Bizarre Buffet Podcast
In 2007, 29 year old experimental designer Aya Tsukioka created a small capsule of fashion pieces that were a response to the general public’s fear of street crime. Even Though, the street crime in Tokyo is very low and not a primary threat. But due to how safe it is, the slightest thing will be sensationalized on the news, creating a frenzy of anxiety for citizens.
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” The Vending Machine Dress ” I Episode Credits
Hosted By Mark Tauriello , Jen Wilson , & Marc Bluestein
Original Episode Art & Story Concept By Mark Tauriello
Episode Production By Marc Bluestein
” The Vending Machine Dress ” I Show Notes
The Vending Machine Dress ( Episode Intro)
What is one thing that comes to mind when you think of Tokyo?
-For me, Its sensory overload of neon and vending machines..
That being said, how many vending machines do you think actually exist in Japan alone?
Answer: 2.28Million
Vending machines have become a cultural staple for Japan for the distribution is 1 vending machine for every 22 people. The vending machines in Japan offer a large variety of products that American vending machines have not really ventures out towards. You can find things from cold/ hot beverages , candy , soup, edible hornet larva, fresh bannanas, canned bread, panties, mystery boxes, furry cat coin purses, freshly popped pop corn, there is even an automobile vending machine AND a vending machine restaurant. In comparison to USA vending machines, ours are quite boring.
That being said, these colorful brightly lit machines are all over the streets of Tokyo ,bringing in around $60billion dollars a year . With the vast amount of machines and their popularity, it only makes sense that experimental fashion designer, Aya Tsukioka , would find an unusual source of inspiration that would not only has a gimmick, but sheds a new light on crime culture, develops new uses for a garment, and also contributes to the practice of Chindogu.
AYA TSUKIOKA
In 2007, 29 year old experimental designer Aya Tsukioka created a small capsule of fashion pieces that were a response to the general public’s fear of street crime. Even Though, the street crime in Tokyo is very low and not a primary threat. But due to how safe it is, the slightest thing will be sensationalized on the news, creating a frenzy of anxiety for citizens.
The biggest difference between America and Japan is that in America, people are more inclined to fight back on an attacker and protect themselves, where in Japan, it’s easier to just run and hide…and camouflage your self since it is a culture that abhors self assertion and self defense.
In a New York Times article, she is quoted on saying “It’s easier for Japanese to hide, making a scene is embarrassing”
It should be noted that America’s violent crime rate is 7x greater than Japan.
Japan is so fashion conscious that dressing differently could save you. Dress like a ninja, people will assume you are a ninja. Dress like a gangster, nobody will mess with you because they will be afraid that you are in a gang.
So keeping all of this in mind, Japans response to minor threats in crime ….to vending machines, Aya Tsukioka created her own solution….the vending machine dress.
What Is The Vending Machine Dress ?
It’s a conceptual design that doubles as a dress and a vending machine disguise. From the outside, it appears to be an ordinary tube like dress that is long and grey. There are 2 slits up the side seams of the skirt to enable movement since it’s ankle length. The dress is double sided to serve its double purpose. On the inside, there is another panel flap that has a life size photographic print of a vending machine. You would simple pull the underside of the garment out from under the skirt, and then hold it up in front of you making you disaster behind a “vending machine”. Just imagine. You are walking alone on the street at night in Tokyo, and a stranger begins to follow you… What do you do … ask for help? What NO WAY! Run? You can do that. Hide: Yes. By disguising your self as one of the many many vending machines in Tokyo.
Why A Vending Machine Dress?
She chose a vending machine because of how common they are and how they are taken for granted due to how many there are. A vending machine actually provides just enough space for a person to hide. There is another version of this dress she created that turns into a 3 dimensional version of a vending machine (the dress sort of turns into a sleeping bag/ tent situation. In conceptualizing how she was going to create this, she referred back to a technique ancient ninjas would use which consisted of cloaking themselves in black blankets at night to blend in with the darkness and the night sky.
Though this might be taken as a joke, which it does have a light hearted element to it that is playful but though provoking, this dress has also been called the “anti rape dress” to which there is a whole movement out there of “anti rape clothing” to protect women from assailants (non rip panties that can only come off from the person wearing it, vaginal inserts to cling onto assailents, and so on). The garment was also tested on the streets of Tokyo in day light where she proved that she could camouflage her self with the cityscape while being undetected!
It should be noted that she sold 20 of these dresses for $800 each. Thats $16000!
Other Creations
Aside from the vending machine dress, she also created a fire hydrant back back for children. The backpack could convert into a fire hydrant form, which is small enough for a child to hide inside of.
She also created the “Man Hole” purse, which is a handbag that is designed to look like a literal man hole on the street. The concept behind this is that if someone is trying too mug you/ steal your handbag, rather than run with it, you can hide it in plain sight on the street as a manhole which would allegedly go unnoticed.
Regardless of how unusual or even impractical her ideas are… This is actually a strength of what makes Japanese culture so progressive. Its the idea that they really indulge in forward thinking and don’t put it down. From this approach, all inventors are taken seriously and not laughed at if their invention seems unusual. Japan has brought the world many technological and medical advancements, and with that comes inventions that are more Bizarre that truly fit into the Bizarre Buffet universe. This
What is Chindogu?
Literally translated, chindōgu means unusual (珍, chin) tool (道具, dōgu). The term was coined by Kenji Kawakami, a former editor and contributor to the Japanese home-shopping magazine “Mail Order Life” in the late 1980s.. In the magazine, Kawakami used his spare pages to showcase several bizarre prototypes for products. He named these gadgets “chindōgu”; Kawakami himself said that a more appropriate translation than “unusual tool” is “weird tool”.
This special category of inventions subsequently became familiar to the Japanese people.
I am sure we have seen some of these inventions showcased on memes, or random youtube/ fb feed content. Some of these would include..
-Baby outfit that doubles as a mop. The onsie has those mop like soft bristles that you would see on a feather duster all throughout the front so when the baby is crawling around it also doubles as a cleaning feature to your home.
-Chop stick fan. A small fan that attaches to your chop stick to cool off your hot noodles so you don’t burn your mouth.
-Mini Umbrellas to attach to your shoes
-Pillows designed to look like a mans torso, equipped with a standard style button down shirr and arm that wraps around you..
And so on.
Ultimately:
is the practice of invention of ingenious everyday gadgets that seem to be ideal solutions to particular problems, but which may cause more problems than they solve. The term is of Japanese origin.
10 commandments of Chindogu!
• cannot be for real use,
• must exist,
• must have a spirit of anarchy,
• is a tool for everyday life,
• is not a tradeable commodity,
• must have resulted only from an exercise of humor,
• is not propaganda,
• is not taboo,
• cannot be patented, and
• is without prejudice.
Ending
The vending machine dress has been this new found fascination of mine, and it took me into this rabbit hole of Chindogu. I have aways wanted to go to Japan, and in putting together this episode it had reminded me so much of why I was obsessed with Japense culture when I was a mere college student.
I feel like Tokyo would be a flagship of the Bizarre, and you could literally probably find a “Bizarre Buffet” there.
From the excess of neon, innovative fashion designers like Issey Miyaky and Yoji Yomamoto, Obscure horror like HAUSU and The Tomi franchise (lots of floating heads) I can’t help but to have a very special place in my heart for Japan and their forward thinking.
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