Mademoiselle Yulia

One year ago, i happened to see many pictures of a beautiful, bizarre girl in high street fashion sites Dropsnap and Fashionsnap, while looking for inspiration. She had the most outstanding outfits and blue extraordinary hair..Soon i found out that this hot chick was Mademoiselle Yulia, Japan's no 1 fashion idol. Since then, i've been hanging around her movements. She's multitalented, except of being a really popular dj resident of Le Baron de Paris, one of Tokyo's hottest nightlife spots,performs for Vivienne Westwood's catwalks, she runs a blog, has a special music column in Nylon Japan, designs for her own accessories line named Giza and is a really big traveller.. Although being such a busy person she kindly answered this online Q&A exclusively for Fashion Installation, a small chat about style, music and her future plans:

-You do so many creative things! Music, blogging, design, travelling around the world… How do you manage?

Thanx!! I am kind of a person who always finds something to work on.

So, I think I fit in this lifestyle which is full of varieties. DJing and accessories design are mutually linked,which creates the synchronicity in my creative work. I have not really updated the blog lately, but I will catch up for sure!!

-What inspires your style?

Movies, music and books. Japanese magazines from the 70's & 80's give me inspiration lately.

-You come from a city where fashion is a priority. According to your opinion, what are the differences between Japanese and European or American fashion and music culture?

I think Tokyo people are quite conscious about how they look by others. This is a good thing and also a bad thing, because this consciousness makes people think they should catch up with trend( Japanese people really like trendy stuff). But some people are taking advantage of this consciousness into creating fashion style as a method of self expression.I think this process might be very unique in Japan. It’s the same in music scene, basically people like hit tunes and sometimes even when I play the tune which I really like, I can't rock the floor much.

But it's very important to keep on doing until you get recognized at last. So I think you should have your own solid belief about fashion and music, especially in Tokyo.

-Do you think your career would be much more different if you lived in another country instead of Japan?

Absolutely!! I 'm not sure if I would have even started DJing, because the encounter with various people in Tokyo consists of what I am now. And although Tokyo is a compact, small city, it’s still connected to the world.

-In which city you've met the hottest audience, during your gigs?

I had good times in all countries basically, but Korea and Paris were amazing.There are many places I have never been yet, I am especially eager to do gigs in NY and Europe now.

-You've performed for fashion shows. How different is it to play for a fashion show instead of playing for a party crowd?

When I play for a party, I pick the tunes according to my feeling and vibes of crowd, but a fashion show is based on its theme and own world, so I try to play for it as a professional, it’s very different.

-Do you think about expanding your jewellery line outside Japan and do you plan to design clothes, as well?

Of course, I’m so keen on doing it overseas! I want to expand a lot this year, so I’m now making a website of GIZA, my jewellery brand (available at KOZMART from the 7th of February), to keep in touch with the world! My new collection will be released around April, so please check it out.

As for a clothes project, I have designed one for the first time in collaboration with JOYRICH, which I really enjoyed. I wanna take more time to work on it if I could get a next opportunity. I haven't really thought about launching my own clothes brand, but I wanna give it a shot one day!!!