8/13/08

ICONS OF STYLE : HIDETOSHI NAKATAWA

someone asked me recently whom i considered as my personal style icons.



fun game, right?



but i was seriously stumped.

it's like when anyone asked me who i wanted to play me in the movie of my life,

i was always stumped, until i came up with "christina ricci" as my answer,

whereupon everyone would go, "christina ricc . . . ohhhh yeah. now i see it."



but style icon, that's harder for me. so i came up with some rules.



an icon has to be someone whom:



1) looks great in every picture you see of them, regardless of where they are,



2) chooses clothing that sets them apart, and is truly distinctive,



3) remains consistent in those choices over a period of time,



4) commits to fashion, and enjoys it,



5) makes you want to replicate their look, down to the critical details.



there. landis' five fashion icon laws.



that out of the way, i got stuck in WHO might actually fit that. and the field narrowed rapidly.



i've come up with three.



the first:

Hidetoshi Nakatawa. he's like the japanese david beckham,

only in a way that makes me go "yes, please!" not "oh, interesting . . ."

he clearly enjoys clothing, attending fashion shows and endless parties.

and he somehow straddles the whole masculine/feminine thing

with a slight edge of the dominatrix. i love that.



witness, my friends,

icon number one:













doesn't hurt that he's more than a little dreamy . . . non?



no, it don't.

10 comments:

Jim said...

He has definitely figured out the exact same facial expression he will give every photographer, much like Ms Vicki Beckham.

He also gives good hair.

Anonymous said...

Give us more! He is really stylish. I am not a friend of his boots, but the green coat is just perfect....
Do you happen to know, where it is from?

Jennifer said...

mmmmmmmmmmm, nice.
is he making a good contribution to monacle? i have to search for the july issue tomorrow if it's still on the stands.

Landis said...

jim - good hair, good cheekbones . . .it's a package deal with he and vicki.

anon - do not know. covet it myself.

editor - aaaaand this i know nothing of at all. is he a fashion contributor? because then i will have to resist the resistance to buy tyler brule's latest ramblings.

Jennifer said...

editor-at-large, baby.

designerman said...

God. He's like a Japanese jean paul belmondo. Beyond!

The Spicers said...

He's gorgeous and I've been looking for the latest Monocle too; despite the fact that Tyler Brulé annoys me, I still read his FT column every Saturday.

Landis said...

ok, now i'm feeling like i've fallen into a tyler brule k-hole. i resisted monocle on purpose. now FT?

Michael said...

Hair? Clothes? So far I can't tear my eyes away from his nose and lips.

Anonymous said...

Grrrrrreat choice (notice how I worked Grr into my post?). He is so ridiculously hot. . .and fashionable, too (or maybe the fashion is what makes him hot?).