90s-fashion-japan

Introducing Japanese men's fashion magazines, mainly in the 90's, with comments from Japanese people.

About Keiichi Tanaka (former Comme des Garcons Homme Designer).

comme des garcons

This article is about Keiichi Tanaka, my favorite fashion designer.

First of all, I will quote Keiichi Tanaka's biography from this Japanese page.

tenpomap.blogspot.com

1955: Born in Tokyo
1977: After graduating from the Faculty of Engineering, Tokai University, joined "Saginomiya Seisakusho" and worked as an engineer for 3 years.
1980: Entered Bunka Fashion College Apparel Design Department
1983: After graduating from Bunka Fashion College, he joined "NICOLE" and worked for "MONSIEUR NICOLE" for 6 years.
1990: Joined COMME des GARCONS. Became a designer of "COMME des GARCONS HOMME,COMME des GARCONS HOMME HOMME"
2003: Retirement
2010: His own brand his KONTRA PUNKT start from spring and summer

He has a unique career of studying fashion at Bunka Fashion College after graduating from the Faculty of Engineering and getting a job as an engineer.

This is the site of Saginomiya Seisakusho where Mr. Tanaka got a job. The company mainly deals with automated control equipment and test equipment.

www.saginomiya.co.jp

Mr. Tanaka's younger brother is Yuji Tanaka, a comedy duo, "Bakusho Mondai".

The representative director of the company that Keiichi Tanaka launched after becoming independent from Comme des Garcons was Mitsuyo Ohta, the president of the office of "Bakusho Mondai" and the wife of Hikari Ota.

www.yamadakoji.com

 

Clothes that adult men don't feel embarrassed to wear

When I was a college student from 1998 to 2002, I was most enthusiastic about fashion in my life, but the brand that bought the most clothes at that time was Comme des Garcons Homme, which was designed by Keiichi Tanaka at that time. is.

At that time, Rei Kawakubo and Keiichi Tanaka were the two men who designed Comme des Garcons men's clothing. The Comme des Garcons Homme Plus (and its sister brand Comme des Garcons shirts) by Rei Kawakubo, who sometimes holds runway shows at the Paris Collection, features an avant-garde and impactful design.

Keiichi Tanaka said in an interview with the June 2002 issue of MR about the design of Comme des Garcons Homme.

It's not embarrassing for an adult man to wear, but there is always something new. The basics haven't changed since I took over Homme. It's hard to say in concrete terms, but I've always wanted to be able to mix elements like masculinity, simplicity, newness, and strength.

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For example, this shirt. At first glance, it's a normal gray open-collared shirt.

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However, the body fabric is made of denim, and the other fabrics are made of twill, which is a inconspicuous switching design. White stitching that feels loose is one of the features of Keiichi Tanaka's design.

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This is the setup I bought for my university graduation ceremony. Like a shirt, it looks like a normal black suit at first glance.

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If you look closely like this, you can see that the lapel dough has changed.

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The pants also have an inconspicuous switching design.

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In fact, the jacket is also reversible. However, I rarely wore it behind the scenes lol.

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I think that such a casual design is the biggest feature of Mr. Keiichi Tanaka's Comme des Garcons Homme. Rei Kawakubo's design is a collection piece, so there are some items that are hard to wear now when you are about 40 years old, but Keiichi Tanaka's design can still be worn by college students. I think it suits me better now than it did at times.

Another characteristic of Tanaka Homme is that he is very particular about materials and processing.

This is the 2000 autumn / winter jacket. Made from a stiff 100% nylon fabric that is rarely used in tailored jackets. Furthermore, the tartan plaid is printed on the nylon fabric, the jacket is sewn, and the stone wash process is applied.

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Due to the stone wash process, the fabric is shaded like jeans that have been worn.

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Keiichi Tanaka Momentum for re-evaluation

Recently, Keiichi Tanaka's Comme des Garcons Homme has been re-evaluated.

↓ The design with this logo divided is said to be the original material of the collaboration item of Comme des Garcons shirt and Supreme.

Also, at high-sensitivity second-hand clothing stores such as Harajuku and Shibuya, we are seeing more and more Comme des Garcons Hommes from the time of Keiichi Tanaka.

www.instagram.com

 

Keiichi Tanaka's recent trends 

In writing this article, I searched for recent trends of Keiichi Tanaka on the net and Twitter. As far as I could find, the information for 2015 was the latest.

He is also active as a university lecturer. By the way, this is the November 2001 issue of MR. The skill of the photograph is introduced as professional grade.

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Keiichi Tanaka design that is perfect for the modern mood

Even in the same Comme des Garcons, Rei Kawakubo and Junya Watanabe often have avant-garde designs, but as mentioned earlier, Keiichi Tanaka is characterized by a casual and mature design.

In addition, there are many elements that are perfect for the current mood, such as a relaxed and loose silhouette (many shirts are so loose that I wear them and my shoulders fall a little), and a design that combines similar colors.

By the way, shirts and T-shirts are gray with white letters, and outerwear such as jackets are black with gold tags, which is a proof of Comme des Garcons Homme designed by Keiichi Tanaka, so please refer to it when digging at Rakuten Ichiba, Mercari, Yahoo Auction, etc.