KANEKO’S CRIB NOTES XLVII: ISIS As we explored only recently, Kaneko swoons over the eclectic

KANEKO’S CRIB NOTES XLVII: ISIS

As we explored only recently, Kaneko swoons over the eclectic and often bizarre fashions of haute couture. The latest example to be brought to our attention is the “boléro perroquet” (parrot bolero) of French designer Jean-Paul Gaultier for its striking, nay, conspicuoussimilarities to Kaneko’s Isis design from 2002′s Shin Megami Tensei: NINE.Gaultier’s bolero was designed in 1997, five years before NINE; some additional pictures and information about its plumassière,Nelly Saunier, can be found here.

And adorning Isis with a feathered garment is no fabrication on Kaneko’s part, as she is sometimes depicted winged in Egyptian art, as shown above. While Gaultier’s bolero has a palette of Psittaciform plumage, Isis’ is golden, likely meant to evoke her son Horus’ design from Shin Megami Tensei II. That’s the type of continuity that’s right up our alley.

A cursory image search for Gaultier’s haute couture works results in a veritable hoard of Megami Tensei-like imagery, many of which are only a famous mythical name away from nestling comfortably into an existing demon or persona compendium. Gaultier as an influence was hinted in a 1996 interview/discussion between Kaneko and SaGa’s Tomomi Kobayashi, translated by Shmuplations; Kobayashi is the one to mention Gaultier by name (along with other proven Kaneko influences like Thierry Mugler), but it’s obvious they are both immersed in the world of haute couture. On that subject, the interview contains this pertinent quote of Kaneko’s:

Kaneko: In fashion and character design, first impressions are so important. It’s partly why I appear so sensitive about my work. It’s great to talk with someone 10 or 20 years later, who knows what life was like back then, and recognizes those influences—they’re the waymarkers of my own existence. I look back on them with a lot of affection.

Now 20 and 15 years on from Gaultier’s bolero and Kaneko’s Isis respectively, we can say that the affection’s all ours.