ANTHONY BOURDAIN CELEBRATING 100 EPISODES OF NO RESERVATIONS, TRAVEL CHANNEL FOOD TV SHOW.
Everyone who reads this blog knows I’m a huge Travel Channel fan. I consider it the privilege of a lifetime to have been on Andrew Zimmern’s Bizarre Foods TV show in Tokyo. Last April, I nearly fainted when Samantha Brown’s producers contacted me about being her guide for the Japan episode. It would have been another dream come true; unfortunately, the timing didn’t work out…
But what really started my Travel Channel love affair was Anthony Bourdain’s No Reservations. My “spooky crew” and I are such fans of his show that we re-created his Tokyo episode… Goth style. (If you missed this funny post, you can see it here.)
This August, Bourdain celebrates 100 episodes of his food and travel show, No Reservations. To celebrate, Travel Channel asked viewers to send video messages for Tony (some will be shown on TV!). You can see mine above and on YouTube. If I say please, will you take a minute to watch and comment? Pretty please?
Allo, allo, Tokyo Telephone is calling! The wonderfully designed blog about chic Japanese fashion interviewed me about my style inspirations, subcultures and plans for the future. You can also read the entire text by clicking the title of this post.
“I’m all for inclusiveness. The Japan Goth/alternative underground remains a tiny family; the designers and artists can always use more support. I hope the increased awareness will help Japanese subcultures stay strong and keep breaking new ground.”
Now, for something to put a smile on your face… my Scottish Fold cat, Basil Farrow, in the washing machine. We know he loves to be clean, but this is getting ridiculous.
My kitty found the metal interior cozy enough for napping. Better not turn on the machine — or we’d have a soaked teddy bear.
I hope you enjoy my video for Anthony Bourdain’s hundredth TV episode. Do you think Tony’s next stop should be Hokkaido, to eat scrumptious Japanese food with La Carmina? Please comment on the video if your answer is YES!
ANSWERPHONE: INTERVIEW WITH LA CARMINA
Posted July 31st 2010 at 10:55 by tokyotelephone
Here at Tokyo Telephone we love connecting to other bloggers, so imagine our delight when the Harajuku fashionista La Carmina did us the honour of chatting to us about her style inspirations, subcultures and her plans for the future!
If you’re interested in the darker side of Japanese fashion and clubbing, then La Carmina’s gothic wonder of a blog is a must see. She’s a very busy spooky lady too; her activities include travel TV host, author of 3 books (Penguin USA and Random House), and writer for CNNGo.com and Lip Service. Her blog has been featured in major publications (The New Yorker, Washington Post, WWD, Village Voice, Time Out New York, Fox News, LA Times), and she’s appeared on The Today Show and co-hosted an episode of Bizarre Foods with Andrew Zimmern for Travel Channel. She recently co-hosted a Canal Plus documentary and CNN International segment in Tokyo, and will be the Asia host for educational travel TV series, Project Explorer.
Q; Thanks to blogs such as your own, it’s now more simple than ever to keep in touch with Japanese fashion, and it’s easy to forget that there was a time before we had this level of access. How did you used to keep up to date with Japan & its changing fashions before the advent of the internet?
A; Asian style has always been part of my consciousness because of my family background. I’ve been traveling around Asia from the time I was a baby, and loved to flip through the fashion spreads in my parents’ Chinese magazines. Clothes are cheap in Hong Kong, so my childhood wardrobe contained a lot of Hello Kitty! I’m lucky that I was able to see Japanese street fashion up close, in the 90s, before the Internet came about.
Q; That must have been wonderful to experience such iconic fashion subcultures in their early days! To what extent has your own style been influenced by your interest in Japanese fashion? Are there any different styles you’d love to try?
A; Japan’s Gothic Lolita and Punk fashion is, without doubt, the greatest influence on my personal style. The dark Victorian elegance and Rococo girlishness – epitomized by brands such as Moi-meme-Moitie, Victorian Maiden and h.NAOTO – opened up a new world of personal expression for me. I’m also captivated by the distinctly Japanese decora (highly layered and accessorized) and kawaii (cute) styles. I like mixing Harajuku street styles to create my own look. Most recently, I’ve turned to budding “style tribes” — Mori Girl, Fairy Kei and Dolly Kei – for inspiration.
Q; As someone who is directly involved in bringing Japanese fashion subcultures to a wider audience, how do you feel about the increase in popularity? Do you think that it changes the subculture?
A; I’m all for inclusiveness. The Japan Goth/alternative underground remains a tiny family; the designers and artists can always use more support. I hope the increased awareness will help Japanese subcultures stay strong and keep breaking new ground.
Q; With the recent closure of Banana Fish and Takuya Angel deciding to exist only as a web-shop, how do you think the global recession will change Japanese fashion?
A; I recently interviewed my friend Kenzo-A, designer of Goth brand Rituals, for CNN TV about this subject. He said Harajuku is sadly becoming run over by “big box” retailers. On the bright side, pioneering alt stores such as Yellow House and Takenoko have stayed stalwart. And despite the closures, new and exciting brands like Dangerous Nude (corsets and Gothic Lolita clothing) continue to start up. I hope that in time, the cycle will come back to this. My friends are savvy about building fierce outfits on a budget, such as by using vintage pieces and dollar store finds. Creatively, I think Japan’s alternative fashion scene remains ever-strong.
Q; Finally, what are your fashion tips for the future? What can we look forward to from the fashion and media tour-de-force that is La Carmina?
A; Keep a close eye on Japan’s Goth/Cyber club scene for boundary-pushing fashion. As for me… I’ll keep blogging every day about Harajuku’s glorious subcultures and street style. I also hope to keep doing travel TV hosting in Japan and every dark corner of the globe.
Boundary-pushing fashion… that sounds right up our street! A huge thanks again to the ever-lovely La Carmina for taking the time to answer our questions. La Carmina proves that with hard blogging work comes rewards, and her passion for her writing is evident. Keep up the good work – you’re an inspiration!
SHARE & COMMENT
LA CARMINA
73 Comments
$300 sushi? DAMN that must be good sushi XD
I’d like to find out, some day! There’s also $500 sushi at Masa in NYC… *daydreams*
$500??? *daydreams with you*
lol bourdain is (a) rly great (cook)!
LOL We’re young and poor:-)Aren’t we all…….
I love your style its so awesome. I want to go to Tokyo one day because it just seems like such an amazing city :)
Tokyo is as good as it seems!
I love cats!!
$300 sushi? DAMN that must be good sushi XD
$300 sushi? DAMN that must be good sushi XD
lol bourdain is (a) rly great (cook)!
LOL We're young and poor:-)Aren't we all…….
I love your style its so awesome. I want to go to Tokyo one day because it just seems like such an amazing city :)
I love cats!!
hello ! see? i am here commenting LOL hihihihih
well … I like his series too! ^_^ i hope he comes soon to Japan and maybe have a episode with your company! it would be great!!!!!!!!!!!!! You are so unicque that this episode would be one of his great one!
tina
xxxx
hehe! Thank you for the support! It would be a dream come true. xo
$300 sushi? When I’m a famous J-rocker, I’m definitely going there!!!
Anthony Bourdain is pretty cool too ^^
Thumbs up if you want to try some of that $300 sushi…
I lol’d when you fell the to the side out of sight at the end :D
hahah! ^___^
i love Anthony Bourdain! Because of Anthony, I went to the sushi restaraunt in San Fran and they had amazing sushi there! The unagi and maguro sushi was devine! I spent almost $100 there. I am going to go to the Piano bar in Tokyo at the end fo the month! he he
Some of my best sushi experiences have been in San Fran and Tokyo ^^
Your pretty and eloquent as always <3
aww… Basil looks like he thinks he’s being punished for something :P
i love the creative photos of Basil. i will comment on your vi9deo cuase i saw it in my subscription video at youtube. ;
omagosh!! X3 That’s way too cute! <3 then there's my fatty who climbed in the fridge…he LOVES food
$300 sushi? When I’m a famous J-rocker, I’m definitely going there!!!
Anthony Bourdain is pretty cool too ^^
great job! You should do one for each of his episodes.
I <3 Anthony Bourdain!
Bourdain ♥. Nice video! ($300 for a sushi ………too much money, It must be really good)
Oh girl, you have such a unique voice. ^^
$300? I guess that’s what happens when you make sushi from solid gold tuna.
It’s Eunice here and your rainbow extensions are… kinda cool being faded and all (i think it’s the video quality maybe?) other than that… OMG $300 per person?! I could die.
:D this is amazing!!! and I love Bourdain lol Great video!!! ^___^ You’re so cool~ I bet you’re fun to hang with :3
hello ! see? i am here commenting LOL hihihihih
well … I like his series too! ^_^ i hope he comes soon to Japan and maybe have a episode with your company! it would be great!!!!!!!!!!!!! You are so unicque that this episode would be one of his great one!
tina
xxxx
$300 sushi? When I'm a famous J-rocker, I'm definitely going there!!!
Anthony Bourdain is pretty cool too ^^
Thumbs up if you want to try some of that $300 sushi…
I lol'd when you fell the to the side out of sight at the end :D
i love Anthony Bourdain! Because of Anthony, I went to the sushi restaraunt in San Fran and they had amazing sushi there! The unagi and maguro sushi was devine! I spent almost $100 there. I am going to go to the Piano bar in Tokyo at the end fo the month! he he
Your pretty and eloquent as always <3
aww… Basil looks like he thinks he's being punished for something :P
i love the creative photos of Basil. i will comment on your vi9deo cuase i saw it in my subscription video at youtube. ;
omagosh!! X3 That's way too cute! <3 then there's my fatty who climbed in the fridge…he LOVES food
Tokyo is as good as it seems!
hahah! ^___^
I'd like to find out, some day! There's also $500 sushi at Masa in NYC… *daydreams*
hehe! Thank you for the support! It would be a dream come true. xo
$300 sushi? When I'm a famous J-rocker, I'm definitely going there!!!
Anthony Bourdain is pretty cool too ^^
Some of my best sushi experiences have been in San Fran and Tokyo ^^
great job! You should do one for each of his episodes.
I <3 Anthony Bourdain!
Bourdain ♥. Nice video! ($300 for a sushi ………too much money, It must be really good)
Oh girl, you have such a unique voice. ^^
$300? I guess that's what happens when you make sushi from solid gold tuna.
It's Eunice here and your rainbow extensions are… kinda cool being faded and all (i think it's the video quality maybe?) other than that… OMG $300 per person?! I could die.
:D this is amazing!!! and I love Bourdain lol Great video!!! ^___^ You're so cool~ I bet you're fun to hang with :3
awww.~ Basil Farrow is just soo cute. 8D
<3 <3!
hehe my first thoughts were – Are you a fan of the Bioshock game?…but i rated your vid thumbs up
awww.~ Basil Farrow is just soo cute. 8D
$500??? *daydreams with you*
hehe my first thoughts were – Are you a fan of the Bioshock game?…but i rated your vid thumbs up
LUV the travel channel. It was cool that u were on an episode of one of my Favorite travel channel shows with Andrew Zimmern!
I hope eventually you get ur sushi with Anthony Bourdain, & you could post all about it! lol
LOL your cat is too cute! He should definitely try your cooking. I wish I did!!
LUV the travel channel. It was cool that u were on an episode of one of my Favorite travel channel shows with Andrew Zimmern!
I hope eventually you get ur sushi with Anthony Bourdain, & you could post all about it! lol
LOL your cat is too cute! He should definitely try your cooking. I wish I did!!
<3 <3!
Hokkaido’s food is amazing must be there on this amazing adventure!
you look adorable and your mate too. such cool outfits. basil farrow in that washing machine just kills me!
He’s too much… I go nuts over his cuteness every day.
Hokkaido's food is amazing must be there on this amazing adventure!
you look adorable and your mate too. such cool outfits. basil farrow in that washing machine just kills me!
He's too much… I go nuts over his cuteness every day.
Harajuku is one of my favorite places in Tokyo, This girl completely appidamizes why!
Hokkaido is a pretty nice place, but more of a Winter destination than anything else. ☃°°
(⌒~⌒♥ )ノ☂Go to Japan Tony!
YES.
Harajuku is one of my favorite places in Tokyo, This girl completely appidamizes why!
Hokkaido is a pretty nice place, but more of a Winter destination than anything else. ☃°°
(⌒~⌒♥ )ノ☂Go to Japan Tony!
YES.