Last week was jewelry designer Marijoli's Christmas party in Tokyo. I just wanted to share with you some pictures of her line which I love (my fav is the Buma ring). Marielle Byworth, the brain and designer behind the brand has been created quite a buzz in Japan. She's now on her way to do the same in Europe and the US. There's a new collection in the work. Can't wait!

In Tokyo you can't escape the American celebrities in T.V. commercials and billboards. From Tommy Lee Jones (for Boss Coffee), to Brad and Cameron (for phone operator Sofbank), and George Clonney (for anything he can put his face on, Honda, Toyota, Nespresso...) they are everywhere.
Besides the big celebs Japan also has a tendency to randomly pick (no offense to anyone) slightly less well known people, like let's say, French singer Alizee for a cookie ad, or recently, Emmy Rossum for Mt.Rainier Caffe Latte. Probably inspired by Scarlett Johansson's horrible Starbucks commercial (sorry I could not find it), Mt.Rainier decided to find itself a star as well and ended up with Emmy. I don't know if it's to pay for acting school or to prepare Japan for her role in the upcoming Dragon Ball movie (so instead of wondering who's that girl playing Bulma, they will say: oh, that's the girl from the Mt.Rainier ad) but in any case it's priceless.

Here's Emmy looking like she's having an awesome time drinking lattes and dancing.
















Definitely looked like a fun party.



















Go Emmy, I hope we'll see more of you soon.



















Here's Emmy full performance here or here. I think I liked The Phantom of the Opera better.

Laduree opens tomorrow on the second floor of the Ginza Mitsukoshi.  The place has a great view of the Ginza crossing and it's pretty amazing to look outside at modern Tokyo from their Marie-Antoinette salon.  Saint Honore pistache, Mont Blanc, Mille Feuilles, and of course Macarons! They are all there.  Here's a sneak peak from my visit yesterday.

Ah, Tokyo...  Don't ever leave your apartment without your camera or you won't be able to share the fun!!!  While you're too busy doing who knows what in the U.S., here's what you're missing.


You eat tiny sushis.
























You find giant ice cubes in your Whiskey.
























You play bowling with a pink Hello Kitty bowl.
















                                                                  







Porsches are Barbie pink.
























The sign for the Citibank's ATM is an old tiny piece of paper taped on the inner wall of the elevator.                                                                                                      

Then we headed to Nyanpan the Hanpanda's funeral (seriously). But don't be sad guys, she had a long beautiful life (she was 84 years old). It was a lovely farewell, all her family and friends were there to say goodbye one last time. Sayonara Nypan!

Nyanpan the Hanpanda

























 

The family.

Yesterday was the kick off party for a new Shu Uemura exhibition at the Mori Arts Center. "Opening the Atelier after 25 years" celebrates - you guess it - the opening of the very first Shu Uemura boutique in Omotesando.

If you're obsessed with makeup like a certain someone, this should make your day. Lots of pictures, sketches, old makeup cases, tons of colors and videos. It was also very moving since Mister Uemura died last December and a tribute was held in his honor. The creative team was there and showed us how to really do makeup. It was pretty amazing.

Indian artist N.S. Harsha, winner of this year Arte Mundis prize, was in Tokyo yesterday to present his new show "Leftovers" at Maison Hermes in Ginza (sorry about the "e" in Hermes not having an accent, I'm still trying to figure out how to include it without getting this é è). The exhibit is largely inspired from the fake food displayed in most of Tokyo's restaurants, which Harsha noticed in a previous trip to Japan.
It took about 3 months to the Japanese workshops to create all the food.

The result is pretty realistic (we had to poke it to make sure it wasn't real). Check it out!





















FYI, (for the fans), he also created a Carre Hermes for this Spring Summer collection with his signature miniature figures on it. Although I'm not sure if they are selling it in Tokyo. I guess it would make sense but you never know. Unfortunately, it wasn't in the gift bag...

Just want to share some Monday morning cuteness with you (that is, only if you like cats). I've recently covered a cat cafe in Tokyo for  Weekender. Yep, it's a cafe, with a lot of cats hanging out. And no, it doesn't smell or anything. This is Japan - everything is spotless (they clean subway stations with toothbrushes). The concept is simple: you go there, have coffee, and play with the cats. There are about 20 of them, different breeds and ages. You can pet them, feed them, take pictures, and if you're anything like me, you'll try to put kittens in your bag and run away (good thing fashion is all about giant totes, you can stack quite a few kittens in them) .
If you're in Tokyo and want to check it out, email me I'll give you directions.
Website here.

KONICHIWA!!

I've been in Japan for 11 months now, which, in this country makes you as knowledgeable as a newborn baby. In Tokyo, everything you know or see is just not quite what you were expecting. So I've learned to suppose nothing and accept all things. In this blog you will find anything from music, fashion, art, beauty, architecture, food, to the everyday normal-craziness of the city. Most of it will be about Tokyo; some of it about whatever crosses my mind that I think you could get a kick out of.
I hope you like what you read.

Ironically, I will not start this blog by taking about Tokyo.

Goodbye Yves.

In 1976 the media announced that Yves Saint Laurent was dead. The news was neither confirmed nor denied, and the editors almost had strokes when he walked out from the backstage area at the end of his show. So when I heard about Yves Saint Laurent passing away - again- this Sunday, I wasn't sure if I should believe. There had been numerous rumors about the fact that he was really ill, but the media today are so desperate to break the news that I rarely trust what I read. Sadly this time it's true.


You will probably be reading a lot about him in the following weeks and I wouldn't normally add my two cents if it weren't for the fact that my mother had the extraordinary luck to work for this great man for 33 years. De facto, I spent a great deal of my childhood at the Maison de Couture observing the work, wrapping myself up in dresses and fabrics, trying on stilettos as tall as I was, and hiding from an unfriendly dog named Moujik who didn't like children. I didn't set out to write a eulogy, but saying that YSL changed my life is an understatement. He ruled it. Whether it was conscious or not, for the first 20 years of my life, every aesthetic choice I made was directly or indirectly linked to his work. Even now, I feel the influence of the great man following me everywhere. So I just wanted to say a proper goodbye to the genius who changed fashion for the best. Au revoir the tuxedos, the safari and the Picasso jackets, the Mondrian, the Lalanne and the Russian dresses.


"My Couture House is my spine" Yves Saint Laurent often said, and I think it's safe to say that his work inspired and helped build numerous other "fashion spines". It's truly the end of an era (sorry guys, no other way to say it). Of course fashion is still there but now, pressured between the investors and the fashion editors, the fashion world is much a different one than the one I grew up in.


I always secretly hoped he would produce one final show. I guess that won't be happening now. Goodbye Monsieur Saint Laurent and merci. Merci a billion times.

My YSL photo album

PHOTO CAPTIONS
Picture 1: Because this is about Japan after all, here's s super hot model (aka, my maman) rocking the catwalk in Tokyo. (oups- erratum: the show was in Paris, the magazine was Japanese)

Pic 2 Yves Saint Laurent and his army of angels (way before Victoria's Secret)

PIC 3: Yves Saint Laurent and my mom circa 1988