Inma del Valle editorial in Japan
One of the countries I have always wanted to visit the most is undoubtedly Japan. I have been very attracted to it at all levels: I find its culture, its gastronomy and its filmography fascinating. In terms of lights, shadows and colours, the artistic level is brutal. This March I have finally been able to make one of my dreams come true and I have done an editorial in Japan.
Fashion editorial in Kyoto
This job was for Japan’s most prestigious luxury kimono boutique, Shosa in Kyoto. I had been planning in detail for months and the result has been amazing. Both the owner of the boutique and the models I chose helped me to do exactly what I had in mind and with two sentences in English, they were able to capture the essence of what I wanted to convey. The model Michiko and her partner Taro were totally professional and charming.
From the first moment I saw them I knew it had to be them. Michiko is everything the Japanese woman represents: elegance and beauty. She also has that look in her eyes that says it all. With Taro you can tell they have great complicity and they are in love which was important for what I had in mind.
Luxury kimono boutique in Japan
We had agreed to go to the Shosa boutique the day before to choose the kimonos that would be in this editorial in Kyoto. It is in a beautiful two-storey typical Japanese wooden house. The front door has beige linen curtains with the brand’s logo. When you pass it you find sliding doors and of course you have to take your shoes off as in all houses in Japan. We were welcomed with open arms and a big smile.
The owner showed us around the boutique, which is spacious and cosy, with shiny dark wood floors. The upstairs has a more industrial decor mixed with the traditional. They had silk kimonos on display which are a real work of art. I chose a couple of spots that I thought were perfect for the first photos. Once I was downstairs where all the kimonos they normally offer were on display, they asked me which one I wanted, I knew I definitely wanted it in shades of red and they brought me one from a new collection. When they opened it from its packaging I knew immediately that it was the one, I loved it and there was no need to look any further.
Fashion editorial in Kyoto
I still had to choose the other accessories they use, such as the obi, which is a wide cloth belt that is tied at the back, the obidome, which is like a cord that goes in front of the obi, the kanzashi, which is a hair accessory, a fan and an umbrella. I also chose for Taro a kimono that combined very well with the red and its corresponding accessories. We were happy with our choice and said goodbye until the next day. I spent the whole day and the next morning looking for the perfect locations for every moment of this editorial in Japan.
Kyoto is without a doubt one of my favourite cities, it has that mix of traditional and modern in its streets. At every turn you see young couples dressed in kimonos going to tea holding hands. There are famous streets where you can see Geishas or Maikos passing by which are spectacular. Then there are the wonderful temples that seduce with their shapes and colours.
All this is intermingled with the number of tourists that flood the streets, with the frenetic rhythm of the locals going to and from their jobs. In the metro, for example, I was surprised by the politeness and respect they show by not talking and remaining silent during the journey. That way they don’t disturb, it’s another concept that only causes admiration. Without a doubt Japan was making me fall in love with every moment and I was delighted to be able to choose corners for this editorial.
Those days there was a cold and snowy weather in Kyoto. We set off from 8am in the snow to mark the route so that we wouldn’t waste a minute that afternoon and so that we would know exactly where to arrive with the taxi and the models so as not to make the route even harder for them (in Kyoto it’s all slopes…).
When we entered we greeted each other happily, in person she was even more beautiful. Michiko was almost ready and I started to prepare everything. I had bought some cherry blossom branches for a photo I had in mind and wanted to take. As you know, Sakura is very characteristic of Japan, which is the two weeks that the cherry blossoms bloom every year and they are beautiful. My dream trip to Japan was to go and see sakura with the deer in Nara, so this flower could not go unnoticed in the editorial.
Japanese art and culture
We went upstairs and from the first second Michiko understood every idea I put to her. I wanted this editorial in Japan to be inspired by an impossible love story based on the term In- Yun, it’s about a relationship that goes beyond a lifetime. I wanted there to be a desire and passion between them as if they were a couple who love each other madly but are not meant to be. I wanted every photograph to represent precisely that, every gesture and every look. She knew how to understand it at first sight and it was very easy to get it across. Without a doubt, I had made the right choice in choosing her as the model. Then came Taro who, once he was dressed, joined her just to start with a specific photo I wanted with red thread held between their mouths meaning “the thread that unites us”. I have always thought that there are people who are united in the distance by an invisible thread.
From the Shosa boutique we all took a taxi to a part of the city I had chosen to follow. Light was very important and I wanted to get specific photos before the sun went down. It was very cold and we were running back and forth between narrow streets and even cars. Michiko and Taro were so professional, they did everything I told them to do without complaint. We ended up in the Geisha quarter in Pontocho. In narrow alleys with the restaurant lamps on and taking advantage of when there were no people around. Even though we didn’t speak Japanese, you can’t imagine the connection we had that day, every time Michiko heard me say “super” she knew I had the photo and smiled.
I achieved everything I had set out to do and we happily finished this editorial in Japan.
She was freezing to death, it was 3 degrees…you can imagine, so we ran to get changed and went to a sake bar to celebrate. We toasted happily to what had been a magical evening and you can see now the result. It was worth the effort and all the preparation, I thank the models and Shosa for their trust and help. I hope we will meet again on another occasion, Japan will always be in my heart.
