shojonotomo 2/2 :: Japan-Fashion.com

"You like brand names, don't you?"

The tone of my question was bantering: It was a loaded question after all. Tomo has been fond, ever since her first designs and drawings, of spoofing the crown jewels of contemporary fashion and commercialism. One of her more popular examples: Drawing an imagined pair of sneakers with the word "Niku" on the side in lieu of "Nike". Another was her collection of designs she did for 'School Wars'--a take on the movie Star Wars. All of these have the same outrageous, over-the-top art style that personifies Tomo's brand concepts.

I didn't expect Tomo to actually answer me. "I like whatever looks nice and gives the person wearing it a nice feeling. A lot of people don't care [about what they wear] everyday...But in my designs, everything has a story. Every piece."

After Tomo left New York she found herself in London, a place she quickly discovered was "not like NYC". Arguably here is where we saw Shoujo no Tomo flourish as a force in the fashion scene. She showed me picture after picture of shows (at Spain described below) and material she created in the UK. "This model? She is very young in this picture. 18, I think?" Tomo gestured to the montage of photographs from a street show featuring her work. "The models were all loaded into a truck, and the truck opened and they walked out runway-style."

Another Shoujo creation that got an introduction was Heartbreak Children, a line of dolls whose story (because everything has a story, remember that) is tragic: They are victims of mutation due to a horrible accident. Some are burned and melded together with other designs and objects, and some still were forced to replace body parts with robotic appendages. The theme of man-meets-machine repeats itself a lot in Tomo's work. The advertisements say, "Please love these children like no one else will". The descriptions and phrases like these are written with black humor and hearken to Tomo's own childhood, and it is no surprise that Tomo's work took off with youth.

"What about Spain?" I had forgotten that Nobuyuki was there for a minute. "I like the Spain exhibit."

"Oh yeah," She turned the pages, showing me a few pictures. She also produced a brand called EnocDouter, which is in a vein closer to what most think of when they think Shoujo no Tomo: An eclectic mix of ostentatious, carnivale-lesque logos and sketches of humanoid characters. Lines like this one show Tomo the designer's desire to change the way we look at fashion and ourselves.

"What do you use for your designs?" I asked, still looking at the pictures.

She drank her melted frosty. "I don't really use computers, only for font. The designs are all pen, magic pen, and silk screen print." She accidentally wiped condensation onto the page and subtly swept it up with the same slender finger.

Her travels also saw her in Paris before returning to Tokyo for a short stay.

Porno Invaders--she handed us both postcards with the brand's funky display--is her current high-selling line.

(And, originally, the focus of this article. But that is another kettle of fish.)

The ladies sitting at the table next to us eyed the t-shirts that Tomo had set on the table in front of Nobuyuki and I with undisguised interest. I'd be lying if I didn't say they were rapt with curiosity about the three strange patrons that they had elected to sit adjacent to. I wanted to wave at them: It seemed like something Tomo would do.

The line of T-shirts exudes a more streamlined version of what we could call "classic Tomo", from her days in Europe. I wouldn't say the style has changed but has just become aged like a good wine. Tomo has been given the right conditions to allow her art to become a sensation, without sacrificing any of the exhibitionist, unrepentant messages behind it. And with the product being seen on everyone from in-the-know street fashionistas to Japanese pop stars and media darlings, Tomo doesn't look to slow down.

Tomo is freelancing, and she is already working on other projects, including 'Satisfaction', and 'Heavy Metal Circus'.

We all stood up, after hours of talking about everything from the complexities of language to models to the social behavior of the French. The assortment of customers had changed from the late-lunch break to the after-work crowd. Walking past the place where Coke Granny had her massive fizz-related incident, I asked Tomo for advice for anyone (i.e., me) could be in a place similar to where she is now. She simply said that time and hard work is important. "At first, I wasn't sure how to use my talent." she stated, her voice a little incredulous, as if she herself was in awe of what she has done in her life.