Fashion Icon: Yukio Hatoyama

A while back I did a piece on the ANC sanctioned leather jackets that the South African party was selling, and now the turn has come to Japan's Prime Minister and his shirt. The difference is that it isn't Yukio Hatoyama who is flogging his own wardrobe. No, it's the Shanghai based shirt company ShirtsMyWay.com that's manufacturing the check and multi coloured piece, which is yours for a mere $500. You'll find it under the sub heading of 'Prime Minister of Japan & Fashion Hero' on the website. Funnily enough, this seems to be Japanese political fashion week as the Spin post shows below! A Guardian piece quote the designer Don Konishi saying, "Is anyone able to stop him wearing such a thing?" - which I think makes the shirt even more loveable...

Yukio Hatoyama - The Spin - Another Mag

http://www.anothermag.com/current/view/253/Yukio_Hatoyama

CULTURE
The Spin | Yukio Hatoyama
— May 25, 2010—
David Hellqvist tries to make sense of the sartorial choices of World Leaders in his fortnightly column The Spin


Today, the topic of discussion is Japan’s Prime Minister – known to many as old, you know, whatshisname. But while Yukio Hatoyama might not be the most prolific statesmen on the scene just yet, to his credit he’s only been in power since September last year. Hatoyama-san represents the Democratic Party of Japan, which is a great name since it kind of infers that the opposition is not democratic, but totalitarian, fascist or another unpleasant form of government.


Japan is a funny one. While far from geographically massive, it is a heavyweight member of the almighty G8 and as such helps set the agenda for the rest of the world. Since World War II the country has become synonymous with major car and electronic industries, but it is also a major fashion exporter. Imagine if all world leaders had to wear clothes from national designer treasures: Cameron in Gieves & Hawkes, Obama in Ralph Lauren, Sarkozy in Dior and Berlusconi decked out in Armani. That’s all fine but Hatoyama could be rocking Junya Watanabe brogues, wrinkly Issey Miyake cords and a light blue Comme des Garçons Homme Plus shirt under his khaki Yamamoto jacket with Nehru collar…


That, alas, is not his outfit of choice. Hatoyama is very traditional, and not even in an exciting Japanese way. His wife, however, is far from boring. A former actress, these days Miyuki Hatoyama categorises herself as a “life composer.” Because no one knows what that means, Miyuki is now a mainstay of the chat show circuit, repeatedly invited on to talk at length about her life and opinions. It was on one such show that Miyuki claimed to have been abducted by aliens, while on another occasion she let slip that she knows Tom Cruise since the actor used to be Japanese in a previous life! Miyuki Hatoyama for Prime Minister!


David Hellqvist is the Commissioning Editor of Dazed Digital, a freelance contributor to Men’s Vogue and GQ in China, AnOther Man, ZOO and i-D Magazines. He also writes the blog Fashion in Politics

Japan's new Premier and his (loony) wife...

Japan has got a new prime minister - Yukio Hatoyama - from the centre-of-left Democratic Party of Japan (DPJ), which bodes well for the rest of us; he's already well under way to deal with Japan's environmental problems and world wide responsibilities. But just as much press is given to his wife, Miyuki Hatoyama. She has some pretty wild ideas and claims, among other things, to have been abducted by aliens. This is an extract from her biography: "While my body slept, I think my spirit flew on a triangularshaped UFO to Venus. it was extremely beautiful". She also knew Tom Cruise in his earlier life, since he was Japanese back then...

That aside, FiP thinks she looks quite a stylish lady. She would look good in a bit of Comme, if you read this Rei Kawakubo...


Accroding to the Guardian's Tim Dowling, this is how the spouses comapare...


Joachim Sauer

Married to Angela Merkel

Wacky rating 0.1 out of 5

Quiet and reserved, Sauer rarely appears in public and didn't even attend his wife's 2005 inauguration. Holds certain views about the nature of the universe that most ordinary people would find incomprehensible, in keeping with his job as a quantum chemist. No pictures of him with Tom Cruise.

Sarah Brown

Married to Gordon Brown

Wacky rating 1 out of 5

The very picture of common sense, British reserve and tireless discretion. May have married the only person in the world in contrast to whom she could be described as devil-may-care. And she picks out his ties for him.

Michelle Obama

Married to Barack Obama

Wacky rating 1.5 out of 5

Consistently down-to-earth, even when interviewed by Oprah. No known new age proclivities. Like Miyuki Hatoyama, claims to have met Tom Cruise - but photographic evidence would appear to support this. Did not say if she thought he was weird.

Carla Bruni

Married to Nicolas Sarkozy

Wacky rating 3 out of 5

Formerly given to pronouncements about being "bored by monogamy", and claimed her husband had "five or six brains which are remarkably irrigated", though she may not have meant it literally. The only G20 spouse (so far) to have nude photos and sex tapes stolen. Author of some decidedly flaky song lyrics ("I'm that time slipping by is a bastard making coats of our sorrow . . .")

Cherie Blair

Married to Tony Blair

Wacky rating 4 out of 5

The only G20 spouse, past or present, capable of giving Mrs Hatoyama a run for her mystical money. The crystal-pendant wearing, con-man consulting, magic-circle casting QC was said to have sought the help of the late Jack Templeton, a "homeopathic dowser healer" whose clients also numbered Jerry Hall and Princess Diana.

Miyuki Hatoyama

Married to Yukio Hatoyama

Wacky rating Off the scale

This professional "life composer" claims she once flew on a triangle-shaped UFO to Venus, and says she met Tom Cruise in a past life when he was Japanese. Makes her own clothes from hemp sacks and starts every morning by pretending to eat bits of the sun. "I get energy from it," she says, adding helpfully, "my husband also does this."