dressing up

I saw this guy at the station the other day in work gear who is a student at honda's motorsports college in south osaka. I like the kit. I also know a guy who designs fishing goods at shimano and he told me about how they have to wear these same short jackets (with obligatory logo) and work trousers. he wasn't filled with enthusiasm but it got me thinking. Everyone knows that Japan is a country obsessed with uniformity and so it is no secret that uniforms act as a big part of daily life. The black suit, the sailor uniforms, and more recently the maids outfits that have become a staple part of the odd urban makeup.

These just scratch the surface though - from the female office worker's waist coat and knee socks to the construction worker's baggy trousers and the ill-fitting, seargent-major get up of all those breathing sign posts you can see around building site's. all pigeon hole an otherwise random person. Dogs have even been getting the treatment recently - I spotted this 'maid' in the local park at the weekend: sickly-sweet scary stuff. I've been particularly interested though, in the work suit worn by both tradesmen and professionals - it goes a long way to decribe how the very different occupations are judged in Japan.

In Britain there is a massive difference between the two. Despite the incredible talent and contribution to global product design, design is still by and large seen as a frivolous expense that is unnecessary. I feel that people tend to be a little stand offish and uncertain when I tell them I'm a designer - perhaps a little stand-offish, that they wouldn't understand. In Japan it's quite the opposite - people are genuinely interested and keen. they seem to embrace design at a basic level. Designers here are household names.

I think this comes from society's view that designers are seen as playing just as crucial a role in society as a plumber - there is an understanding that both are a necessity to make the world function. Perhaps it comes down to the fact that Japan still produces many useable products and the exposure in Britain is via dodgy make-over shows on TV. design made britain great a long time ago and in japan it continues to. the class system could well perform a significant role - britain's population ain't as uniformed as her pacific counterpart.