Whether it's fashion, music, or sports, there is a style that only each person can express in any genre. "Style is Everything." That's right, someone once said that style is everything. "Style Resume" is a series of interviews with adults who, as the name suggests, have style. Updated every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, in the 14th installment, we hear from Wakatsuki Yoshio, a director who continues to be active in fields around the world, about his behind-the-scenes aesthetic.
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10. The period when I gained experience at Paris Fashion Week and other events.
1986 was my first time attending Paris Fashion Week. I was taken there because two brands, ISSEY MIYAKE and JUNKO SHIMADA, were holding shows at our store. Nowadays, the maximum number of figures shown in a show is 40 or 50, but at the time, ISSEY MIYAKE's show featured around 240. There were rehearsals for the opening and closing, but the 200 or so figures in between were unrehearsed. My job was to cue the models backstage, and I was nervous, wondering if it would be okay to do it without rehearsals. I've been involved in Paris Fashion Week many times since, and I can see the deep understanding and seriousness of the culture.
During my time at Saru, Shikata-san would often tell me, "When you read poetry or a piece of writing, you put intonation into it, right? That's what you need to do." I understood that he meant expressing emotion in the timing of when the models appear, that sort of nuance. Of course, it's also very important for a director to have ideas about the stage design and set for a show. So I tried to acquire both. My input came from everyday things like conversations with people and the news, as well as works I came across at art museums and cinemas. I thought it would be interesting if elements like Jean-Jacques Beineix's "Diva" (1981) and Sergio Leone's "Once Upon a Time in America" (1984) were incorporated into fashion.
Profile
Yoshio Wakatsuki (director)
Born in Nagano City, Nagano Prefecture in 1962, he is a member of DRUMCAN, a company that produces music concerts and art exhibitions, primarily for the Paris and Tokyo Collections. He is a professional who has supported various brands as a director for over 40 years. He has committed himself to remaining active throughout his life, adhering to the aesthetics of being a behind-the-scenes worker, and continues to create new creations today.
Instagram @yoshio_wakatsuki
