The Good Old America (3)

In the 1960s, several secondhand clothing stores along Omotesando and Aoyama sold surplus U.S. military jeans and apparel. Even as an elementary school student, I wore Levi’s and LEE jeans that my mother had purchased at bargain prices. Around the age of 14, as a middle school student, I noticed young people on Ginza’s Miyuki Street sporting unique fashions, earning them the moniker “Miyuki Tribe.” Their style was inspired by the clothing of students from America’s Ivy League universities, hence the term “Ivy,” derived from the Ivy League.

At that time, Kensuke Ishizu was quick to introduce this fashion from the U.S. and established the brand VAN Jacket, which became a phenomenal success. Button-down shirts, buckle-back chinos, penny loafers, duffle coats, and Indian Madras jackets—all part of the Ivy style—continue to be cherished as traditional fashion. Known as “trad” in Japan, this culture originally hailed from Britain but gained its American flair as it made its way to Japan.

Trends among young people evolved rapidly after that, with the rise of bell-bottoms, London boots, long hair, and hippie fashion during the Vietnam War era, leading to a decline in trad-wearing youth in the streets. At the time, I thought Ivy fashion had disappeared even in the U.S.

However, during the early 1980s, I attended a pre-conference workshop at the Pittsburgh Conference (PITTCON) held in Atlantic City. When I visited Waters Corporation’s headquarters in suburban Boston, I was surprised to see that all the employees were dressed in Ivy League style.

The vastness of the United States means that cultural differences exist between the West Coast, Midwest, and East Coast, as well as across different lifestyles. Living in Japan, it was hard to grasp the diversity of such a large country. The East Coast, it turned out, was still home to “American Trad.” While today’s advanced information tools have fostered a global society, the cultural environment we are exposed to in our youth often stays with us as we age. Perhaps this, too, is a reflection of epigenetics.

To be continued in “The Good Old America (4)”

PROFILE
Profile picture of Mr. Hisashi Iwase

Mr. Hisashi Iwase

Life Science Innovation Advisor at the Japan Analytical Instruments Manufacturers’ Association (JAIMA),
and President & CEO of BioDiscovery Inc. Born in 1951, Tokyo.
Graduated from the Department of Industrial Chemistry, College of Science and Technology, Nihon University.
Mr. Iwase’s extensive career in managing and marketing analytical and bioscience instruments includes
positions at Merck Japan, Waters Japan, Millipore Japan, PerSeptive Biosystems Japan, Applied Biosystems,
Varian Technologies, and Agilent Technologies. In 2001, he established BioDiscovery Inc., and since 2013,
he has served as a Life Science Innovation Advisor for JAIMA.

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