Japan: not lost in translation

From fashion on the street and handcrafted combs to Issey Miyake and non 80’s perms, it seems the Crown team are indulging in a little crush on Japan at the moment. So while our Stylist, Sophie Mosca is jet setting across the country, we asked Senior Stylist, Paolo Rossi about his favourite things from a recent trip to Tokyo, Kyoto, Hiroshima, Osaka and Nagano.

IMG_7080“Without a doubt Osaka is really fashion forward with its eclectic, kooky Japanese style but the fashion in Tokyo resonated with me a lot more. It was effortlessly stylish and impeccable manicured with hair to match.

I peered into a number of salon windows there and found them, as you expect when seeing how they dress and present themselves, working so methodically; it was almost mathematical. I couldn’t tell if they were Vidal Sassoon trained but they appeared to be. Everything was really precise.

The Japanese, generally speaking, and in this instance you can generalise, have very similar hair; it’s straight and it’s black but they know how to make the most of it. They are creative with hair in ways I don’t think we do here whether it was doing something extremely blunt and bold or perming which is something that’s been out of fashion in western culture for a long time.

Not a permTheir version of perming isn’t over the top. It is delicate and looks really good, particularly on men. This is where I was most impressed because when you cut something short and tailored on a man with hair like this it tends to stick out and there is not much you can do about it.

A perm however can completely change the texture and allow interesting shapes. For example, there were a lot of guys who had kind of Argentine looking hair – swoopy, wavy fingers that they tucked behind their ears which cool to see because you know it’s not naturally like that.

I’m keen to look into perming now. I’ve heard you can perm with Olaplex which is something that can be added to any chemical service and it leaves the hair in a much better condition. We pretty much put Olaplex in everything we love it so much. I reckon Kathy would put it in her tea if she could”.

Issey Miakye exhibition - Japan“My favourite thing I did over there was to go to an exhibition of designer, Issey Miyake. It was his life’s work and the way they displayed the exhibition you could spend the whole day there.

I didn’t think I would be so moved. There was so much to take away creatively from his work and way of thinking. He is a genius inspired by so many things – architecture and symmetry, natural textures and fibres. He created garments out of really bizarre materials like metal and silicone and other hard fibres that he would make look natural, soft and textural.

He incorporated technology too and had interactive pieces which were fun. There were these kind of flat pack dresses which you could construct origami style, following instructions from a video. One minute your hands were in weird positions and the next you’re lifting up this incredible miniature garment.

He also collaborated with graphic designer, Ikko Tanaka, who has a great way with colour and colour blocking. I’m a trained graphic artist so this is something I really connected with. I really enjoyed seeing how colour was used all around Japan but I especially loved seeing how they used it to create hair texture. The shapes they created were so impressive and I’d like to translate that into my hair cutting and colouring”.