NOWNESS: The Reality Show By Araki

The Reality Show By Araki
on Nowness.com.

The man known for his S&M slant turned his lens to Japan's bleeding edge to shoot the second issue of limited-edition Tokyo-based style magazine The Reality Show. Director Kensui Arao filmed the behind-the-scenes action as Nobuyoshi Araki captured tastemakers including model-actress Kiko Mizuhara, triathlete Jessica Michibata and concept band The Plasticzooms, who created the video's original soundtrack. “It was like a zoo, a Tokyo fashion zoo,” says editor-in-chief Tiffany Godoy, who founded The Reality Show in 2010 with art director Tomoyuki Yonezu. The two conceived of the title as a way to showcase Japanese style with a global perspective: inviting a select mix of models, actors, artists and street-fashonistas to meld their own wardrobes with the latest collections from Western designers, including Lanvin, Balenciaga and Tom Ford. “There’s fantasy and beauty in what we make, but it’s still realistic,” explains Godoy, an L.A. native who has lived in Tokyo since 1997. “These are real people who are influencers, and this is what they really wear and really think. We're just refining the way it’s presented." Best known for his provocative photographs incorporating kinbaku (the art of Japanese rope tying), Araki has published over 500 books of his artwork and exhibited around the world at such institutions as The Museum of Contemporary Art in Tokyo and London's Hayward Gallery.