Fashion has become very fashionable and there’s something comforting and fun about working in a virtual world especially if your only 10 years old. I think I would have liked games like this when I was little. Fashion games for girls is a huge market so it’s just not surprising that Koei have created a game around Japanese Street fashion. Japanese Street fashion has been so influential - Photographer Shoichi Aoki’s books Fruits & Fresh Fruits are so popular that Aoki’s been credited with introducing Japanese street fashion to the rest of world!
In the world of Pop Cutie players will start the game as an independent designer with a small shop at a flea market - like so many real young designers. As players progress, they’ll move into larger boutiques. The competition against rival shop owners culminates in a ‘Fashion Battle,’ where a panel of judges will decide if a player’s style has enough cute or enough cool to become all the rage.
The game involves running the boutique, hiring staff and models, and decorating their shops. It also involves fashion design based on capturing and combining “images” from kids on the street. Two-player “Fashion Battles” are also possible with a friend who has a copy of Pop Cutie.
I like the concept of the game I’m just not sure if the characters are cool or fashionable enough - when someone says Japanese Street Fashion the expectations are high. Anyway when I was little, like so many other Canadians, summer holidays involved a long, long road trip - I would have loved to have a super cool fashion game to pass the time!
[resource Game Press]
The dog is no longer man’s best friend but has become a delightful fashion accessory. Over the past few years I’ve seen quite a few fluffy pink lap dogs. I find the dogs quite amusing, cute and slightly odd - all at the same time. I must admit I’m kind of drawn to the dog, I’m just not sure that if I had a dog that I’d dye her fur.
This puppy was born last week, and so far, he is perfectly healthy… he’s just green. Veterinarians say this can happen when the mother’s amniotic fluid mixes with the placenta during birth and dyes the coat of the puppy. In a few weeks, the green will fade and the puppy become it’s natural colour.
I love Japanese fashion and their love for their pets! The Japanese beauty company Merry Do Beauty Products, offer a rainbow of colours for your pet! They even have 10 different colours of nail polish for you pet made from natural plant ingredients, combined with natural Vitamin E!
This is a special mud bath for the dog, how cute is he! I love spas but I wonder if the dog likes it, if it’s fun for him, maybe he likes all the attention and praise? I would.
Thakoon, Richard Nicoll, Bora Aksu and Matthew Langille have created exclusive Fair Trade fashion pieces for People Tree. The limited edition collection, only 100 pieces per style will are available ion line in the UK and will appear in the June 2007 issue of Japanese Vogue modelled by supermodels, Helena Christensen, Lily Cole, Shalom Harlow and Anne Watanabe.
Bora Aksu Matthew Langille
Thakoon Richard Nicoll
With the hot weather it’s easy to start thinking of summer dressing. I’ve always been a big fan of Bora Aksu so I’m loving this summer dress! Check out People Tree as each designer has done a couple of styles in a few colours, so there more to see!
I went to visit Kristian Aadnevik at his studio in London. Kristian is warm, kind and friendly and of course incredibly talented. Needless to say he works very very hard. He just returned from Australian Fashion Week and he’s already busy in his studio planning the next collection.
Kristian set up his own label in 2004 after graduating from London’s Royal College of Art in 2002. Before then he won several awards and worked as a design assistant for Alexander McQueen. He also worked with Harrods International and Charles Jourdan in Japan.
Kristian’s collections are beautiful, glamorous, sexy and verge on couture. His dresses have a dark edge and a slim cut silhouette using feathers, leather, texture and embellishment with luxury fabrics. Every piece is stunning. Recently I’ve had a desire to wear more fabulous dresses and to feel glamorous. I just want to dress up. Kritian’s studio is full of so many amazing pieces that my head was spinning! I really have a physical reaction when I see things that I love, I’m sure my heart rate goes up - it’s like an adrenalin rush.
Kristian just returned from showing in Sydney. He’s is part of the Wool Protégé show, which features the collections of six emerging designers who have been hand-picked and mentored by six international fashion figures to develop an Australian merino-based collection.
The Protégé Collection:
Jean-Pierre Braganza (mentor Karl Lagerfeld)
Kristian Aadnevik (Donatella Versace)
Julian Louie (Francisco Costa)
Ioannis Cholidis (Paul Smith)
Sandra Backlund (Vogue Italia editor Franca Sozzani)
Friedrich Gray (Vogue Australia editor Kirstie Clements)
