Versace exhibition

Three weeks ago I went to this nice little Versace exhibition in Kyoto. It was organised by a Japanese fashion student who, over the years, has built up his collection of Versace. Most of the clothes were from the 70's and 80's, back when Gianni Versace was the Creative Director.

It was a small, but very well thought out exhibition. I liked the way that some of the clothes were hanging from the ceiling to make the most of the limited space. We stayed for quite a while chatting, he was obviously very passionate about his collection of clothes and I'm not surprised, look how beautiful they are.

Recycled Fashion

On my first day at college we were given a challenge to make an outfit from old newspaper. I was quite pleased with our creation but it was nothing compared to the recycled collections at D's Fashion College fashion show. It was really amazing what the students had crafted out of second hand materials.

My favourite collection was definitely the outfits made from old white gloves. I think the outfit above, with the wings made from loads of gloves, is truly wonderful. It's such an original idea and it looks amazing. 

I also thought the last collection was unique. It was obviously inspired by 80's disco outfits but what I loved was that to create shine the designer had cut up old CD's. It looked great under the catwalk lights.

What do you think of clothes made from recycled materials?



Osaka Castle

I  haven't been blogging much for the past couple of weeks because these things things called tests got in the way. Yeh, annoying aren't they. Anyway, now I have broken up from school and I have two months left in Japan. There are so many things that I want to do and so many things which I have done, but not blogged about yet. So lets start with Osaka Castle.

I went to Osaka two weeks ago to see the sumo wrestling (!!!) On the way to the stadium we dropped into Osaka Castle. The first thing I feel I should point out, is that this isn't the original castle. In England when you visit a castle it is probably the original building, some are in good condition, others are more like few stone walls in the middle of a field.

However in Japan many castles were destroyed during the Meiji Revolution and therefore most castles are reproductions. Osaka Castle was repaired after the Meiji Revolution but then during a bombing raid in 1945, 90% of the building was destroyed. So it was restored again, to the way the original Edo era building used to look. It is a concrete reproduction which functions as a museum, there are even elevators inside!

Personally, no matter what kind of state it is in, I would rather visit a castle which isn't made of concrete but is the original building. However, the museum was interesting and you can't deny that it is a very beautiful castle.

These amazingly high walls are the originals, built in the 1620's.

This little boy decided he would try to squeeze between the massive stones. 

The view from the top of the castle.

The plum tree garden. 

The view from a nearby building of the castle surrounded by skyscrapers. 

Weekly Roundup #8

This week I have been:

Watching: sumo wrestling!! On Saturday we went to Osaka to see the sumo wrestling, it was so much fun. I had previously watched it on the telly but found it not very interesting. However watching it live, in the stadium, is a great experience.

Visiting: Osaka Castle. I can't believe I have never been before. It was great for the history nerd inside me. I wish we had had more time but we had to rush a bit to get to the sumo in time to see a special ceremony.

Photographing: more plum blossom. Outside Osaka castle they have a lovely plum grove which we wandered around. They are still not in full bloom but it was very beautiful. 

Studying: a lot. My final tests at the Japanese school I go to are this week. Plus I have to write a speech. In Japanese.

Listening: Sweater Weather by The Neighbourhood.

Tohoku earthquake and tsunami: 3 year anniversary

March 11 14:46, an earthquake, measuring 9.0 on the Richter scale, shook Japan. 30 minutes later, a tsunami arrived. The facts are almost unbelievable. But when I visited Tohoku last summer, the reality of the disaster hit me.

4th most powerful earthquake in recorded history

shaking for 6 minutes

only 58% of people headed for higher ground after the quake

about 250 miles of Japan's northern coastline dropped by 0.6 meters

the pacific slate slid westward by 24 meters

tsunami waves reached up to 39 meters at Miyako city

and traveled inland as far as 6 miles

 it flooded an estimated area of 217 square miles

 Fukushima Daichi Nuclear Plant suffered a level 7 nuclear meltdown

about 300 tones of radioactive water leaked from the plant every day

nearly 200,000 residents were evacuated from affected areas

15,839 dead, 5,950 injured, and 3,642 missing

Please spare a thought today for the people of Tohoku.