In the '70s, Saeko Yamaguchi, Japan's top model, made a real revolution: she became one of the few Asian girls to create a dazzling career at the Paris fashion show, becoming the muse of Kenzo, Yves Saint Laurent and Jean Paul Gaultier, showing the world how different feminine beauty it can be.
Saeko Yamaguchi in an advertisement at Shiseido, 1980 A photo of graphic designer and art director Makoto Nakamura
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At the end of the 20th century, atypical models, including Asian ancestry, appeared, and the oriental girl who caused a sensation at European fashion shows did make history. Among them, Saeko Yamaguchi, Kenzo Takada's muse, was one of the few Asian girls who was able to reverse the concept of beauty and show the world in the 1970s.
Saeko Yamaguchi was born in 1949 in Yokohama, one of Japan's most populous cities. She graduated from the prestigious Sugino Gakuen Design School in Tokyo. Admittedly, she was not destined to become a famous designer: soon after being educated, Yamaguchi decided to show off clothes instead of creating them, and began to audition for models. The rise of the novice modeling business coincided with the breakthrough of Japanese designer Yamamoto Kansai. In 1971, he became the first Japanese designer to hold a fashion show in London.
Saeko Yamaguchi, 2004
The perfectly sleek puppet shape of the bobo head makes Saeko a true star. In 1972, Yamaguchi made his debut at a fashion show in Paris, becoming one of the first Asian models in history to do so. Japanese beauty Sakiko conquered the fashion world: supermodels became the muses of Yohji Yamamoto, Kenzo Takada, and Issey Miyake, and actively promoted Japanese aesthetics in the West. Her perfect facial features made her instantly a part of Parisian society, and she caused a sensation on the spot with many big names – Yves Saint Laurent, Chanel and Jean Paul Gaultier.
In 1982, Saeko Yamaguchi and designer Kansai Yamamoto
Saeko once said that Kimochi (feeling), Katachi (style) and Ugoki (action) were the most important elements of her modeling career. She changed her mind about beauty not only in Europe, but also in her home country. In the '60s, almost half of the models who appeared in Japanese ads were not Asian. Surprisingly, Shiseido, Japan's largest cosmetics group, focuses on the local market, creating cosmetics to maintain the beauty of Japanese women and sticks to the same policy. This continues until 1973, when the brand signed a contract with Saeko Yamaguchi. Working with perfumer Serge Luten, a French photographer, the girl sets a new standard of beauty and takes Japanese aesthetics to new heights.
Fujifilm advertising campaign
Her death in 2007 was a particularly notable event for the industry. Reporters recalled her dark hair, almond-like eyes and mysterious appearance. While Yamaguchi's popularity marks a revolution in beauty philosophy, her recognizable style also reflects the industry's reliance on certain standards. "While her styling in the commercials is impressive, in real life, her eyes [more] are round. Seiseido Beauty Senior Director Etoshi Tomogawa explained that she created a "mysterious" image of Yamaguchi in the brand's advertising campaign, thanks to skilled eyeliner makeup and facial expressions that gave her eyes an almond-like look.
In any case, Yamaguchi's impact on the cultural and fashion industries is incalculable. In 1977, Newsweek magazine named her one of the world's top six models. It was a huge shift in the media at the time. Saeko Yamaguchi's iconic style is recreated around the world in the form of a special "Saeko Mannequin", with hairstyles reminiscent of iconic Japan's top models and displayed in the window displays of major stores such as Harrods in London and Barneys in New York.