When I was living in San Francisco, I saw a show at Bimbo’s that would be a lasting influence on me for years to come. To promote the 1997 album Fantasma, the Japanese musician Cornelius (Keigo Oyamada) had prepared videos to project behind the band for each song. They were composed of short clips of soccer matches, anime cartoons, exercise … Continue reading →

The cultural avant-garde are the true innovators of their craft. They live to rebel against the status-quo, no matter how limited their appeal may be. In 1969, the freelance stylist Rei Kawakubo started her own brand, called Comme des Garçons (from a French soldier’s song meaning Like the Boys). Her mission was simply to ‘make a business out of creation.’ But what … Continue reading →

Japanese animation (anime) is often assumed by Americans to be the province of freaks and geeks. While there may be plenty of low-brow titles available, the other end of the anime spectrum is certainly worth investigating if you haven’t already. Director Hayao Miyazaki’s films My Neighbor Totoro and Princess Mononoke charm both children and adults with their endearing creativity and … Continue reading →