Ametora

Starred review from September 28, 2015
In this wholly intriguing study of the American influence on menswear in Japan, cultural critic Marx carves out a lucid example of the cyclical interplay between cultural identity and globalization by mapping Japan’s rise to prominence in the fashion the world, beginning with the appropriation of American trends after WWII. Japan’s first obsession with American style was called, simply, Ivy (aibii). The term referred to the Ivy League, specifically the style of students walking across the Princeton University campus in 1959, when intrepid Japanese fashion entrepreneur Kensuke Ishizu decided to visit the campus for inspiration. Ishizu was the first of many magazine editors, designers, store owners, and trend setters who would define Japanese style over the next few decades by appropriating—and redefining—iconic American style (as well as archiving it). “The story of Japan’s embrace, reappropriation, and exploration of American style thus stands as a highly illustrative episode of how culture globalizes,” the author writes, nearly understating the significance of his project. The book’s tales of scrappy entrepreneurs combine to make an important contribution to readers’ understanding of cultural authenticity, the use of branding in media to sell consumer goods, and how representations of masculinity and rebellion evolve in the consumer marketplace. B&w photos.

December 1, 2015

Ametora is local Japanese slang for "American traditional"--the casual look adopted by Ivy League college men and embraced by Japanese youth after World War II. Ironically, the look, as taken up in the East, was associated with delinquency and rebellion. A detailed story of how style-obsessed businessman Kensuke Ishizu and others, including Masayuki Yamazaki, Osamu Shigematsu, and Toshikiyo Hirata, popularized the "Ivy-style" via Ishizu's VAN Jacket Company is told by Marx, a cultural and fashion writer, Harvard graduate, and Tokyo resident. The menswear company was founded in 1959 to sell carefully manufactured copies of the look: blazers, Oxford-cloth button-down shirts, jeans, and cordovan shoes. While the company's fortunes rose and fell (including a bankruptcy in 1978), Ishizu and others ultimately preserved Ametora for export to a global market. Marx's meticulous research draws upon interviews with designers, archival images, and previously untranslated Japanese news. He concludes that the Japanese codified a look that needed no rule book in America, as it was passed down through generations of privileged men. VERDICT Overall, Marx offers a thorough study; however, a deeper analysis into the reasons behind this story of appropriation and cultural exchange would have made for a more satisfying narrative.--Nancy B. Turner, Temple Univ. Lib., Philadelphia

Copyright 2015 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.