• [My resume 17] Stylist job “BRUTUS” edition

[My resume 17] Stylist job “BRUTUS” edition

EDISTORIAL STORE

I've been reminiscing about many old stories, but for those of you reading the Houyhnhnms blog, please try to remember my work once again.
That's right, my main job is as a stylist (though it's obvious now).
So, why aren't my memories as a stylist written on my resume? The reason for this is the nature (saga) unique to the profession of being a stylist.
Having been in the stylist business for over 30 years, I have come to realize that being a stylist is a job that flows.
It feels like the results of each job are not fixed tightly, but rather as if they are continuous and flowing, and before you know it, they will disappear like bubbles.
It's just like fashion.
Of course, this is natural since the subject matter is fashion, but in a sense it is also ephemeral.

For example, the collection is held twice a year.
I used to go to see the men's collections in Milan and Paris for a while, but even now there aren't that many shows that left a deep impression on me.
A show with some Dries Van Noten and Raf Simons set in some school where they had models walk through glass.
It started raining in the middle and it was very magical. Also, when Naomi Campbell appeared at the Dolce & Gabbana show in Milan and took a photo with her cell phone, security got really mad at her (photos were not allowed at the time).
It's like that even after watching so many spectacular shows.
No matter how cool the styling is created by the stylist or the best visuals taken by the best photographer, there are very few things that will remain in memory and history.
But that's what fashion photography is all about, and that sense of flow is catharsis for stylists.

One thing that really sticks out in my mind is the BRUTUS fashion special issue that I was involved with in the late 2000s.
At that time, advertisements were concentrated in magazines (there was no concept of Internet advertising in the first place), and I took advantage of this by frequently going abroad for photo shoots.
Until then, BRUTUS had given me a lot of freedom in creating fashion stories, but I remember well the time I went to Finland for the 2006 Fall/Winter issue.
Mr. Kinoshita, a former POPEYE editor-in-chief who is now the creative director of UNIQLO, was in charge of the shoot, and we went to Helsinki, Finland to film the shoot together.
Only me and Mr. Kinoshita came from Japan. The rest of the staff were local, and I'm sure the hair and makeup was done by someone from the salon. In order to publish in the autumn/winter issue, we have to shoot in summer.
In Scandinavia, we would do location scouting during the day under the midnight sun, return to the hotel, take a nap, and shoot late at night.
But since it's not pitch black, I purposely took photos in natural light, which created a nice atmosphere.
Also, when I was filming in the forest, I got bitten by a swarm of mosquitoes.

(Photo taken at Helsinki's Central Station and a pharmacy window. Both shots were taken late at night.)

Another important fashion story that gave me a new feeling was Byron Bay, Australia, which was featured in the 2008 Spring/Summer issue.
The photographer is Katsumi Omori. I had taken photos several times before, and I admired Mr. Omori's natural yet intelligent appearance, and I thought that the theme of this issue, ``Eternal Boys,'' and Mr. Omori's photos were a perfect match. .

My week there was very mellow and happy.
This area is known as a hippie town and a surf spot, and the atmosphere is as if friends are on a trip and taking snapshots together.
However, what you wear has to be in top mode and ultimately have to be part of a fashion story.
So I remember spending a lot of time paying close attention to the selection and composition of the photos after I returned home. Looking back on it now, it was a pretty bold composition, including some pages that contained only landscape photos and no clothes.
However, I think I was able to express something a little sentimental and boyish, like a photo diary of my travels.

But other than that, it's the kind of work that really "flows" that is typical of a stylist, and the flip side of that momentary mood is what led to the establishment of EDISTORIAL STORE, but I'll tell you more about that in a little more detail. Please let me go first.

See you next time.