Forgive the reference to a terrible '90s band in the title of this post, but I wanted to get a quick blurb up on Shu Uemura's spring/summer 2020 collection, a collaboration with influential Japanese sneaker brand Onitsuka Tiger. Despite being the world's least athletic woman, Tigers hold a special place in my heart. Plus, the bold, opaque colors spoke more to an '80s aesthetic rather than the "athleisure" trend of which I'm not a fan. As Kakuyasu Uchiide, Shu's international artistic director explained, "When this collaboration started, what came up in my mind is the healthy and active women wearing bright color makeup back in the 1980s." I for one was relieved to see a collaboration with a sportswear company that eschewed the minimal, no-makeup look usually associated with athletic-inspired makeup in favor of a more vibrant palette.
The lip colors were definitely my shades.
Yellow is my favorite color and the color of my own pair of Tigers so naturally I had to opt for this palette over the white one.
I picked up the cleansing oil to add to the tower. I mentioned this previously, but I'd like to reiterate my disappointment at the fact that Shu no longer prints the designs directly onto the bottles for the cleansing oil, only on a plastic perforated outer label that is meant to be removed. It just looks so cheap. And what's the point of buying the limited edition version if you don't even have a pretty bottle to hang onto and refill?
There were some other items in the collection including a bright yellow version of Shu's famous brow pencil – I mean, the shade itself wasn't actually yellow (although that would be fun!), just the outer casing. I liked the eyelash curler but I sort of wish it came with the little tiger head logo rather than the sneakers.
(image from shuuemurausa.com)
But I guess Shu wanted to draw attention to the fact that a special pair of sneakers, available exclusively at Onitsuka Tiger stores in Asia, were produced in honor of the collab. The shoes, dubbed "Delegation Ex", were inspired by a model worn by the Japanese team at the 1964 Olympics in Tokyo. The overall design resembles orthopedic shoes in my admittedly harsh opinion, but I do appreciate the glossy details on the sides, a nod to the high-shine finish of Shu's Rouge Unlimited Lacquer Shine lipstick.
Onitsuka Tiger has a fascinating history. New Zealand menswear store Barkers has a detailed profile and I encourage you to check it out in full along with this article, but here's a brief summary. The brand was created by Kihachiro Onitsuka in 1949 as a way to unite post-war Japan, which at that point had become enamored of American sports. The goal was to create a cutting-edge performance shoe for athletes and in the process, lift the country's morale and promote both mental and physical health through sports. After several failed attempts, Onitsuka gained new inspiration upon eating an octopus salad, noticing that the suckers tenaciously held onto the side of the bowl. He realized this same mechanism could be applied to shoes for basketball players, who up until that point did not have any footwear that facilitated the constant stopping, pivoting and re-starting motions. Onitsuka named the shoe the Tiger, which went on to become the number one choice for high school basketball players. (Basketball was among the most popular youth sports in Japan at the time since it required little equipment). By 1961 marathon runners were wearing Onitsuka shoes, and 1964 marked the first time Olympic athletes competed in the footwear at the Tokyo-hosted games. During the '70s Onitsuka merged with several other companies to become ASICS, an acronym for "Anima Sana in Corpore Sano" – Latin for "healthy body, healthy mind". Other ASICS products besides Onitsuka Tiger footwear took center stage throughout the '80s and '90s, but the early 2000s witnessed a resurgence in the line.
In 2003 Uma Thurman donned a pair of yellow Mexico 66 sneakers for her role as Beatrix Kiddo in Quentin Tarantino's Kill Bill. Referencing the Bruce Lee film Game of Death, the scene in Kill Bill led to a spike in demand for Tiger sneakers, particularly the Mexico 66.
Originally known as the "LIMBUR", this model was designed for the 1966 pre-Olympic trials in preparation for the 1968 games in Mexico, hence the name change to the Mexico 66. The style is also notable for being the first Onitsuka Tiger design to incorporate the now famous stripes. Between this history and not one but two legendary actors wearing them in significant movie roles, the Mexico 66 became the most recognizable model in the Onitsuka line. The shoes' popularity in the early-mid 2000s also solidified Onitsuka Tiger's place as a leading sportswear brand.
Now here's a personal anecdote: Upon seeing the Kill Bill fight sequence, I knew I needed a pair of yellow Tigers in my life. Four years after the movie's release, the husband and I took our first international trip together with London as our destination. I was still obsessed with those sneakers so at the top of our itinerary was visiting the Onitsuka Tiger boutique where I finally purchased a pair of my very own. Granted, I ended up with the California 78 style with blue stripes instead of black, since when I laid eyes on them in person I actually preferred the design of them over the Mexico 66, but they were yellow Tigers and that's all that mattered to me. 🙂
As for collabs, previously Onitsuka Tiger partnered with high-end fashion houses like Valentino and Givenchy, and recruited both Will Smith and his daughter Willow as brand ambassadors in 2019 and 2020, respectively.
It's still not clear why or how the collab with Shu came about. They're both historic Japanese companies that boast an enormous global impact, but beyond that I'm not sure how the decision to partner was arrived at. Both brands use the same PR firm, but that's all I was able to gather. Overall, I thought this was a fun collab that didn't fall into a predictable athleisure trap. The color choices were perfect for the packaging and the makeup in that they honored Onitsuka Tiger's history, reflected the energy displayed by athletes and channeled '80s makeup styles at the same time. And while cosmetics and sneakers don't seem to be the most harmonious combination, the two came together nicely, particularly in the painterly manner in which Tiger's iconic stripes are rendered - a direct reference the art of makeup.
What do you think of this one? Do you own a pair of Tigers?
As video games are not my forte, this will be a short post. I did however want to briefly share what I got from the Super Mario collection from Shu Uemura. I couldn't find much information as to why they decided to collaborate and why this year – Super Mario debuted in 1985 so it's not a major anniversary of the game. Of course, I was unable to access the full article in WWD because my local library STILL doesn't have that particular issue available, but I was able to cobble together a few WWD quotes from Shu's artistic director regarding the collection. Kakuyasu Uchiide told the publication, "This collection is not so much about creating, but it is about playing. I want people to be able to play with their individual style. I really want to show what is our spirit, our DNA, our creativity. That's the only way to realize what Mr. Uemura wanted to do, which was to strive to link art with cosmetics, to link art with beauty…This time we got inspiration from culture. Super Mario Bros. is one cultural aspect that is representative of Japan. It’s also really, really popular overseas." I have a feeling the full article might be able to shed more light as to how the collaboration with Nintendo came about, but as the company has teamed up with many other brands and designers (and also licensed a children's shampoo – Shu's collection is not the first one to have Super Mario themed haircare) I guess it's not that unexpected that they partnered with a Japanese makeup brand.
Some of the items weren't sold in the U.S. and the palette was completely sold out, so I had to go to my trusty personal shopper in Japan to get my grubby paws on them.
The packaging design is taken from the game's original 1985 look.
The basic premise of the game: "Super Mario Bros. takes place in the Mushroom Kingdom. The game begins when a tribe of a turtle-like race known as the Koopa Troopas invade the kingdom and uses the magic of its king, Bowser, to turn its inhabitants into inanimate objects such as bricks. Bowser and his army also kidnap Princess Toadstool, the daughter of the Mushroom King and the only one with the ability to reverse Bowser's spell. After hearing the news, Mario sets out to save the princess and free the kingdom from Bowser. After traveling through various parts of the kingdom and fighting Bowser's forces along the way, Mario finally reaches Bowser's final stronghold, where he is able to defeat him and send him falling into a pool of lava, allowing the princess to be freed and the Mushroom Kingdom saved." The princess was always known as Princess Peach in Japan, but was changed to Princess Toadstool in the English version.
The flying turtles (Koopa Paratroopas) and little mushrooms (Goombas) are the most commonly appearing enemies of Mario. He can, however, usually defeat them by tossing a fire flower their way, the motif that decorates the cushion blush compact.
I always appreciate a pattern on the interior of boxes – such a nice little detail.
This was the only disappointment packaging-wise for me. Unlike other Shu cleansing oils, the pattern isn't printed directly on the bottle, only on the plastic wrapping. The reason I know this (and was able to avoid mistakenly taking off the outer wrapping) was because I purchased the smaller Mario cleansing oil to actually use, as I thought it would look cute in my bathroom. I went to peel off the wrap and realized the print was on there and that the bottle itself was plain. I have no idea why Shu decided to did that, as the patterns are printed directly onto the bottle with all my other limited edition oils.
The palette was the standout of the collection, which sold out in a flash in the U.S. It's easy to see why – it has most of the main characters from the game complete with gold foil details, and the blushes on the inside are embossed with more motifs from the game.
Here's just a short history of Super Mario Bros. In the early '80s Nintendo was struggling to keep afloat in the American market. The CEO ended up tapping a graphic designer who had never designed a game in his life, Shigeru Miyamoto, to come up with a compelling story and accompanying game. Loosely based on Popeye characters, Donkey Kong debuted in 1981 and introduced "Jumpman", who would become Mario two years later. Nintendo knew their audience wouldn't really respond to Jumpman – a proper name was needed. Mario ended up being the chosen moniker, named after a landlord who, during a meeting, stormed in and demanded the overdue rent for the warehouse Nintendo was occupying at the time. While Mario Bros. was relatively popular, it wasn't until 1985 when Super Mario Bros. debuted that the game really took off.
Some other fun facts about Super Mario, courtesy of The Guardian:
Mario was originally a carpenter, not a plumber.
The Super Mario bros series is in the Guinness Book of Records as the most successful gaming franchise of all time. As of 2010, it boasted global sales of over 240 million units.
The character Mario has appeared in over 200 separate video games.
What do you think of this collection? Do you like video games? While I played Super Mario a few times as a kid, I probably would have been more into video games if I wasn't so uncoordinated. 😛
Save
Save
Save
Save
Save
Save
Save
Save
Save
Save
Save
Save
Save
I thought I'd get the holiday ball rolling with Shu's latest collection, their second collaboration with world-renowned artist Takashi Murakami. The video above brings the collection story to life: "One late night in Tokyo, a young woman gazes up at the sky, dreaming of adventure and discovery. Suddenly the infinite darkness is animated, a myriad of vividly colored flower-stars dance across the sky. The wide-eyed, beaming flower-stars sweep her away on a cosmic journey, illuminating a new universe of beauty, and a galaxy of hope beyond her imagination." As charming as the video is, I have to admit that the story, along with the packaging, didn't wow me at first glance. And to tell the truth I'm still on the fence as to whether I really like this collection. Let's see why.
I picked up two items, the Cosmicool palette and the cleansing oil.
These crazily grinning flowers are probably Murakami's most famous motif (they even had the privilege of taking over an entire room at Versailles), so it makes sense that they would end up on the Shu packaging. Still, their use left me feeling a little underwhelmed. Off I went in search of some deeper significance for Murakami's flowers in the hopes of finding the Shu collection to be more inspired than it first appears.
According to a 2002 interview, Murakami spent much of his early days drawing flowers: “When I was preparing for the entrance exams for the University of Fine Arts, I spent two years drawing flowers. I drew some every day. And the entrance exam in the Nihon-ga section also involved flower drawing. Afterwards, to earn a living, I spent nine years working in a preparatory school, where I taught the students to draw flowers. Once every two days, I would buy flowers for my lesson and make compositions for the students to work on. At the beginning, to be frank, I didn’t like flowers, but as I continued teaching in the school, my feelings changed: their smell, their shape – it all made me feel almost physically sick, and at the same time I found them very ‘cute’. Each one seems to have its own feelings, its own personality.” I found that last sentence to be quite intriguing, since all of his flowers seem to have the same personality, yes? It would seem that they're all happy and smiling, as in these examples.
However, Murakami's ambivalence towards flowers – simultaneously finding them both "cute" and unappealing – is actually expressed in many of his flower works. In this article from 2011, Murakami explains how the bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki was a key influence in the formation of his style, along with American and Japanese cartoon characters: "There is brightness. But my real story has a kind of darkness…I expanded it to include some of the characters that you see in my work…Mickey Mouse and the characters from Japanese games. There is the contrast between the cuteness and the cruelty. And the sadness and the cruelty and the cuteness are symbolized by the characters. So this is how my early work began. As an expression of sadness and cruelty.” If you look closely at some of the flower paintings, some of them aren't smiling; on the contrary, they're crying.
A weeping flower can be found towards the upper right in this one.
I zoomed in and cropped the image so you can see it a little better.
And another on the right, it's a small flower with pale pink leaves and a white center.
Murakami's work went especially dark in 2012, when he interspersed skulls with flowers for an exhibition at the Gagosian. The collection of 28 works for the exhibition continued one of Murakami's "central dichotomies of his art—between joy and terror, his optimistic magnanimity as an artist and his pessimistic perspective on postwar Japan." But it was also a response to the 2011 earthquake and tsunami. "Natural catastrophes and earthquakes are things caused by nature. Such chaos is natural, but we have to make sense of it somehow, and so we had to invent these stories. That is what I wanted to paint,” he states.
More recent works also have the sad flowers, even the ones with seemingly cheerful titles.
Detail (look below the blue flower on the bottom right):
Even though sometimes the flowers aren't as bright and positive as they seem, I was pleased to see at least some explanation of their meaning for Murakami and the deeper ideas he's trying to express through them. And there aren't any sad flowers in the Shu collection, so I think it was intended to be magical and optimistic, which is more appropriate for the holiday season. Having said that, I would have liked to see an original flower piece for the Shu collection. There are so many flower paintings I simply couldn't tell whether these particular flowers were borrowed from another work or if they were something new created just for the Shu collection, but it would have been nice to know. Even though my cursory investigation yielded some answers, I'm still a little perplexed by the selection of flowers for this collection, especially after seeing the making of the video.
It's so elaborate – hiring dancers to "wrap" the city, a carefully thought-out nod to Murakami's background (he makes a cameo as a taxi driver, which was his father's occupation), and music selection – it seems like more work went into making the collection video than the packaging. And going back to my previous statement that Murakami's flowers are his best-known motif, they really do appear everywhere, from cushions to key chains to sneakers. There was even a pop-up cafe in Tokyo devoted to Murakami's flowers last year.
All of this is to say nothing of his long-time collaboration with Louis Vuitton, which, incidentally, featured a collection with the same name as the Shu palettes! Cosmic Blossom debuted in 2010; both of this year's Shu palettes are also titled Cosmic Blossom. My hunch about the packaging being somewhat uninspired seems correct in light of all this. It seems like the company just decided to slap Murakami's most iconic symbol on there and call it a day, without protest from the artist.
I also can't help but wonder whether I agree with this 2007 take on the artist's business endeavors: "Unfortunately, since around 2001 Murakami has been so set on merging fine art with commercial product that by now all he’s doing is moving merch. The best that can be said about Murakami’s new work is that he’s making pretty money. Or pretty empty money. The main attractions of this exhibition are 50 little happy-faced flower paintings and six large portraits of a haggard-looking Zen patriarch. The flowers are insipid. So are the portraits, although at least with them Murakami is up to his old extreme stylization. But the real content of Murakami’s art is money and marketability. Hence, each of the 50 silly flowers reportedly goes for $90,000; the portraits, about $1.5 mil per unit. Four better larger flower paintings run about $450,000; two boring pictures of severed hands, about $400,000. Needless to say, the gallery reports everything is sold." Ouch. While I don't want to appear nearly as harsh, on the one hand, I'm sort of in agreement that Murakami just might be a bit of a sell-out at this point. Having your key motif on commercial items is fine, but when it appears on so many things, it loses a little something – it just doesn't seem as special. On the other hand, I admire any artist who also possesses this level of business acumen; in this day and age, it's basically expected that artists will embark on these sorts of partnerships. I mean, I have an entire category of posts on makeup/artist collaborations! And while I do think at times it's something of a cash grab, putting one's most recognizable work on merchandise isn't an entirely terrible or tasteless thing, as it ensures accessibility for those who can't afford the original. I wouldn't mind having those little flower faces smiling at me from an original painting, but since I can't afford those, having them on makeup (or key chain, or whatever you prefer) is the next best thing. It's the same concept as couture house makeup: A tweed Chanel jacket is out of my financial reach, but I can buy a Chanel blush with a tweed pattern on it. It's also a way to introduce one's work to an audience that might not necessarily be familiar with it otherwise. For the vast majority of artist collabs that I've covered, I can't say I've heard of the artist prior to their working with a makeup company and I really enjoy finding out about them this way.
So where does that leave me in terms of the Shu collection? I guess the bottom line is that I think it's worthy of the Museum's collection since it does incorporate the artist's best-known work, but it's not the most inspired we've seen. Especially not when compared to the previous Murakami collection, which, though it borrowed one of the artist's animated works, at least had a more original theme. Perhaps if Murakami had created a unique flower design specifically for Shu I'd be more enthusiastic.
Thoughts?
It's kind of a moot point that these beautiful Shu cleansing oils slipped through my radar last year, as 1. they were Australia-exclusive and I had no way of purchasing them; and 2. they're technically hair products, so it's a bit outside the Museum's purview. Still, they're pretty awesome looking so I wanted to share them anyway.
As the first installment of their Art Series, in May of 2015 Shu teamed up with 3 Australian artists to design 3 bottles for the brand's Cleansing Oil Shampoo. The collection was released at a VIP event at Sydney's China Heights Gallery.
First up we have fashion designer Emma Mulholland, whose quirky, surf culture-inspired pieces are making her a favorite among the likes of Kanye West, Azealia Banks and Grimes. Photos of her spring/summer 2015 collection, entitled "Risqué Business", adorned the walls of the gallery where the oils were being displayed.
Mulholland, a graduate of Sydney's TAFE, made her solo debut at Australian Fashion Week in 2013 and cites '80s and '90s pop culture as her main sources of inspiration. "I love pop culture and watching movies is one of my favourite ways to relax. I like movies from the 80s and 90s mainly so I’m always inspired by them, also a lot of bands and musicians from those times too," she says. I can definitely see these influences in her work, from the '80s pops of neon and geometric shapes to the '90s-esque platform sneakers and overall silhouettes.
I'm particularly fond of her "Spaced Out" collection – it's an incredibly fun riff on the conspiracy theory that aliens built the Egyptian pyramids.
As for the Shu collab, Mulholland explains, "Shu Uemura got in contact with me about the Art Series and it sounded like a really exciting project so I jumped at the opportunity to work with them. It was great because I got to look back through my archive prints and work with them on choosing one that would work for the bottle. [It's] a print from one of my very first collections ‘Bad as I Guana Be’. The theme was the Mexican desert but mixed with basketball—so that’s how it came about." It's totally bizarre, so naturally I love it.
Next up we have tattoo artist Dean Carlyle. I was unable to find any information on how the collaboration with Shu came about, or any other biographical information about him, but I think we get a good sense of his aesthetic just by looking at his tattoos. Big, bold, traditional-style tattoos are his jam – none of the delicate, single-needle stuff we see so much of these days (although I must say I prefer the latter!) These are definitely not for the faint of heart.
As for the Shu oil, you can see the rest of the illustration as it was installed in the gallery. The stock photo of the bottle at the beginning of this post only gives a partial view of the fierce woman that wraps around the side and back of the bottle.
I think the design on the Shu oil is most reminiscent of these drawings by Carlyle.
You can catch a peek of more of his work at the gallery.
Finally, we have New Zealand-born, Melbourne-based illustrator Andrew Archer. Originally trained as a graphic designer, Archer is influenced by woodblock prints and his stints living in Asia, which is readily apparent in his work. Archer created a Japanese warrior-inspired design for the Shu collab. I think this one best represents the product given its emphasis on the hairstyle.
The Shu collab caught Archer a little off guard, but he was pleased with the end result. He says, "I was initially curious as to why [Shu was] wanting my work specifically for the collaboration, most beauty brands play it pretty safe with their imagery and in contrast Shu Uemura wasn't at all shy about wanting to get something different, stylistic and contrasting incorporated into their brand. This was almost entirely what made me want to work with Shu Uemura – the chance to create something unique, and present something to a new audience who could join in the visual journey Shu Uemura and I created together."
Archer describes his style as "free flowing, confident but quirky coloring and surreal," which we can see in these prints for the FIA Formula E racing championship series. I also like how sharply Archer captured not only the cities in which the championships took place but also the speed and motion of the cars - you can practically hear the "whoosh!" as they zoom by.
Of course, I'm partial to sea creatures. I think you can especially see the influence of woodblock prints in these two.
Some more of his work at the China Heights Gallery:
Overall, I'm dismayed that this collection was exclusive to Australia, and I find it odd that it didn't even make it to the Asian markets – if they had, I may have had a chance of acquiring these. I know technically they're hair products but I still would love to have gotten my hands on them. What's even sadder is that there is another artist series that Shu did earlier this summer and it's the same Australia-exclusive shtick, so I can't get those either. (I'm still going to cover the series anyway though so stay tuned!) Finally, I really admire whoever curated/installed the gallery show. If I had a physical museum, artist collabs would look a lot like this.
Which is your favorite? I liked all of them but I think Emma Mulholland's is my pick. While she didn't create an original design specifically for the collaboration, the sheer absurdity of the lizards and basketball print, plus the fact that it had absolutely nothing to do with hair care, made an excellent choice for the bottle in my opinion.
Save
I have to admit that the packaging for this collection didn't immediately set off my curadar (curating radar), but given the frenzy over K-beauty over the past 2 or so years, coupled with the fact that Kye is an important up-and-coming fashion designer, I figured it would be a worthy addition to the Museum. And you know I can't resist Shu's limited-edition cleansing oils. 😉
Kathleen Kye was born in the U.S., raised in Seoul and attended London's Central Saint Martins. Her clothing line, which was launched in 2011, is notable not just for its edgy, high-fashion streetwear aesthetic, but also for its focus on unisex design.
The pattern on the Shu collection incorporates a seemingly random group of motifs along with Kye's signature. Uh-oh, I thought – is this just a bunch of stuff Kye slapped on there without any thought?
Nope! I was thrilled to see that the pattern wasn't just an arbitrary scattering of icons that the designer happened to throw on there. Shu featured this handy dandy little chart explaining the meaning behind most of them.
"I try to take some serious themes and issues to something light and beautiful." – See more at: https://www.vogue.it/en/talents/new-talents/2013/01/kathleen-kye#sthash.NOgX9LCN.dpuf
Kye tells Vogue, "I try to take some serious themes and issues to something light and beautiful." I'd also add fun and modern to that description. The symbols pay homage to Korea's history but also demonstrate a playful twist. I particularly love the representation of the country's national animal in gummy form. Kye also shows her understanding not just of Korea's heritage but also the present cultural climate for the country's bustling youth through the "24" and the alarm clock symbols.
Overall, while this isn't my favorite Shu collab, I think Kye is the perfect designer to team up with to celebrate Korea's youth culture and the influence it's having on the rest of the world. And I always appreciate when the artist puts some actual thought into what they're making for the cosmetic brand they're collaborating with rather than either blindly copying old designs or slapping on whatever is appealing to them at the moment.
What do you think?
Save
Save
Save
Shu Uemura's spring 2016 collection, Pastel Fantasy, is largely gone from their website to make room for the summer collaboration with Korean fashion designer Kye, but I thought I'd cover the cheerful little palette from the collection anyway.
As soon as I saw it I suspected there was an artist behind the floral illustration, but figured the U.S. website was once again hiding information about him/her. I was right – a quick search on the Japanese Shu site yielded the name Satoko Wada. The charming purple flowers are her take on Japanese hydrangeas.
Wada is a Tokyo-based artist who specializes in a particular type of illustration known as line drawing. While I couldn't find much information on her background, it seems she's a relative newcomer to the art scene, having only started drawing in 2009 and becoming a successful independent artist by 2012. I also couldn't find any information on how the collaboration with Shu came about, but Wada's work is a perfect fit for a pastel-themed spring makeup collection. Some of her other drawings:
My favorite:
In just a few years Wada managed to collaborate with other companies to create everything from textiles to posters and stationery.
I also found this video, showing Wada leading an informal wall painting session at furniture store Bo Concept in Yokohama, Japan.
What I am most curious about though are these oversize penguin cut-outs Wada made. Google Translate was, as usual, completely useless.
I love that for their beach adventure they're wearing leis.
From what I can piece together these two characters visit various locales throughout Japan and are the mascots for either a town called Shirahama or something for trains…but I really have no idea. I did check out trainart.jp, but still couldn't get any concrete information. Near as I can figure, it's some sort of collaborative art project where various artists decorate train stations, and I think Wada was the artist selected for 2015. But I still have no clue as to where Shirahama fits in. Maybe because there's a zoo/amusement park there called Adventure World that has penguins? Apparently it's the only place in Japan that successfully hatched an emperor penguin.
And I guess these little fellas have names, based on this photo.
It still doesn't explain how they ended up in forests and beaches, but it looks like an incredibly fun project nonetheless.
Overall, I can't say I know much about line drawing, but I do enjoy Wada's style. It seems to have a bit of a traditional, folk-art vibe but somehow appears modern at the same time. And I love that she works extensively with color rather than black and grey. Obviously, the "strolling penguins" show that she also has a great imagination (plus they remind me of my beloved Sailor Babo.) As for the Shu collection, in looking at Wada's online gallery, it looks as though she created a new design specifically for the collection rather than slapping on one of her older works, which I also appreciate. I somewhat regret not getting around to buying the palette for the Museum's collection now! I also think Shu could have done a much bigger collection and commissioned some other designs for cleansing oils, etc. rather than just one little palette.
Thoughts? And if anyone can explain the penguin mystery I'm all ears!
Just when I thought there were no new cleansing oils in sight from Shu, they surprised us with these two to celebrate the Chinese New Year. If I had known these were coming I would have held off on my group portrait, but c'est la vie. Anyway, like the Qiang embroidery patterns from 2015's cleansing oils, this year Shu honored another traditional Chinese art: kites. The company collaborated with expert kite maker Zhang Xiaodong to create two custom patterns for the oils.
The first is a traditional "swallow" shaped kite that in this case represents rebirth. Magpies are symbols of happiness and good luck in Chinese culture, while the goldfish signify an abundance of wealth. I actually think the boxes for both of the oils are prettier than the bottles themselves, as they have more detail and color.
The theme of the other cleansing oil is metamorphosis, symbolized by the butterfly. Additionally, Cranes signify longevity, while camellias represent long-lasting devotion in marriage.
Zhang Xiaodong is one of China's leading kite artists. He is one of a handful of aging craftsmen in China struggling to save the dying art of kite-making. Between budget cuts for cultural heritage programs that fund kite-making and a younger generation disinterested in the practice, kite artists are challenged in keeping the tradition alive. Zhang does his part by spending his spare time teaching children and teenagers in Weifang, the world's "kite capital", how to make kites. Unfortunately I couldn't find any information (in English, anyway) about what inspired him to create the designs he did for the Shu collab, just some pictures showing him at work. But both of the oils' themes – rebirth and metamorphosis – stem from the central idea of a renaissance of sorts, so I'm interpreting the designs as an expression of the artist's hope of breathing new life into an art form that's fading away.
Traditional kites are made by hand-painting pieces of silk and attaching them to bamboo frames, which you can see a bit of below.
From I was able to piece together here, Shu also collaborated with 19 year-old Chinese singer Dou Jing Tong (a.k.a. Leah Dou) to help bridge the gap between youth culture and the historic art of kite-making. Dou was interviewed in this video and some background information on Zhang was provided. (Alas, it's all in Chinese.) Additionally, Dou released her second single as part of the Shu campaign, the video for which features the kites made by Zhang.
I thought using his kites in the video for a young pop star's song and also animating the designs was an interesting approach to mixing the old and the new. Some people might see it as nothing more than a thinly veiled attempt to expose a younger generation to traditional Chinese kites with the hopes of gaining some appreciation for them, but the I think the marketing people tried their best. I think if maybe young people didn't know that the designs were done by an old-school craftsman, they might think it's neat. Or perhaps the long-standing history of kites and their non-mass-produced, handmade nature are the very things to spark interest among Chinese hipster youth, equivalent to things like taxidermy or any food promoted as "artisanal" here in the States.
Anyway, I applaud Shu for trying to bring attention to yet another cultural institution that's slipping away, and I liked the bright colors and patterns on these oils. I just wish Shu would make this information readily available on their U.S. website. If they're going to sell the oils here then they need to provide the backstory too. I'm sure a lot of American buyers would be curious.
For their holiday 2015 collection, Shu collaborated with hip French fashion label Maison Kitsuné for an "East meets West" theme. I had heard of the line before but it wasn't really on my radar. However, as with all makeup collabs, I get more interested in the artist or designer once I see their work on the packaging.
I picked up the Indigo palette, Plum Glitz nail polish and the cleansing oil. The packaging is adorned with an equal mix of Parisian and Japanese motifs to represent the East/West concept – a beret vs. a straw hat, coffee vs. green tea, a flouncy dress vs. a kimono, etc. And of course the brand's little fox logo makes an appearance too (kitsuné means fox).
I tried to up my photography game by using this very soft faux fur blanket as a backdrop…not sure how successful that was but I can tell you that blanket is ridiculously comfortable! I encourage everyone to buy one.
You know I love when the patterns continue on the inside of the boxes!
Because I'm such a good customer I got both a free key chain and tote bag – too cute!
Let's take a quick peek at some of Maison Kitsuné's fashion, shall we? The line was founded in 2002 by Gildas Loaëc and Masaya Kuroki, who seek to blend contemporary Parisian and Tokyo style. From the website: "Maison Kitsuné men and women recognize this perfect balance between tradition and modernity, comfort and simplicity, chic and laid-back. While the 'classics' are constantly reinvented, giving the collections a sense of timelessness, the daring mix of colours, prints and materials anchor them firmly in the zeitgeist. With a passion for all things beautiful and a keen eye for detail and finish, the house has a unique savoir-faire."
Their work reminds me of Paul & Joe, only a little less twee and shot through with a slight Tokyo vibe.
Getting back to the Shu collection, I believe the designs on the packaging were made specifically for the collection, as I couldn't find any reference to them in Maison Kitsuné's fashion pieces. I like that they didn't just recycle something they've done a lot in the past but rather developed an original creation that also clearly represented what Maison Kitsuné is about: a playful yet sophisticated combination of Paris and Tokyo fashion. From a purely aesthetic perspective, I enjoyed the variety of motifs against the colorful geometric background, and that different items had different patterns. For example, the Indigo palette and the cleansing oil have a different set of emblems, while the nail polish stayed simple by featuring only the fox logo. Overall, I thought Maison Kitsuné did a great job in adjusting their fashion concept to fit cosmetic packaging – you know it's theirs but not because they slapped on a bunch of prints from previous collections. I think they perfectly answered the question of how one would depict a marriage of Parisian and Japanese styles.
What do you think?
Shu's impressive holiday collection is already out, but I still wanted to cover their fall collection. I smell a graffiti-themed makeup exhibition brewing. ;) Between this collaboration and Urban Decay's France-exclusive collection back in the summer, not to mention previous collaborations with street artists/muralists (see here, here, here, here and here) it seems cosmetic companies have gone crazy for graffiti art.
For the Vision of Beauty: Haute Street collection, Shu teamed up with New York City-based artist Oyama Enrico Isamu Letter (that's a mouthful!), whose work adorns two palettes and a lip tint. I liked that his signature graffiti was reproduced in both his usual color scheme of black and white as well as purple and pink.
This video shows Oyama at work, and also explains Shu International Artistic Director Kakuyasu Uchiide's inspiration for the collection. He notes, "In street art, location plays a really important role. In makeup it is the same: makeup and face working together to make a statement." I agree that makeup application and graffiti present an interesting parallel that goes beyond the usual face-as-canvas narrative.
Born and raised in Tokyo, in the early 2000's Oyama developed a signature motif he calls Quick Turn Structure. He explains in his artist's statement: "Graffiti is an act of writing a name in the streets. In graffiti culture, this name composed of stylized letters represents writer’s alter ego. I remove letter shapes and decorative elements to extract only the sharp fluid line, which I consider otherwise can’t fully realize its dynamism. The line is called Quick Turn and I repeat it to generate an abstract motif. Instead of inventing a name for my own alter ego, I gave the motif a name, Quick Turn Structure. QTS is an interpretation of the visual language of graffiti culture in the context of contemporary art. What was previously a name that represents one's alter ego is transformed into plain yet tight visual objects. Lines slash back, spin and interlock. Facet-like surfaces contrasted in black and white produce three-dimensional depth. Those visual objects create a complex shape through their minimal yet spontaneous expansion. Its tightly knit structure multiplies by intrinsic order and keeps growing without hardening up. The way QTS generates is based not on a mathematical algorithm, nor a random improvisation, but on a methodology that was somatically gained through the experience of numerous practices performed on various media with different scales and materials. As it generates, the stoical process of drawing Quick Turn lines emerges as the motif, and it is built up into a piece of art. Then, soon afterwards, it starts to generate towards another, as if a piece were just a trace of a move that QTS left behind."
In reading this and looking at the Shu packaging I can definitely see the process. I'm not sure I necessarily agree that he's "removing" letter shapes so much as bending, straightening and interlocking them to create an abstract design, but I do like the combination of sharpness and fluidity – his designs remind me of bent nails. I think it would be pretty bad-ass to have one of his motifs in necklace form (like this), as I'm always fond of accessories that resemble hardware/weapons, i.e., safety pins, razor blades, barbed wire, etc.
Anyway, one of the things I love about graffiti artist collabs is that it's always interesting to see their work in the original environment, and then determining whether it works on the smaller scale of makeup packaging. Here are some of Oyama's work on and inside various buildings and stores in Japan, along with a 2012 drawing.
I think Oyama's style works well on the Shu packaging, but to my eye it sort of looks like this restaurant's logo, which I see nearly every day since it's right near my work building. Obviously the design on the Shu collection is much more imaginative, complex and high-art, but it does bear a slight resemblance.
So I'm not sure whether I want it for the Museum's collection. On the other hand, as I mentioned at the beginning of this post, it might make a nice addition to a graffiti-themed exhibition.
