Milan - the ultimate all-black attire city

Alja, Čudna and Alter muffin -- thanks for the award!


These photos were taken in Milan, Italy in 2005 (I was 15) and the reason I'm posting them is to show that my love for all-black ensembles dates way back. :D For this outfit (skirt + shirt + shoes I'm still wearing 4 years later) I remember having been inspired by sales associates in the stores on Via Montenapoleone -- their outfits were so devoid of color that in my book Milan immediately gained the status of the ultimate all-black attire city. The stores obviously had impeccable air conditioning because it wouldn't be possible to try on winter coats in July without literally fainting from the heat otherwise so the associates were safe in their (often long-sleeved) black "uniforms", but I wanted to adapt their look for the strong sun and take it to the streets.

I loved Milan in 2005 because I felt like a part of it. It's unusual that we clicked so instantly -- the story of my life is that I like all cities, but I'm mostly not on the exact same wave-length with them which ends up being a huge source of spleen because I want to be these cities. The last time I was in Milan, however, I was surprised at how aggressive it had become in the meantime. We got there by train from Geneva where I had fallen sick and had to spend a day in bed so perhaps my sense of everything was exaggerated because I was tired, but the overall impression of those 3 days was far from positive. Even the food at Santa Lucia, my favorite Milanese restaurant, tasted nothing special.

I found this photo by accident browsing old folders the other day -- I didn't even remember I had it. My hotel room in Geneva and the best medicine I could ever want: sushi, lots of water and tea with lemon.

It's stunning how many different people you see at Piazza Duomo (Cathedral Square) at any time of the day -- tourists with enormous shopping bags who just bought half of Gucci (although you're not really elite unless there's a car waiting for you in front of the store and someone else is carrying your bags), businesspeople digesting some variation of lunch rushing to catch a cab, young people completely oblivious to both, the carabinieri, everyone. Compared to the pulse of the Piazza, the legendary concept store 10 Corso Como is an oasis. It's where I touched a Yohji Yamamoto dress for the first time in my life -- I'd seen it on the runway before so the fact that it was suddenly just there was out of this world. I think the only other occasion I was so moved because of a garment(s) was the Hussein Chalayan exhibition at the Design Museum in London last April (you need to see the LED video dresses). 30 minutes I will remember forever.



I really want to spend at least one month in Madrid next summer.

* photo: Anna Tsuchiya in Sakuran

I wrote this years ago, but my life is still the same.

Je suis vraiment desolée mais un beau nom ne suffit pas. Quand j'étais petite, je pleurais pour des autres gens. Hier je pleurais à cause d'autres gens. Aujourd'hui je ne pleure pour personne. Qu'est-ce que c'est le cœur? Il semble que le mien a disparu quand vous avez apparu. "Is it real this pink punk costume I wear all the time to seduce Japanese hommes d'affaires?" Je vous déteste mais je fais encore l'attention à vous. Pourquoi?

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Il y a une personne que je veux faire ma proie. Je veux qu'elle s'asseye sur une chaise dans une chambre blanche et totalement vide. Je ne veux pas qu'elle bouge. Je veux la regarder longtemps. Je veux marcher autour d'elle comme un lion en attendant son attaque. Mais je ne veux pas la tuer; je veux écouter Milonga del Angel et trembler comme je tremble chaque fois que je la vois. Quand nous sommes toutes seules dans cette chambre blanche, je veux que notre histoire obtienne finalement sa «fin heureuse».

(This is not about love.)



Toliko o tome.




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