N. Hoolywood

Japanese designer Daisuke Obana, 37, started his career as a vintage buyer and this single fact speaks volumes about his designs. Besides, he's fascinated by Americana, which informs his label's meticulous construction using a specific period of time as a theme. For this season's collection, that means police mug shots from the 1910s to the 1940s. "Criminals of that era were so good-looking, had so much style", said Daisuke Obana, "men were well-dressed, in classic looks, with very good hairstyles"..."but when they were caught, they had to wear uniforms". Well-kempt, perhaps, but not so well-behaved then : the men he took his cues from this season were convicts and derelicts. "Police Picture", he called this N.Hoolywood collection (the first he's presented at New York fashion week actually): "It's a polite way of saying 'mug shot' ", he added. The setup made for one of the most interesting presentations : first, there was a gallery, filled with mug shot-style portraits by Katsuhide Morimoto, and at the far side, a long thin picture window. Elbow your way past rapturous Japanese cameramen and you could watch the models, one by one, march into view, turn to face the front and then in profile, as a flashbulb light went on and off. These were mug shots in action, modeled by guys who looked far rougher around the edges than your usual runway waifs. Prisoners never looked this good : panels of conductor-stripe denim zigzagged over bomber jackets and trousers; full-leg denim work pants, work shirts, and perfectly distressed knits were emblazoned with the serial numbers of convicts. But those were just the looks from the way in. The best section of the show featured refractions of jailbird garb : inmate-issue striped jeans, tops and jackets. These were less faithful to the historical record : graphic b/w stripes shoot every which kinetic way -vertically, horizontally, meeting in chevron V's. In other words, there was a bunch of stylish guys who look like trouble, hanging out in cool Japanese uniforms.
ファインダーを向けられたときの、不安、緊張、諦め…。実際、撮られるものにしか想像できない環境。記録から分かることは、確実に罪を犯したという事実。不特定で、全く異なる人々の記録ファイル。