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In the story, Suzu Hirose, a Japanese actress is wearing PERVERZE and gets honest as she talks about her expensive film career.

DEWは、ファッションを心から愛する人々によって創設された、ジャカルタを拠点に世界へと発信するオンラインメディアです。次世代の先駆者となるイメージメイカー、スタイリスト、ライターとともにクリエイティビティを追求しています。
本ストーリーでは、女優の広瀬すずがPERVERZEに身を包み、彼女の映画における類稀なるキャリアについて正直に語っています。

Suzu Hirose


TEXT by VANYA HARAPAN

“If I got an “instruction manual” for myself it’d be easy, wouldn’t it?” says the actress as we ask her for a little self introduction. Suzu Hirose was born around 24years ago in the city of Shizuoka, the star was originally scouted for modeling when she was attending an event in which her sister was modeling at the said event.
Even though she started out her career as a model, Hirose is now more than known as an actress, a profession she’s been continuously working as since 2013, with her big bread being her 2015 movie, ‘Our Little Sister’.

Hirose’s face was on display across the nation throughout screens and pages of publications ever since she was a teenager. Despite having years of public exposure, Hirose is keen in keeping a boundary between who she is on, and off the screen. “Something about me myself, and the “me” in the eyes of the whole world, I think it’s somehow not even close,” she confesses.
And perhaps this distinction comes from her efforts in the early years of her career where she tried hard to maintain a professional and likable image to people in order to have a good reputation.

“Maybe because I was trying too hard in my workplace, I put too much effort with the people I’m seeing and when I’m in front of the camera. People thought that who I am and the role I took and was the same person, so there were times when I was troubled by the gap of those images,” the actress explains.
This gaping perception between screen and self could be a bother for some, but Hirose prefers it this way, to ensure that there’s a clear separation between the artist and the art, “As an actress, I think that it’s better if people don’t know those things so they could watch the product (movies/series) as it is and not being bothered by unnecessary information.”

These products of her handwork are extensive and Hirose definitely has a range of roles under her belt, so we ask the starlet herself which points of her career were the most memorable. “Although I love every single work I was involved in, there’s this drama called “Anone”, Where I’d be extremely jealous if anyone else played that part,” says Hirose.
This drama was a mini series that came out in 2018, telling the story of a woman named Anone about a young girl finding her way after seemingly losing faith in society, and to Hirose, that role was one that was close to her heart.

Hirose also mentions that her first experience in a more theatrical project was a memorable one for her. The actress made her theatre debut in 2019 with Noda Map “Q”: A Night at the Kabuki, and stepped out of her acting comfort zone.
“I didn’t know anything about the world of theatre,” she recalls, “That was the first time for me to be able to scream out my emotion that much.”Hirose also mentions that her first experience in a more theatrical project was a memorable one for her.
The actress made her theatre debut in 2019 with Noda Map “Q”: A Night at the Kabuki, and stepped out of her acting comfort zone.
“I didn’t know anything about the world of theatre,” she recalls, “That was the first time for me to be able to scream out my emotion that much.”

Even though the star has tried out various forms of acting, she still feels like she still has a long way to go in one field ー voice acting. “The timing of the dialogues was difficult because the characters were not yet complete, and I had to bring them to life,” When asked about which character the actress struggles with the most, she answered that these roles where voice matters more than face have always been a struggle, “I couldn’t do many different voices, and I didn’t have any skills (in them) at all, so all I could do was, again, try not to lie, and if I had to do a voice for a running scene, I would film it while running, and do it realistically.”

Just from this, we can tell that Hirose is one that’s passionate on exploring her potentials as an actress, constantly branching out and trying new things in the field. Her latest project is the upcoming ‘The Wandering Moon’, in which the actress collaborates once again with Lee Sang-il on a live version of the 2019 novel of the same name written by Yu Nagira.
Hirose admits that the beginning of the shooting process was a mellow one as the actress was going through a tough time, sharing with us that 2021 has been a year full of worry.
“I was not enjoying the acting, I didn’t know what was going on, and my emotions were not moving or coming out,” she tells us. But through perseverance and help from her director, she was able to make it through, “I’m very much looking forward to seeing how the two characters, overflowing with hope, will look in your eyes.”

PERVERZE

Take a closer look at renowned Japanese streetwear brand PERVERZE, and what gave them their it-factor


TEXT by VANYA HARAPAN

Combining the creative forces of Tokho’s talent, Perverse has become a cult favorite brand when it comes to edgy street style. The youthfully avant-garde brand has been taking the world by storm with global popularity ever since its launch in 2016. This rise to popularity has been done in quite an independent manner considering that the brand has been a start-up on its own, which is a rare sight to see considering most Japanese brands decide to create buzz through retail partnerships.

The name “Perverze” comes from a mixture of ‘squeeze’ and ‘perverze’ which means a desire to behave in a way that’s unreasonable despite consequences, implying the rebellious nature that the brand oozed and their spirit of going against the current. With desiance being a core value of the brand, it’s only fitting that their aesthetics are heavily inspired by the nostalgic grunge and underground subcultures of the 80s and 90s that was present in Tokyo. In the brand’s website they define themselves as “both a fashion brand and a project which transforms the genuine affection of 80/90s vintage wear produced in the pre-mass production era into a collection of streetwear that reflects spirit and style of today’s people.”

The birth of Japanese streetwear actually dates back to the 70s and 80s as a movement by the youths that wanted to make a statement by not conforming to the traditional expectations their elders have imposed onto them. As the 90s came around, these youths have all spread to live their own lives across the country and thus the widespread use of streetwear in Japan. In short, the core essence of Japanese streetwear is that spirit of defiance while embracing one’s individuality, both being values that are associated with youth. Perhaps it’s those qualities itself that makes Perverze’s clothing so appealing to youths around the world.

Besides clothing, the brand has also started a photography project in 2018, called Perverze Photography. The project explores how Perverze can be reinterpreted through the different eyes of different photographers and pushes the boundaries of who Perverze is, “it’s important for us to not to just be a fashion brand, but a platform for young people to create inspiring works,” says one of their team members in an interview with Vogue. The first installment of the project started out with Toyin Ibidapo’s ‘THE GODZION’S WAY’, followed by Sunny Suits’ ‘The Life Before Us’, and an interpretation by Kira Bunse. Asides from this project, Perverze is also known to be a brand that collaborates with countless photographers to reimagine their pieces through different lenses, making the identity of who Perverze is even more versatile and open-ended.

One thing special about the brand is how they’re run by a group of creatives that choose to remain completely anonymous. When you’re the masterminds behind a globally successful brand, most would find this an opportunity to make their name known to the world, yet the team behind Perverze prefers to remain off the grid, “We are nobody, we are a brand and a project,” they say, “the secret part brought by an anonymity is also a part of the brand.” Working as a collective means there’s a lot of teamwork involved, but instead of focusing on collectively working towards a singular vision, the brand embraces each member’s individual creativity in their creative process, “working individually is a factor that makes PERVERZE move smoothly,” they share, “We decided to work with other creatives because we like their work. So we always let them create their own work freely.” This anonymity also allows the creatives behind the brand to create as much as they please and however they want, as they continuously aim to create pieces that let the wearers feel “a spirit of freedom.”

With their ever-growing network of creatives as collaborators and consumers, the brand has decided to go global in 2019 as they worked together with Assembly New York to create a pop-up store in lower Manhattan. With its success proving it’s popularity to overseas markets, the brand has also partnered with online retailer SSENSE to ensure that their products are accessible to global fans of the brand. In terms of overseas physical events, the brand has not made any plans on another international event due to restrictions from the pandemic taking place. But for this upcoming year a representative from the brand has told us that Perverze will be opening their first physical store in Minami-Aoyama, Tokyo, sharing that it’s definitely going to be a sight to see, “We think it will be an exciting store like never before.”