Shu Uemura
Sometimes a person’s death makes his or her accomplishments feel even more remarkable. This was the case for me with Shu Uemura, who passed away on December 29, 2007. I used to think he was simply unusual for his generation of Japanese men and therefore had to leave the country to find more freedom.
This year marks the 25th anniversary of Shu Uemura’s flagship store in Omotesando, Tokyo. The news of his passing carried me back to that time, when I was a young, overly confident sculptor fresh out of Tokyo Geidai, working on my first project: the interior of a new Tadao Ando building in Osaka. Around the same period, I was offered the chance to design the interior of Shu Uemura’s new flagship store in what was then the trendiest district of Tokyo — and I simply declined. I wasn’t interested in what Shu Uemura was doing… or, to be more exact, I couldn’t stand the idea of a man dealing with makeup at that time.
Now that I am selling fragrances (and sometimes I don’t even understand why I am doing that), I can relate to Shu Uemura much more. I have to admit he was courageous — and what he accomplished is incomparable.
合掌。
no.bi
A sculptor living in New York and Paris
4 Comments
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Nobi
hmmm…
i’m totally unfamiliar with his stuff (or cosmetics in general). what’s unusual about him? a japanese man of his generation having entered the world of beauty or fashion was already unusual enough 60 years ago. -
kuri
From a packaging standpoint, it’s visually pretty distinctive with the clear plastic for the color cosmetics. Cosmetics-wise, the range seems to offer quite a few colors that normal people wouldn’t use – I believe they’re intended for cosmetic artists. Perhaps it’s a similar concept to MAC’s Pro line, but Uemura’s unusual color offerings are not limited to special stores (that I know of).
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kuri
Looking at his brand today, he still seems unusual both inside Japan and outside.