Kawaii!! Matsuri 2013, which prominently featured GU’s official model, Kyary Pamyu Pamyu.

Since GU’s line is meant to be clothes worn by laidback fun-loving youngsters, in Kobe it decided to hold a “fashion dance battle” with teams of kids.

Meanwhile, in Hakata (Fukuoka), it held a flash mob event. Flash mobs have been taking place a lot in Japan recently, both as genuine social “happenings” and also as promo events.

Meanwhile, in Ikebukuro in Tokyo and Shinsaibashi in Osaka, the GU held a live fashion show in its shop window, and broadcast on Ustream. Check out the three super genki foreign models, who are meant to be “living” mannequins.

GU opened its two hundredth store in late December and is set next to move overseas. It also changed its branding logo from “g.u.” to “GU”, which it hopes will help it stand out more when it expands beyond Japan.

Japan’s largest retailer Aeon is offering yukata (cotton summer kimono) this year with peach and soap fragrances.

Part of its new “adult kawaii” range of hundreds of summer items, the yukata feature contact cooling sensation materials with peach and soap fragrances — apparently a first for Japan.

The yukata are for women, men and kids, and priced in the ¥9,800 to ¥12,800 range, with obi belts costing ¥2,980 to ¥6,800. They will be sold nationwide at 422 Aeon stores.

Aeon’s designers took the Ise-style of yukata from Mie prefecture and added a sassy modern look in three tonal themes. The result is a range of rather contemporary but decidedly “wa” (Japanese) 100%-cotton kimono.

They also have cooling and drying technology built into the fabric, no doubt with UNIQLO’s successful Cooltech line in mind.

We’re not sure exactly how the fragrance aspect works or how effective it is, but regardless of practicalities, it’s a unique marketing gimmick, that’s for sure.

Cooling, fragrant and colorful. Will it be a success? Aeon, at any rate, hopes to sell 285,000 units.

Sharp-eyed readers might see a resemblance to the female model here and the currently much-in-the-limelight international model Kiko Mizuhara. That’s because she’s Kiko’s sister, Yuka Mizuhara. That’s her in the middle.

Cheap yukata have been offered for years by Japan’s major retailers, including UNIQLO. Traditional wear like yukata are far from being conservative or old-fashioned clothes that only the wealthy or overly sophisticated put on. They are affordable and purchased by a lot of young consumers. Even a J-pop star like Kumi Koda — who is popular with teenaged girls — has collaborated with designing a yukata product.

And the award for July’s cutest use of augmented reality mobile interaction goes to Dentsu, for this Asoberu T-Shirt (“Playable T-Shirt”).

It works with a dedicated phone app to allow you to have fun with the wearer and the worn. For example, with your smartphone you can make characters and motifs “pop” out of the t-shirt and then play with them on your screen. Alternatively shoot arrows at hearts or turn a girl into a funky deck-spinning DJ.

You can make people “fight” with anime-style power beams — and unscrupulous guys will no doubt soon find ways to embarrass girls wearing the t-shirt.

The video nicely illustrates the things you can do.

The models are Yumemi Nemu and Mirin Furukawa.

It is being sold exclusively via BEAMS in an initial series inspired by the anime Gindama and others. There are five tees at the moment, priced ¥4,200. The app, available for Android and iOS systems, is free.

While the technology itself isn’t new, we find the kawaii presentation irresistible.

On July 12th visitors to Yoyogi Park may have spotted some clothes that had been left in the hedges and foliage like garbage.

But far from being discarded items of apparel by profligate Tokyoites, this stunt was part of a fashion show being held at Shibuya Parco Part 1 earlier in the day.

The “2.5D” fashion show by Tetsuya Yamamoto’s Potto brand for its 2013 collection (Yamamoto’s first collection in five years) is now on sale at the Shibuya Parco’s MEETSCAL store until August 9th.

For the Yoyogi Park guerilla fashion promo event, a radio was also left at the site playing atmospheric dialogue about urban legends, and the 15 items of clothing were “decorated” with garbage bags. Visitors were not prevented from picking up and taking a look at the “found fashion” items, though we presume staff were around to stop people from actually taking things home.

The show at Parco was also anything but conventional — a pseudo-installation event with guitar performances integrated with photography and video. The clothes were modeled like they were recycled items, igniting new ideas about our values towards materials and apparel.

[Image source]

Japan’s netizens are reacting with customary venom to the images of lackadaisical youngsters wearing their clothes like traditional sashes, which may or may not be the latest fashion trend about to explode.

The idea is you take a shirt or some other item of clothing and tie it round your shoulders like tasukigake.

You may have seen actual tasukigake sashes being worn by calligraphers, or in martial arts or samurai dramas. The cord runs diagonally across the back originally to hold up the sleeves of a kimono so that they don’t get in the way while you are doing something (calligraphy, combatting opponents, traditional dancing etc).

Here are some examples of what it looks like.

See how the cord can prove practical for kimono-clad warriors (regardless of gender!).

Here is how to tie one.

The images that have surfaced showing people creating quasi-tasuigake with shirts or other items have engendered scoffs and ridicule from some online commentators, who argue it is a “pointless” trend that will not catch on.

This blogger at least, while hardly being a fashionista, has actually yet to see this “trend” anyway. Has anyone else seen them around Tokyo? (We also have a bit of trouble even seeing a real resemblance between ordinary tasukigake and the “trend”.)

Or is it just another case of much ado about nothing that exists only in the digital sphere?

Update: Thanks to Claire Tanaka for reminding us that tasuki are also the sashes worn by politicians and beauty pageant queens etc. They look much more like these, but the online comments we’ve read (so far) are mostly pointing out that the “fashion” is ridiculous for being like either something out of the “Edo” or “Bubble” era.

One of those myths about Japan is the used panties vending machine. Well, these blogger at least has heard of genuine panty vending machines (at least the machines were real, though we can’t vouch for the validity of the “used” factor) but at any rate, they were very much in areas of town not visited by most of the population.

Now this may well do something to off-set the myth — or it might just tip the balance further into the “wacky Japan” zone.

Wacoal, one of the country’s leading lingerie makers, will be offering products from the wireless bra series Fun Fun Week by its subsidiary une nana cool for a limited time in Shibuya Parco. Okay, nothing new there, right? Except that the new autumn collection products are being sold via a vending machine.

So there you have it. A bra-dispensing vending machine.

You can purchase your bras at the vending machine from August 9th to 31st at Shibuya Parco, and then from September 1st to 30th at the une nana cool store in Futako-Tamagawa.

No decent pictures are available of the vending machine itself yet, but no doubt after it opens today there will be some floating around. Will this perpetuate more myths? Or are une nana cool bras cute enough to raise above the sniggering tide?

Japanese fashion retailing giant UNIQLO launched a new digital tool on October 1st. UNIQLO HairDo uses Pinterest to offer people a way to share examples of hair styles coordinated with UNIQLO’s 2013-2014 autumn and winter line-up.

The brand has also organized this via its recently opened global Pinterest account in an attempt to create a single social media platform that is universal across its ever increasing number of markets in regions around the world.

The tool has the pop, clean feel we have come to expect from UNIQLO, and features mirrors positioned to show faces of models as you scroll through animations of the stages of creating the hair style that they recommend to match the clothing items.

The outfits are, of course, for sale and you can jump straight from UNIQLO HairDo to the UNIQLO online store in various countries. UNIQLO HairDo will also be offered in other languages in the future, including Chinese, English, French and Korean.

UNIQLO is famed for its innovative approach to digital tools and campaigns, which it now calls “life tools”. Since 2007 it has had great success with the addictive Uniqlock, the dancing girls blog widget, the tilt-shift montage Uniqlo Calendar, and last year’s UNIQLO Wake-Up app, with music produced by Keigo Oyamada (Cornelius).

Thank God for hipsters. When all else fails and the media is amok with already notorious reports (supported by dubious stats) that Japanese people apparently no longer have sex, you can always at least rely on the fashionista to still find ways to enjoy themselves.

Tweed Run Tokyo took place on October 14th, featuring some 150 tweed-dressed cyclists going for a ride around the city. No, they weren’t out on some stag hunt, nor was this a Sherlock Holmes fanatics’ event. It was actually part of Fashion Week and is a spin-off from the original Tweed Run in London. The British version started in 2009, while the Tokyo “run” happened first in 2012 and with the amount of publicity it generated, surely next year’s edition is a sure thing.

“It’s so Tokyo, I would say,” one of the participants told the media. “We are using this traditional fabric in many modern ways. It’s part of the diversity of fashion.”

“So Tokyo”? Well, I wouldn’t say that. Except for the odd bit of Aoyama backstreet tomfoolery, you’d be hard-pressed to find many regular folk dressing as dapper as this. Still it makes a change from the usual exquisitely, expensively decked-out runners and cyclists that can be glimpsed around the Imperial Palace.

Given that this is the nation that created the culture of cosplay, we shouldn’t be in the least surprised that 150 cyclists jumped at the chance to dress up for a group bike ride.

This year’s event saw the costumed bikers tour leisurely from Gaienmae to Ginza over a couple of hours, and the participants seemed like a reasonable mix of ages, though it was clearly male-dominated.

We wonder whether they could introduce some sort of Japanese flavor to the proceedings. How about cycling around in kimono? Oh, hang on…

Anyone who lives in Nagoya can check out the city’s own version of the Tweed Run — remember, it’s cycling, not jogging — on October 26th (barring another typhoon).

You can see a nice gallery of participants elsewhere or on the official Facebook page.

Leading fashion magazine CanCam has been going for over thirty years and now it has finally got itself its own exclusive male model.

After launching the careers and seeing immense success in the heyday of Japanese magazine publishing with the likes of Norika Fujiwara and Ryoko Yonekura, and most famous the trio of Moe Oshikiri, Yu Yamada and Yuri Ebihara (aka Ebi-chan), now CanCam has finally turned to a man to prop up its brand.

Yuuki Sawa is a nineteen-year-old sophomore student at Rikkyo University in Tokyo and this is his first modeling gig, which isn’t a bad debut by any standards. He was spotted by the editor of CanCam during the Mr Rikkyo Contest, where he was one of the judges.

CanCam’s prime readers are said to be young office ladies and female college students looking for tips for how to be mote-kei, i.e. popular with the boys.

Its name is an inventive if bizarre take on “I can campus”… whatever that means. Since the departure of Ebihara as its main cover model a few years back, its fortunes have famously declined, along with most fashion titles, though the one-time boom in offering omake fashion item giveaways helped boost sales for many. (For a comparison of the first ever issue of CanCam and the thirtieth anniversary issue in 2011, see this interesting article on Néojaponisme.)

Yuuki Sawa’s debut in the magazine is in the January 2014 issue, which went on sale last week. As he is a senzoku moderu (exclusive contract model), we can look forward to regular appearances by him every month.

Can Yuuki Sawa and this new gimmick by CanCam help the magazine regain its once lofty circulation of 500,000 during the Ebihara days?

Girls with guns? Sounds like a cheap porno but this is actually a minor fashion craze right now, thanks to SG-Fashion-Snap.com, which is collating images of male and female participants in Airsoft (called “survival game” in Japan), all decked out in their camouflage, gear and, of course, weaponry.

“Make yourself look neat even when you are in the combat,” says the “survival game fashion snap” website. Street snaps have been a fixture of the Japanese fashion publishing (print and digital) for years now and this is an esoteric twist on that.

As with usual street snaps, these gun-toting ladies come with information on their name age, occupation, “career” (surely as a survival gamer), team name and favorite brand.

We love how this is both tough, cute and stylish at the same time. Never have girls in tactical boots looked this good.

Not to be outdone, there are plenty of guys too. The men also like to differentiate their style of combat gear (“Arabic”, “SEALS” etc).

And for the armaments purists out there, SGFS even features very indulgent snaps just of the guns!

We wonder if the Self-Defense Force is on a recruitment drive right now?

These are guaranteed to be a hit at any bachelor party!

The Mousou Mapping Bra T-Shirt are a series of tees with a difference. Their fronts are decorated with the object of every man’s daydreams (mousou) — breasts! Specifically, a “cut-away” picture revealing a tantalizing (and by Japanese standards, not so realistic) bust in a range of bra colors.

Along with the Shiridashi Butt Reveal Underwear, the Mousou Mapping Bra T-Shirts are sure to be a great addition to any party, especially if worn by someone who clearly doesn’t have the assets on display.

The makers are independent studio ekoD Works, who obviously have a thing for cheeky merchandise. Other examples of their creations include the Chu-Lip Pot, a vase or teapot shaped like a kissing mouth, or the Hanaga Tap Nose Outlet, whose name is pretty self-explanatory!

We also think the t-shirts are unofficially inspired by “Mosatsu”, a series of cult photo books and a spin-off app where you can “rip” off part of the clothes of Gravure idol models. (And before people get too offended, there are ones for the ladies too, depicting men with “torn” clothes revealing hunky bodies.)

Get the Mousou Mapping Bra T-Shirt via JapanTrendShop.