A Translation of Identity

I have always been intrigued by the construction of visual identity within fashion. The visual identity of a brand is arguably the first contact that we, as consumers, have with a label. Visual identity is used as a means of easily conveying the complexities of what a brand stands for, from the design concept to the lifestyle it chooses to relate.

Yet is not within the industry for a designer to truly build any one visual identity. Indeed there are the inevitable and welcomed changes and developments of individual artistic creativity as the seasons pass. General style, in some form or another, is however possibly one of the few constants for both designer or label. Indeed the very fact that one can say that a piece looks "very McQueen" or "Yohji-esque", for example, stands in testament to this.

The seasonally-enforced artistic development of the fashion designer means that visual identities across the fashion landscape are ever changing. Within the world of clothing brands however, those removed from the cycle of fashions displayed within the context of the catwalk show, the creation of an easily recognisable and coherent visual identity becomes highly important. In order to gain favour with the increasingly fickle tastes and short-lived memories of the consumer, the creation of a constant, albeit with contemporary stylistic developments, becomes necessary.

FUDGE Magazine
November 2009
Photography by Ishida Syohei
Styling by Taniguchi Shinyta

What I find so interesting about this Bedwin editorial in the November 2009 issue of FUDGE Magazine is the presentation of the brand's visual identity through the piece entitled 'Traveling of Stranger'. As a Japanese brand, Bedwin's aesthetic and style is oddly most easily classified as being American. Indeed I have always been intrigued by the fact that the Japanese appear in my uninvolved eyes (meaning that I am as a fashion observer neither from Japan or America), to do traditional American style better than the Americans. I suppose that living outside of the US, the Japanese vision appeals to me for it is a highly idealised translation of the traditional style.

I have always believed that removing a fashion from its context and trying to apply it directly into another context quickly risks the danger of being misconstrued as costume. Here however this is clearly not the case. For it is the adaptation and translation of the style which allows it to remain relevant and contextually appropriate. The styling of the shoot alludes to the context of the inspiration, and yet the garments stand in their own right as being appropriately (I hesitate to use that word) fashion and not costume.

Depicting the idealised notion of the 'quintessentially American' road-trip, this editorial manages to portray a very romantic and almost nostalgic image. It is Bedwin's adaptation of the Japanese adaptation of what was already an idealised adaption of the traditional American style. This complex construction of identity and image for me is therefore highly fascinating, not purely from the perspective of brand identity, but also in terms of the international relationship within fashion. I have always been in awe of how style and inspiration within fashion can so quickly and seamlessly cross international and social barriers. It is not necessarily a democratisation, but more the creation of another type of audience to appreciate another type of interpretation of a style.

Besides, the clothing is beautiful to boot!

My sincerest apologies to you all for the delay in replying to comments and emails, as well as the rather sporadic postings as of late. To be honest I am still adjusting to the routine of being back at University, although I am trying hard to quickly find that welcome balance. Please do bear with me.

Kthnxbaiiii!

Currently playing: The Last Waltz - OldBoy OST

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