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COOLHUNTER INTERVIEW: JAPANESE & ASIA CELL PHONE TRENDS, TECHNOLOGY, YOUTH MOBILE DEVICE FEATURES.

Posted by La Carmina on March 30, 2011


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About to run out the door… I’m taking my Scottish Fold cat to the spa for a Brazilian wax. (Or to the vet for a bum shave. He has long fur and it’s hard to keep clean!)

Above, you can see the real reason Basil Farrow has no ears. Yummy, yummy.

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Lots of huge new projects, involving TV and fashion and travel, are in the works. Things are changing so quickly. I’ll fill you in as soon as I can.

Thank you to mobileYouth Asia for interviewing me about Japanese cell phone trends. The interview is here and below (along with some randon iPhone outfit photos).

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mobileYouth: What keywords feature in your presentations these days?

La Carmina: Social media. Pirates. Let me explain: I run a coolhunting firm called La Carmina & The Pirates with my “First Mate” Naomi Rubin. We have a huge network of insiders — designers, musicians, It Kids — that we call our “Pirates.” Everyone’s part of the same underground family, and helps provide access and information for our clients.

I don’t believe in surveys and focus groups. The real story lies in the individuals who — without being conscious of it — create and spread trends. If you’re part of the same friend circle, and connected via social media (Twitter, Facebook), then you’ll always be in the loop.

mobileYouth: What excites you about youth culture in Japan?

La Carmina: I love how Harajuku fashion is strongly connected to underground music and cultures, such as Goth and Punk. Tokyo street style is often inspired by Western pop culture and given a fascinating and uniquely Japanese twist. The youth culture — wild all-night fetish parties, cosplay gatherings, robot cafes — is strongly visual and over-the-top, which makes it electrifying to participate in.

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mobileYouth: What emerging trends do you see within Japan’s youth culture breaking out soon?

La Carmina: My approach to coolhunting is to focus on the lifestyles/cultures/works/people that I’m personally passionate about. Ever since I was a teen, I gravitated towards alternative and Asian subcultures (Goth, Punk, retro, Jrock). I live and breathe this world, so it’s natural for me to pinpoint trends within it. I see the most creative, experimental, DIY designs in Japan’s Goth/cyber/gay/alternative club scene. These ideas often begin underground, then rise to the surface (tomainstream stores and magazines).

mobileYouth: Which mobile companies (handsets and operators) in Japan really “get” youth (if any at all)?

La Carmina: All Japanese mobile companies have features targeted to youths. For example, the text messaging includes multiple options for emoticons, from smiley faces to colorful moving gifs. Japanese cells have their own email address, and features that make mobile blogging and uploading videos easy. Youths have even written popular novels using their cell phones!

mobileYouth: When you see how mobile brands in Japan communicate with youth –what could they improve?

La Carmina: Japanese cell phone technology is pretty much the gold standard for communication and youth-directed features. My only complaint would be regarding the cell contracts, which are inflexible, relatively expensive, and make switching carriers difficult.

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My First Mate Naomi and I run a consulting / coolhunting company, La Carmina & The Pirates. We specialize in Asia trends, fashion, pop culture and subcultures. Our services include making arrangements for travel TV crews that wish to shoot in Japan and worldwide. Please check out our work and give us a holler if you want to team up!

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Bonus photos: the walls of my bedroom, decorated with Gothic Lolita Punk and Jrock images that I printed out in color. Here are more photos and step-by-step instructions for decorating your room like this.

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I’m attached to my iPhone these days. Are you a cell phone addict? Any mobile trends / feature / apps that you recommend, or would like to see?

Japanese Word of the Day: Karakai – Tease
Song of the Day: Aesthetic Perfection – I Belong To You

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Filed Under Art + Design, Fashion, Press
28 Comments

28 Comments

  1. Rash_boug
    Posted March 30, 2011 at 8:52 pm | Permalink

    I LOVE YOUR BEDROOM !!!!!! I WISH YOU COULD DECORATE MY ROOM !!! MY ROOM … looks like something from THE EXORCIST :.( lol

    My Iphone is like my child :.( I’d usually lose a phone in about .. less than 3 weeks !!

    Buuuut I’ve kept my Iphone for more than a year :D !!! I love it so much !! I can’t part from it looool <3 <3 <3

    Thanks LaLA <3 <3 <3

    Reply
    • lacarmina
      Posted March 30, 2011 at 11:05 pm | Permalink

      ahaha that is so funny… Exorcist! :)
      Yesss I love my iPhone..

      Reply
  2. Strigoi Girl
    Posted March 30, 2011 at 9:01 pm | Permalink

    You are so creative!

    Reply
    • lacarmina
      Posted March 30, 2011 at 11:05 pm | Permalink

      <3 Thanks! It was quite easy to do, and cost almost nothing too

      Reply
  3. Valeree
    Posted March 30, 2011 at 10:34 pm | Permalink

    That’s great- my poor guy would freak out if I did that to his room (LOL) so I’ve got tons of fangirl pics n’ stuff on my laptop instead. (I especially enjoy making good ol’ desktop wallpapers and Firefox Personas, so right now I’ve got a matched set of HYDE on mine! (^_^) )

    Must… do… Atsushi Sakurai next… (god, does that sound Freudian, or what? LOL!)

    Reply
  4. Paola
    Posted March 30, 2011 at 10:35 pm | Permalink

    i LOVE your decoration!!! my walls are decorated super alike… ♥ but I have mainly D!!! :D

    Reply
  5. Katja
    Posted March 30, 2011 at 10:36 pm | Permalink

    awesome ;3

    Reply
  6. Chibi
    Posted March 30, 2011 at 10:39 pm | Permalink

    Loving it. wish my htb would let me decorate like that. :( if its not black metal its a no.

    Reply
  7. Ryuryu
    Posted March 30, 2011 at 10:39 pm | Permalink

    Woah, I LOVE how your room looks!

    Reply
  8. Tracey
    Posted March 30, 2011 at 10:39 pm | Permalink

    such a cutie

    Reply
  9. Yukiro Dravarious
    Posted March 30, 2011 at 10:40 pm | Permalink

    WOW!! its super <3 I hope mine will be as elaborative as yours one day ;)

    Reply
    • lacarmina
      Posted March 30, 2011 at 11:07 pm | Permalink

      I hope one day my closet will be as scary-fab as yours!

      Reply
  10. Teknicolor Dahlia
    Posted March 30, 2011 at 10:42 pm | Permalink

    I’m absolutely attached to my phone, I couldn’t live without it XD I recently took the next big step and got an Android phone, but its a little too big for my hands :< So I'm upgrading to an iPhone 4 on Friday! Rather excited :3
    What apps have you found most useful for twitter and facebook? I heard there's even a way to update and check wordpress =o

    Reply
    • lacarmina
      Posted March 30, 2011 at 11:07 pm | Permalink

      I’m happy with the iPhone – glad I tried it! Hmm, I don’t really use any special apps. Just regular Twitter and Facebook free apps for iPhone 4.

      Reply
    • lacarmina
      Posted March 30, 2011 at 11:07 pm | Permalink

      I’m happy with the iPhone – glad I tried it! Hmm, I don’t really use any special apps. Just regular Twitter and Facebook free apps for iPhone 4.

      Reply
  11. Kiki
    Posted March 30, 2011 at 10:49 pm | Permalink

    your wall is stunning!

    Reply
  12. Jrockonhigh
    Posted March 31, 2011 at 12:37 am | Permalink

    I can’t live without my phone because I text a lot.

    Reply
    • lacarmina
      Posted March 31, 2011 at 9:28 pm | Permalink

      I’m so bad at texting still, I always make spelling mistakes!

      Reply
  13. Mick
    Posted March 31, 2011 at 2:43 am | Permalink

    lol my fiancees sister saw this and wants to paper a all in her room with Miyavi and Gackt. Her mom doesn’t understand. :)

    Reply
  14. Stephanie
    Posted March 31, 2011 at 5:38 am | Permalink

    <3 :)

    Reply
  15. Thepit
    Posted March 31, 2011 at 6:28 am | Permalink

    apps i like: yelp, groupon, ps mobile,eBay, games (line up, ragdoll, scramble, fowl play)

    Reply
  16. Magnales
    Posted March 31, 2011 at 3:16 pm | Permalink

    I don’t text much, but I can’t do without internet on my phone. Apps I use most are: twitter, facebook (combined inone app: snaptu), foursquare, google maps and WhatsApp. I was lucky to find a relatively cheap contract with a good provider.

    Reply
    • lacarmina
      Posted March 31, 2011 at 9:28 pm | Permalink

      It’s a bit too convenient, having the net on my phone! I use it all the time to look up random things…

      Reply
  17. MI
    Posted March 31, 2011 at 5:24 pm | Permalink

    your cat is so cute! i want to pet it ;D
    hmm im not phone addict. my phone is antique, it doesn’t use apps or something… :(

    Reply

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