says Mark Dytham of Tokyo-based architect Klein Dytham. To find out why, we spoke to Dytham and Eizo Okada, who runs architecture and design blog Dezain.net.
How would you describe the architecture and design scene in Tokyo right now?
Mark Dytham It’s probably the most exciting time since we have been in Japan [12 years].
Eizo Okada People are becoming more interested in contemporary design and architecture. Younger people who have long been interested in fashion but not furniture or interior products are starting to become more interested in designing the whole of their own lifestyle. They’re rich, they’ve travelled abroad so they know about international hotels, fashion and restaurants. They’re not satisfied with Japanese ugly consumer electronics such as mobile phones any more. The person who changed the situation is Naoto Fukasawa, who designed the Infobar mobile phone for KDDI. This became a national bestseller.
Mark Dytham Architecture and design are much better now. It is now about an idea – not about rich-looking materials, not about style. People are being inventive and having fun. There is a lot of emphasis on doing more with less. Buildings are being converted, not just knocked down to make way for the new. Our Akihabara project is typical of the new recycle, reuse, renovate movement here.
How has the recession affected architecture and design – and the consumption of them – in Tokyo?
Mark Dytham The bubble held back a lot of the creativity. The recession meant jobs were difficult to find in the big companies so many designers struck up on their own. Now we’re seeing the fruits of that and young designers are producing great stuff.
Eizo Okada Before the recession, most people felt they had to conform to certain stereotypes: build their own house in suburbs, have children, a car, and so on. Recession destroyed all that. Many people don’t believe stereotypes anymore and now they can decide themselves. They spend money only for things they think valuable for their lives. Architects and designers are responding to that.
Westerners tend to think of Japanese design as coming from corporations such as Sony or Toyota, where the role of the individual designer is underplayed and function is more important than aesthetics. Is this changing?
Eizo Okada Yes. Big manufacturers now want to collaborate with freelancers. It’s difficult for them to differentiate their products through technology or price now, so design is becoming a branding tool. It’s difficult for in-house designers to create really fresh ideas in big organisations here.
Mark Dytham the recession made it possible, almost acceptable, for designers to set up on their own. In parallel with this the large corporations realised their teams and teams of internal designers brainwashed in the company’s design language were not producing the goods. Many of these companies are now turning to smaller design shops for ideas, design and direction.
Japanese fashion labels like Comme des Garcons and Issey Miyake have been far more successful in the West than Japanese industrial or furniture designers. Why is this?
Mark Dytham Japanese fashion designers have a clear message and are less influenced by the West – therefore stand out in the West. I also think Comme and Miyake have had their day: younger designers such Jun Takahashi from Undercover are coming through very strongly – again, Jun’s “punkesque” creativity is very much a reaction to the recession and a reaction against the super-styled Japanese fashion houses.
Why is Tokyo, rather than Milan or London or New York, the location for incredible retail architecture such as the Prada store or the new Tod’s building?
Eizo Okada Legally, it’s easier to build strange buildings than in Europe. And shops have to be highly visible in Tokyo’s chaotic city setting.
Mark Dytham Popular word has it that Prada sells somewhere in the region of 50% of its product just in Japan. Go figure.
Why are the Japanese such voracious consumers of Western fashion and design?
Eizo Okada Western fashion brands are status symbols in Japan. We have a strong sense of curiosity for foreign ideas. However, Japanese people generally spend more money on electronics. Almost everyone buys Japanese electronics, not B&O or Philips.
Mark Dytham High disposable income! They are voracious consumers of home-grown fashions too. I generally think the real trend leaders here look less and less to the West – they are discovering their own rich culture, both past and present.
