Category Archive for Tokyo + Japan
ANTOINE DE CAUNES, FRENCH TV HOST OF EUROTRASH & CANAL PLUS DOCUMENTARY. ODAIBA DINNER BOAT CRUISE & KARAOKE, TOKYO BAY.
Mon dieu! C’est Antoine de Caunes, French TV presenter and all-around funny-man. Perhaps you know him from Eurotrash, the sensational British late-night show he co-hosted with Jean-Paul Gaultier.
As you know, I was in Tokyo to co-host a French documentary (for the station Canal Plus) about theme restaurants, subcultures and all that jazz. Antoine de Caunes flew in from Paris, and we kicked off our epic journey with a dinner boat cruise in Odaiba.
The TV crew boarded a quaint boat in Tokyo Bay…
Navy jacket: Alice and the Pirates, from Closet Child Harajuku
Turquoise Lolita dress: Carina e Arlequin, from Closet Child Harajuku
Yellow boots: John Fluevog
Takoyaki-chan plush toy: from an Osaka convenience store
Behold, the traditional Japanese dinner we feasted upon! Sashimi, tempura, edamame, chawanmushi (egg custard). And alcohol. Lots of it. Nama-biru, sake, umeshu (plum wine), shochu… my memory gets fuzzy from this point onward…
Sound director Steve and I show ’em how to pose like an Asian. (Remember my CNNGo dissertation on this serious subject?)
Apparently, the oysters were laced with LSD.
Monsieur de Caunes and I compared our new Canon cameras (I have a Powershot S90).
Once we were plenty juiced, I got the karaoke started. Driver Hiroshi and I did the Bon “shovel dance” together.
The TV crew was hand-picked from all over the globe, and everyone clicked from day one. By the end of the shoot, we had accumulated a Mount Fuji of funny memories.
Antoine didn’t partake in the sing-a-long. When the producer took over the microphone, he pretended to vomit and jump out of the boat!
Have you watched Eurotrash? Any French readers here who know of Antoine de Caunes? He’s as hilarious and nice as you’d expect…
Japanese Word of the Day: Biko = Nostril
Song of the Day: The Devils Blood – Christ Or Cocaine (Suggested by Akie. Satanic psychedelic rock and roll… soundtrack of our past lives.)
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CNN INTERNATIONAL & CNNGO TV SHOW: TOKYO GOTH FASHION DESIGNER KENZO-A, TAKUYA ANGEL HARAJUKU SHOP.
I write for CNNGo (all my articles are here), so when the CNN site launched a TV show, they asked me to be part of the Tokyo episode. And I got to choose the topic! I immediately suggested that we interview my friend Kenzo-A, designer of Goth clothing brands Rituals. To my delight, I got the thumb’s up. Here’s what I wore to the shoot…
Little cake hat: gifted from Agent Lover. So cute, and easy to attach. Remember when my fat cat tried to eat it?
Fake eyelashes: from a Japanese dollar store. I split one in half for the lower lids.
Eyeshadow: “The real gold” gifted from Sugarpill, swept over grey and light blue shadows gifted from Aromaleigh.
Lips: Purple eye pencil to outline, followed by purple lipstick from Daiso (dollar store).
Stickers around the eyes: from Daiso.
Gothic Lolita dress: Innocent World, from Closet Child Harajuku.
Long, sheer overcoat: Ozz Croce, from Closet Child Shinjuku.
Orb-print tights: Vivienne Westwood, from Marui Womens Shinjuku.
Swashbuckler boots: Alice and the Pirates, from Closet Child Harajuku.
Coffin backpack: h.NAOTO, from Closet Child Ikebukuro.
It was a bi-polar day… rain-sun-freezing-sweltering. Kenzo-A arrived on his motorcycle and met the CNN crew at the entrance of Takeshita Doori.
(With story producer Alex.) Whenever there’s a TV camera around, passersby will stop and gawk as if there’s a bloody accident. While we were preparing, dozens of people gathered around and took photos. Even the Japanese schoolgirls insisted on posing with me, V-fingers held high!
Kenzo-A and I strolled and chatted about Harajuku street style. He told me about coming here as a teen and being inspired by the Goth/punk clothes worn by youths. The district is much more commercial today (think Forever21 and H&M) but Yellow House and Takenoko are two old-school indie stores that are still standing.
Kenza-A began his career designing t-shirts for Sexy Dynamite London. The boutique was located near Takuya Angel’s shop, and they became fast friends. Kenzo-A suggested that we visit him; unfortunately, he was away, but we showed CNN around the store and tried on Takuya’s cyber-meets-samurai designs.
Kenzo-A hit the nail on the head when he said: “We’re a village people. The Gothic/alternative subculture here is small, and we should all support each other.” I agree wholeheartedly: there’s cattiness in every scene, but in the end, everyone benefits if we share the limelight and help each other out…
The Tokyo episode of the CNNGo TV show aired on CNN International last week, and is now online. Our segment is about halfway in the video above. Unfortunately, they cut out Kenzo-A’s fashion show but I’ll have photos and video of that coming right up, don’t you worry! Check out his Rituals site to see his latest clothing collection.
Did you enjoy the CNN TV show? Have you seen Kenzo’s designs or met him?
Japanese Word of the Day: Itareritsukuseri = graciousness, politesse
Song of the Day: Yoko Nagayama – You’re My Love (1980s Japanese Italo Disco! My heart, my heart.)
LA CARMINA
