COORDINATE 225: A DATE WITH DESTINY
Dress: Baby the Stars Shine Bright (Tartan Check Mini Sleeve JSK, 2012 release in black x black lace)
Headdress: Physical Drop (Velour Ribbon Hair Band in black)
Bolero: Physical Drop (Lace Bolero in black)
Necklace: MILK (Shadow Cherry Necklace in clear/black)
Cutsew: Offbrand
Belt: Offbrand
Socks: Offbrand (turns out they’re probably an Innocent World replica…)
Shoes: Offbrand
It’s been a long time goal of mine to meet Kuniko Kato, the founder of Metamorphose (my favorite brand) and current designer and owner of Physical Drop, another brand I keep finding myself reaching for. I admire and respect her for her extensive first-hand fashion industry knowledge and wealth of experience with the community. She is a major figure in the development of EGL fashion as we know it today, and she’s still out here selling her clothes and sharing her valuable knowledge.
On this most recent trip to Japan, I carved out some time to visit the Physical Drop store in Tokyo in hopes of catching her there. Kato-san was unfortunately not there that day but I had a nice chat with the shop staff. She asked whether I lived in Japan and what brought me to the country, and I mentioned traveling with my partner’s band. I tried on a sample of the Nostalgic Princess OP because I was considering purchasing it, and bought a mug and the velour hair band from this coordinate.
That night I noticed a social media post from Physical Drop that said Kato-san would have a pop-up shop and casual social event in central Nagoya the next day. I was traveling to Nagoya the next morning anyway, so I looked at the event’s hours, which happened to line up perfectly with the free time I had. I couldn’t believe it. I was actually going to get the chance to meet her! I planned to stop in for a little bit and maybe chat a little if I was feeling brave.
The next morning came and I found my way to the event venue, which looked to be an empty apartment that they rented for the day. Absolutely something you had to go looking for, not something you’d stumble upon randomly. They at least had a sign on the door so I knew I was in the right place. I opened the door and there she was along with another staff member and a couple of other event guests. I wasn’t sure what to say (how do you greet one of your personal heroes?!) but they greeted me and gave me room slippers to change into. They let me know where everything was and that I was welcome to try things on. They asked whether I lived in Japan and told them I was traveling with my partner’s metal band and they are playing a festival in Nagoya today, to which Kato-san asked “are you the same person who visited the Tokyo store yesterday? My shop staff told me about you!” (!!!) Then the other event staff member (Aki-san) showed me the metal festival poster on her phone and asked if this was the festival I was going to later. I got to tell her yes, that’s definitely the one! It turned out her friend who lives in the area was also going to the same festival (what a coincidence!!) and would it be OK to invite this friend to the popup to meet me? I said of course!
As I was browsing the wares, Kato-san came to me with a tote bag and said she normally gives these to people who make a purchase over a certain amount, but she wanted to give me one even if I don’t buy anything. (thank you!!) I still ended up being interested in a black lace bolero on the rack and both she and Aki-san encouraged me to try it on, and they held it for me so I could put my arms in the sleeves and tied the bow on me in the front, then told me how good it looked on me. I looked in the mirror and honestly I thought it looked better than I was expecting it to, especially with what I was already wearing. How could I not buy it after that? I kept it on for the rest of the day. I also bought a copy of her 30th anniversary photo and memory book from 2023, and told her I’d submitted some photos for it, and pointed them out as we flipped through it.
Some more visitors filtered in and out for a while. During a lull, Kato-san brought out a personal favorite sweet she’d picked up in Kyoto the previous day (Demachi Futaba’s mame daifuku) before coming to Nagoya and offered them to me and another person who was hanging around for a bit -- this was a popup shop and casual social gathering and she'd brought snacks to encourage the socializing part. (thank you!!) Kato-san pointed to a mahjong tile print OP and said she’d bought the fabric in Kyoto and sewed it the previous day. I remarked on the very quick turnaround, and she said she can sew her basic full shirring OPs in about 30 minutes, and her basic elastic waist skirts only take her about 15 minutes. (!!) I can’t imagine how many of them she’s made over the years to get that fast.
The friend arrived a little later with a gift for me (a box of manju sweets shaped like cat paws, how cute!!) and there were no other guests for a couple of hours, so the four of us had a long leisurely chat and got to know each other and talked about lots of things. We talked about music show etiquette since we were going to a metal show later. Kato-san talked about her experiences in punk show crowds which are kind of wild (lots of grabbing and shoving), and asked if metal shows were similar. We talked a little about the Nostalgic Princess OP samples, since we got to see lots of people try them on and it was cool to see how certain colors suited different people really well. Kato-san said “I don’t know what purpose this fabric was originally created for, but I love sewing clothes with it.” (From personal experience, she makes lots of her solid polyester dresses I’ve owned with the same fabric.) We encouraged Aki-san’s friend to try it on (she hadn’t ever tried lolita) and the blue-green one looked really good on her! Everyone kept remarking on what a wild set of coincidences led to this day and all of us being drawn together. 運命だね。I felt so lucky.
When it came time for us to go to the festival, Kato-san took a couple of photos with me and she gave me a hug (!!) before I left. I was shaking a lot and could barely hold a smile straight but thankfully the photos turned out OK. The friend and I traveled to the festival venue together and chatted the whole way. I used to live in Nagoya and getting to ride the subway and walk through a neighborhood I used to frequent was a really wonderful dose of nostalgia. We chatted more during breaks between bands, and I even gave her an opening to start a conversation with her favorite band member from the band she was there to see. I also grabbed one of the cat themed pins my partner's band sells and gave it to her. A friend from the tour group asked how my day was going and I said no hyperbole, this is one of the best days of my life. I’m so happy.
Oh, but the coincidences didn’t end there. I wanted to leave the festival just before the end to beat the crowds and because I was tired, and a couple of my friends in the tour group joined me. We successfully found our way to the station by our hotel, and I mentioned I was very hungry and so were they. I figured there wouldn’t be much open at 11 PM on a Wednesday, but there was a Denny’s on the way to our hotel and happily it was open. As we were walking through the crowded dining room finding a place to sit, I happened to see Kato-san and Aki-san (!!!) and waved hello. After we sat down at an empty table, Aki found me briefly to thank me for letting her friend tag along, and that she had a nice time today too, and hoped I enjoy the rest of my trip. I’m not sure how coherent my Japanese was at that point being tired and hungry but I hope she understood how much her kindness meant to me, too.
A date with destiny, indeed. I feel like all of the really important choices I made as an adult led me to this day and having this experience I will remember happily and gratefully for the rest of my life.
(Icing on the cake: I mentioned these experiences in a Discord I’m in, and the next day some of the people who are Facebook friends with Kato-san showed me that she wrote a Facebook post about the day, and she talked about me a lot in it. Senpai noticed me. Is this real life?!)