image: www.blog.3kingsclothing.com
Harajuku style is said to have its origin rooted in the streets near the Harajuku Station in Shibuya, Japan. The youth would be seen sporting a variety of constantly-changing styles including gothic Lolita, visual kei and decora. With Harajuku, there are no rules and, no, it did not begin with Gwen Stefani. But man have said that Japanese producer, musician and fashion designer – Hiroshi Fujiwara – is the ‘Godfather of Harajuku.’James Oliver of fashion and culture webzine POST caught up with Hiroshi Fujiwara to talk about his London and New York experiences, his own inspirations as a teenager, as well as him witnessing firsthand his influence over the evolution of Harajuku.
image: www.2filigallery.com
image: www.flickr.com
James Oliver: You visited London when you were younger. What was that experience like?
Hiroshi Fujiwara: That was when I was 18 years old and it was when the punk era had just finished and the pirate era was finishing, so it was when culture flag debuted so everyone was dressing really crazy.
You met Malcolm Maclaren back then. How did that come about and how did it open the doors for you?
I actually first met him here in Tokyo, I always liked him and someone introduced us. We used to go out for dinner or to the night clubs in London so he introduced me to a lot of what was happening in London.
The best thing he told me was London has finished, and I should go to New York.
He was really into hip-hop, it was around the time he released ‘Buffalo Gals’. He actually called his assistant and gave me the phone number of his assistant, Terry Doktor, who was living in New York and asked him to take care of me while I was there. This gave me a greater insight into the hip-hop scene in New York which was obviously inspiring.
How did you get introduced to the hip-hop scene? What was the DJ scene in Tokyo like when you first began?
I was already DJing before I met Malcolm and before I was really deep into hip-hop but I always wanted to go to New York. The most popular thing was the London Night by Kensho Onuki, he is a famous DJ and he was playing English music like punk.
Before I went to London I thought that was the music scene in London but when I went there and went to the clubs in London they weren’t playing punk, it was just disco or dance music.
After that I was more interested in hip-hop and house, so I didn’t really notice what was happening with music in England. All my friends in England liked Wild Bunch or Soul 2 Soul, not real dance but more underground.
What was different about travelling back then compared to now?
Information back then was much slower so travelling was more essential to get information. You had to go deep into the scene to get what you wanted out of it, so I was really into going out and hanging out with everyone.
image: www.flickr.com
image: www.flickr.com
Can you tell me what Tokyo was like in the ’80s and ’90s compared to places like London and NYC?
I think in the ’80s many people had already noticed Japan and that something was happening in Tokyo. Many DJ’s from London were coming to Tokyo to play, and we were already DJing and playing records and they were asking about what we were playing, looking for the real break beats and we were doing the same so we made friends with people. I think both the London and Tokyo people were looking deep into the New York hip-hop scene. Then in New York, the hip-hop scene wasn’t fashionable or trendy at all. There was some kind of gap between us, who thought there was a trend involved in hip-hop and real hip-hop, which was more street.
Can you tell me about Tinnie Punx?
That started in the early ’80s, maybe 1984. We made two records, but we and Kan were also editors of magazines under the same philosophy. Of course I still see him now, and we never really said Tinnie Punx was over, in fact we are both really into hip-hop but I began to get more into House music and maybe after Public Enemy broke onto the scene I thought this was really good and then I thought it was more of a African-American thing so I couldn’t really go much further.
Before Public Enemy it was more like a hey party but it was beginning to get more political so we became more house orientated.
Kan was more into hip-hop and dance, and I wasn’t really into dance at all.
Now you are known for playing the guitar. How did you first get interested in the guitar and how would you explain your style?
I have always played the guitar, since I was a teenager. Hiroki Nakamura from Visvim asked me to play at his store opening, I was often playing the guitar when I was travelling and going snowboarding with Hiroki so it was his suggestion for me to play live that started it all.
image : www.fuckyeahharajukugirls.tumblr.com
A couple of younger Japanese musicians that come to mind are Ino Hidefumi and Naoki Ei from Audio Arts, what do you think about them?
Ino is a great musician, I heard about him from Jean Touitou because Ino used to work for A.P.C. and it was then that he played the keyboard and got noticed. So through this connection we were able to get to know each other and work together. While Naoki used to work for Visvim, so that is how I knew him.
You are often referred to as the godfather of Harajuku. In your own words how would you explain your involvement in culture over the years?
If “godfather” means ‘mastermind’ then maybe I would agree. I was never really said I was a designer or anything like that. I would help stores like Nowhere open up and get exposure. All of my friends like Shin at Neighborhood or Jun at Undercover where they focused on their own projects and I would help promote these brands and do something for these people. At the time I never did anything for myself, so maybe I was the man behind. Then I started the store called Ready Made, at the time I thought it was a good time to open a store.
When was that?
It was 1996. Where the Head Porter store in Harajuku is now. I think that was a crazy time, there was so much hype and the amount of people that came to the stores was quite amazing. It was really surprising, a good surprise, but people lining up, so it was a big success. But when I did Ready Made, there was already A Bathing Ape, Undercover, WTAPS and SOPH, so everyone was already successful so there was already a culture there which helped. It was kind of like Junya Watanabe or Comme des Garcons, everything they do is a collaboration. Everything I did was with someone else, so making tee’s with NIGO or Undercover, so everything in the store was double branded.
Interview: James Oliver
Original interview published HERE
Source: wikipedia.com, hypebeast.com, post new,
images: individually credited
