Just ordered a copy of this,
Ametora : How Japan Saved American Style by W. David Marx
http://www.amazon.com/Ametora-Japan-Saved-American-Style/dp/0465059732
Thought it may be of interest to the board.
I need to order this. I assume the title is basically there for the shock value, but I am interested in checking it out.
Mr Marx wrote this in 2008..
Im guessing things picked up?
http://www.businessoffashion.com/articles/global-currents/no-ametora-why-the-neo-trad-trend-failed-to-catch-on-in-japan
One of my fav bits of Japanese Ivy
Watch "コカ コーラCM - 若大将 音楽 編 - 1966" on YouTube
コカ コーラCM - 若大将 音楽 編 - 1966: https://youtu.be/-HUWOT7pr6g
^ CB it's either of 'American Traditional' or 'American heartland' depending on the translation/context according to my Japanese chum.
Well has it become a big hit with the younger kids in Japan? It feels like more of a reinvention for men late 20s up over here in terms of its mainstream trend. The younger kids did latch on heavily to the oxbridge prep thing...less so ivy I felt...not sure how it played out in Japan
Here is an article in the New Yorker written by the author of Ametora
http://www.newyorker.com/culture/culture-desk/stalking-the-wild-madras-wearers-of-the-ivy-league
Linked in turn from an item on Ivy Style.
A nice book, giving lots of background (among other things) on the development of ivy in Japan. Even the ivy shirts of Kamakura now make sense to me.
I don't doubt that the book is interesting and worthwhile, but the title and description are perpetuating the same old silly myth. Japan didn't "save" American style. If, as the description cites, Uniqlo, Kamakura, Evisu and Kapital are the so-called "saviors" of this writer's fantasy, then I'm not sure that's really saying much at all... American manufacturing, much like American style, has been dead and buried for decades. The synopsis on Amazon is pretty ridiculous. It should more truthfully read: "a niche selection of articles and merchandise from the modern American wardrobe have been cleverly packaged, exorbitantly priced and effectively marketed through Western retail outlets thanks to the combined creative PR and distribution efforts of Japanese enterprise and a consumer obsessed culture, which profited enormously from the decline of American manufacturing during unfortunate periods when short-term Capitalist greed drove away US labor and craft by offshoring, outsourcing, recapitalizing, leveraging, union busting, asset stripping, and other mercenary and predatory tactics employed to seize control of the commons and sell it back at a price ruinous to everyone in the unscrupulous interest of resource and wealth extraction by egomaniacal parasites. Thankfully, American heritage has been lovingly preserved by a small number of fashionable Japanese brands who recognized opportunity to reintroduce these hallmarks of basic standard stuff, by offering limited edition reproductions made on traditional loop wheels and old fashioned shuttle looms, for absurd sums of money".
Last edited by Oliver (2015-12-29 03:47:03)
"How Japan Saved American Style or How I Learned to Stop Thinking and Spent $700 on Selvedge Denim"
I've read it and I found it somewhat uneven in terms of scope and theme. This is the fault of the editor (if there was one) and is a common flaw in pop culture tomes. The writing is weak in the early stages, very much mired in the paolo Hewitt/ Robert Elms school but then about a third of the way in it gets a lot better. Indeed the section on Van and the Ginza youth mob is clear, fluid and does contain a lot of original research. Mr Marx is to be commended for this as in nearly every other book on Ivy that I've read, I already knew all the content. And since my knowledge of Ivy is minuscule compared to the Titans who dwell on this forum, this just shows how weak such books are.
In terms of Japan ivy content, essentially it seems that Ivy there was a very patrician experience. Imagine if the British Modernist scene had been the sole creation of the Ben Sherman shirt company and you start to get the general idea. There are a lot of perspectives missing I'm sure, but Mr. Marx has done some decent original research in a field where language barriers and (on the part of the Japanese) a general indifference to their own pop culture history, makes genuine insight practically impossible. So full marks for trying. No pun intended.
Since I am not a native English speaker, I can't judge the language very much. For me, it appeared quite dry and actually was easy to read. Indeed it seems safe to say that the start of the project was the part of Ivy and the other parts of the books seems to be flanged on that centre piece.
I did not know that much about Ivy in Japan before and don't know if I actually wanted to learn all of this, but on the other hand it is nice to know and an interesting glimpse at a completely different culture and way of thinking. The whole VAN and Take Ivy thing really are a remarkable marketing case. Would have been the right place and time for Jim. The background on the Japanese mags was completely new to me. Very interesting.
Maybe I missed it, but for me one question was not answered - how and when did VAN get into business again after their collapse in the early 80s?
"Flanged"
Word of the day.
check it:
https://medium.com/ametora-extended/ametora-interviews-yoshio-sadasue-of-kamakura-shirts-9574e7ba3b90#.qxrb4xmql
https://www.heddels.com/2017/10/studio-dartisan-d1758-ametora-jeans/
Bit of a strange hybrid -will be great quality - but does anyone rock a crease in their jeans ?