I learned on the internet that today is the birthday of the late David Bowie.
When I was 30, I worked as a graphic designer at KANSAI SUPER SUTDIO.
The president is fashion designer Kansai Yamamoto.
Every time I go to work, I get an extension call from Kansai-san at the beginning of the morning. "Will you come to my room soon?" Called before or after tidying up on the desk.
On that day, I was in charge of publishing Kansai-san's book from a publishing company, so it was a meeting. He wanted to discuss which photos to select and publish from past works by Kansai. One of them was the stage costume designed by Kansai Yamamoto worn by David Bowie. When I was in junior high school and high school, I was a rock boy, so I knew the costume well, but I didn't know that it was designed by Kansai Yamamoto.
I was so excited that I thought, "This was Kansai's design!" I regret having said that.As an employee of the company, I realized that I didn't know the work of my boss. When Kansai was looking at his complexion with a terrifying glance, wondering if he would be in a bad mood, he stared into the distance and began to talk about his encounter with David Bowie.
It seems that Kansai received a call from the manager of David Bowie during the world tour when he just made his debut as a fashion designer. And he wasn't satisfied with the next concert in New York, so he wanted to use Kansai's knit and balloon-style costumes. Kansai repeatedly refuses, "You can use it, but it's all ladies' size, so he won't be able to wear it." Frustrated, David Bowie snatched the manager's phone and said, "A female size is fine. I want you to send it to New York right away." He was told so many times that he reluctantly sent some costumes designed by Kansai.
Invited to a concert in New York, Kansai wore a balloon outfit he designed at the opening and saw David Bowie hanging on a wire and descending from the ceiling.
Moreover, it seems that she was dressed in a ladies' size costume.
At that time, Mr. Kansai was not as fluent in English as he was in his later years, but since he became friends with David Bowie, he went sightseeing in Kyoto and made costumes at Kansai's company. Even when guiding tourists, even if I didn't understand the language, I was able to communicate just by staring at each other. This is the story of the 1970s.
When I was working for Kansai-san's company in 1990, David Bowie visited the headquarters in Harajuku. Kansai told me such a story in the president's office. It's more than 30 years ago, so I'm sorry if the details are wrong.