Godzilla Claw Shoes on Oscars Red Carpet Are Just One of Hazama’s ‘Dark Fantasy’ Creations 

The various Godzilla-themes shoes by Japanese fashion designer Ryosuke Matsui, on a table also designed by Matsui, are shown during an interview with The Associated Press at his company office on the outskirts of Tokyo, Friday, March 22, 2024. (AP)
The various Godzilla-themes shoes by Japanese fashion designer Ryosuke Matsui, on a table also designed by Matsui, are shown during an interview with The Associated Press at his company office on the outskirts of Tokyo, Friday, March 22, 2024. (AP)
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Godzilla Claw Shoes on Oscars Red Carpet Are Just One of Hazama’s ‘Dark Fantasy’ Creations 

The various Godzilla-themes shoes by Japanese fashion designer Ryosuke Matsui, on a table also designed by Matsui, are shown during an interview with The Associated Press at his company office on the outskirts of Tokyo, Friday, March 22, 2024. (AP)
The various Godzilla-themes shoes by Japanese fashion designer Ryosuke Matsui, on a table also designed by Matsui, are shown during an interview with The Associated Press at his company office on the outskirts of Tokyo, Friday, March 22, 2024. (AP)

One Japanese creation grabbing attention on the Oscars red carpet wasn't a movie: the kitsch shoes that seemed to be clenched in Godzilla's claw.

They were the work of Ryosuke Matsui, who recently described his joy at seeing “Godzilla Minus One” director Takashi Yamazaki and his Shirogumi special-effects team walk the red carpet and win the visual effects Oscar, all while wearing his shoes.

“The director loves my shoes. He calls them his uniform,” Matsui told The Associated Press in an interview.

At 35 with a fashion career that's barely a decade old, Matsui heads his own brand called Hazama, which means “the space-in-between” in Japanese.

A small business with just six employees, Hazama offers girlie outfits with fluffy skirts, as well as Gothic themes, kimono and sweaters in gradient colors, jackets with repetitive motifs evocative of Andy Warhol, sofas and coffee tables, and, of course, the shoes with the crazy heels.

One pair has a pistol trigger you can really pull though without any bullets, while another looks like it’s stuck in an alien’s blood-red teeth.

“Dark fantasy” is what Matsui calls his motifs. His imaginary world is filled with odd creatures like witches, scary penguins and iridescent polar bears, where objects suddenly melt, a face might get replaced by a giant rose, or a horrific hand grabs your heel from underground.

His brand’s spaces in-between are the filters through which Matsui sees and expresses his mesmerizing stories of the beginnings of time, inhabited by “the people” he’s concocted. He would love to have his own café or work on an animation project.

“Of course, cool people look great, no matter what they wear, but clothes can change the way you think, how you relate to people around you, work as that doorway into building your confidence,” he said.

Matsui's no-nonsense friendly attitude defies his demure first impression. Sitting amid mounds of boxes and packages of clothing at his office on the outskirts of Tokyo, he was wearing a Hazama-designed hoodie with rainbow-tinged fangs of an “aurora shark” for studs, with torn Yves Saint Laurent jeans and Nike sneakers. He said he wasn't wearing his Godzilla shoes because he was working.

The Godzilla shoes originated as a special order from the film’s producer for the Japan premiere in October last year. Their stealing the show at the recent Academy Awards ceremony wasn’t even in the script then.

It took Matsui about a year to finish the initial three designs, the 75,000 yen (about $500) red pumps for actress Minami Hamabe, the 88,000 yen ($600) shoes for Yamazaki, and boots decorated with jagged scales, priced at 105,500 yen ($700), for Ryunosuke Kamiki, the movie’s co-star alongside Godzilla.

The entire first batch of several hundred already sold out. Plans are underway to produce more, perhaps in different colors, like gold in homage of the Oscar statue.

Interest has been huge, according to Matsui. But, in theory, everyone who’s got their hearts set on a Godzilla shoe should be able to get one, eventually.

Growing up in a loving family that sent him to piano and swimming lessons and “juku” cram schools, Matsui is a graduate of the prestigious Keio University and could have easily become a successful “salaryman” like other young Japanese men.

But he didn’t want to part with his then-blond hair.

Although he has always respected Yohji Yamamoto, he purposely pursued color and fabric texture, instead of Yamamoto’s focus on black and stark lines.

When asked about his global ambitions, Matsui acknowledged he is quite happy working in Japan. His dream is surprisingly local: to create the fashion for Bump of Chicken, a Japanese rock band.

Besides, he’s afraid of flying.



Sources: Shein and Reliance Aim to Sell India-made Clothes Abroad Within a Year

(FILES) This photograph shows the Shein e-commerce app on a mobile phone. (Photo by Emma Da Silva / AFP)
(FILES) This photograph shows the Shein e-commerce app on a mobile phone. (Photo by Emma Da Silva / AFP)
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Sources: Shein and Reliance Aim to Sell India-made Clothes Abroad Within a Year

(FILES) This photograph shows the Shein e-commerce app on a mobile phone. (Photo by Emma Da Silva / AFP)
(FILES) This photograph shows the Shein e-commerce app on a mobile phone. (Photo by Emma Da Silva / AFP)

Fashion retailer Shein and partner Reliance Retail plan to rapidly expand their Indian supplier base and start overseas sales of India-made Shein-branded clothes within six to 12 months, said two people with knowledge of the matter.

The China-founded, Singapore-headquartered e-commerce firm has been discussing plans with the Indian retailer since before the US imposed tariffs on Chinese imports that intensified the need to diversify sourcing, the people said.

The aim is to raise Indian suppliers to 1,000 from 150 within a year, they said.
In a statement to Reuters, Shein said it licensed its brand for use in India. Reliance did not respond to queries.

Shein sells low-priced apparel such as $5 dresses and $10 jeans shipped directly from 7,000 suppliers in China to customers in around 150 countries. Its biggest market is the US where it is adjusting to tariffs on low-value e-commerce packages from China which were previously imported duty free.

The retailer launched in India in 2018 but its app was banned in 2020 as part of government action against China-linked firms amid border tension with its northeastern neighbor.

It returned in February under a licensing deal with the Reliance Industries unit which launched SheinIndia.in selling Shein-branded clothes produced in local factories. In contrast, Shein's other websites mainly list goods from China.

Reliance, controlled by Asia's richest person, Mukesh Ambani, has contracted 150 garment manufacturers and is in discussion with 400 more, said the two people, declining to be identified due to confidentiality concerns.

The goal is 1,000 Indian factories making Shein-branded clothes within a year for both the Indian market and to service some of Shein's global websites, the people said.

Shein initially wants to list India-made clothes on its US and British websites, one of the people said. Discussions have been ongoing for months and the launch time of six to 12 months could change depending on supplier numbers, the person said.

The scale of supplier expansion and export time frame is reported here for the first time.

Shein has licensed its brand for domestic use to Reliance which "is responsible for manufacturing, supply chain, sales and operations in the Indian market," Shein said in a statement.

In December, Minister of Commerce and Industry Piyush Goyal told parliament that the Shein-Reliance partnership aimed to create a network of Indian suppliers of Shein-branded clothes for sale "domestically and globally".

ON-DEMAND MANUFACTURING

Shein is a fast-fashion behemoth earning annual revenue of over $30 billion through low prices and aggressive marketing. Most of its products are from China with some made in countries such as Türkiye and Brazil.

Its expansion in India mirrors interest in the country from the likes of Walmart and others throughout the global fashion and retail industries, particularly those looking for suppliers outside China due to the Sino-US trade war.

The Shein India app has been downloaded 2.7 million times across Apple and Google Play stores, averaging 120% on-month growth, showed data from market intelligence firm Sensor Tower.

Offerings during its first four months have reached 12,000 designs, a fraction of the 600,000 products on its US site. In the women's dresses category, its cheapest item is priced 349 Indian rupees ($4) versus $3.39 on the US site as of June 9.

Shein's Indian partner Reliance, which operates the app, is working with suppliers to assess whether they can replicate Shein's global best-sellers at lower cost, the two people said.

Reliance aims to emulate Shein's on-demand manufacturing model, asking suppliers to make as few as 100 pieces per design before increasing production of those that sell well, they said.

Executives from Reliance recently visited China to understand Shein's "innovative" supply chain operations, "data driven" design processes and "disruptive" digital marketing, Manish Aziz, assistant vice president Shein India at Reliance Retail, said in a LinkedIn post in which he called Shein's scale and speed "truly incredible".

The partnership is one of dozens Reliance has with fashion brands, such as Brooks Brothers and Marks and Spencer. The firm also runs e-commerce site Ajio and its retail network competes with Amazon and Walmart's Flipkart as well as value retailers such as Tata's Zudio.

Reliance plans to work with new suppliers to source fabric - especially fabric made using synthetic fibres where India lacks expertise - and import required machinery, the people said. The firm will invest in suppliers and help them grow which in turn will help the Shein-Reliance partnership go global, they said.