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Relay Column: "Strong, Sexy, & Gracefully Mature Images" – Mirano Midorikawa's Mission to Present “Beautiful Asians”: The Story of Corsets Originating from the Rising Sun (Mirano Midorikawa)
PROFILE
Mirano Midorikawa
Corset designer and stylist. Active since 1999 as the brand Baby Doll Tokyo, which embodies beauty and decadence.
Proposes coordination centered around corsets and styles for elegant dresses.
Responsible for a wide range of costume design and styling for fashion magazines, live performances, films, and TV appearances, including outfits for Lady Gaga during her visit to Japan, Ayumi Hamasaki, Aya Sugimoto, and Anna Tsuchiya.
In private life, I am a nighttime explorer seeking romance, eros, and excitement. Visiting SM bars and snack bars nationwide. Looking for casual team members.
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The first direct influence I experienced was the costume designed by Jean-Paul Gaultier for Madonna in 1990. Seeing the styling of the cone bra corset inspired me to someday incorporate fetish items like corsets into everyday fashion.
At that time, there were no stores in Japan that treated authentic corsets as a part of fashion. I had a fateful encounter with a woman named Miss Antoinette and frequently visited the corset atelier Versatile Fashions in Los Angeles. She was a famous person who had been hosting fetish parties in clubs since the 80s, and she became my “corset mentor.”
Her nails were always flamboyant, her real nails were about 7 centimeters long and bent like a witch's, and she always used a thin, glittery stick to make phone calls—an image that remains etched in my memory.
At that time, there were no stores in Japan that treated authentic corsets as a part of fashion. I had a fateful encounter with a woman named Miss Antoinette and frequently visited the corset atelier Versatile Fashions in Los Angeles. She was a famous person who had been hosting fetish parties in clubs since the 80s, and she became my “corset mentor.”
Her nails were always flamboyant, her real nails were about 7 centimeters long and bent like a witch's, and she always used a thin, glittery stick to make phone calls—an image that remains etched in my memory.
In 2000, I launched Baby Doll Tokyo as a “select shop of beauty and decadence” offering my favorite corset-centered styles.
Initially, I imported corsets, but since the skeletal structure of Japanese people differs from that of Westerners, the imported items were too large and did not fit snugly, leading to slight gaps. In America, corsets and costumes are made in inches, which seems rough to Japanese sensibilities accustomed to producing items in 5mm increments. A gap of 1cm or 2cm doesn’t bother them.
Initially, I imported corsets, but since the skeletal structure of Japanese people differs from that of Westerners, the imported items were too large and did not fit snugly, leading to slight gaps. In America, corsets and costumes are made in inches, which seems rough to Japanese sensibilities accustomed to producing items in 5mm increments. A gap of 1cm or 2cm doesn’t bother them.
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