Nanoka Hara will appear in the film “Don’t Call it Mystery” due out for Fall, and has appeared in TV dramas, commercials, and numerous girl’s magazines. She is a popular young actor and the focus of attention in many recent TV dramas and film. While she is cute and exudes a fresh mood, she captures hearts and minds through the characters that she portrays. Privately, she is a 20 year old girl who prefers sharp clothes and likes to dress up to her heart’s content. We had her dress up in two looks from the Onitsuka Tiger 2023 Fall and Winter collection.

Look 1 is a blue one-piece dress that is worn with a belt sash with a twist in it for an accent. Her leggings are one color in black worn with edgy lace-up sneakers which add impact to a fashionable get-up.

“I’ve never worn a one-piece dress like this before. On looking in the mirror, my forthright impression was ‘this is the new me!’ and ‘I am looking at myself for the first time!’ At first sight, it is a simple one-piece dress yet the sash belt is novel and there is a Japanese sensibility about it that is cool. I also like the lace-ups. While I am in the habit of putting on a pair of sneakers now and again, ones with an avant-garde design are few and far between. They would go well my ordinary garb!”

Nanoka-san enjoys choosing and mixing and matching garb on a regular basis and her wardrobe is almost all black. She often grabs the chic items.

“My closet is mostly all black. Regardless of whether they are casual or dressy, I tend to have many black items. While there is a wide variety of tastes that I prefer, on special or formal days I would wear for example a lady-like dress; but I would rather have on a mannish yet stylish taste. I like items with a little edge in design such as work garb and military garb. I want to become someone who looks good in such garb.”

My ordinary clothes on a film set are monotone. A dress-up that accentuates a pair of roomy cargo pants that go well with the season would be my forte. Then I would balance that with compact tops and sandals as an accent.

She looks good in girly attire that she wears in TV and film. But she also wears well this Onitsuka Tiger look which has a completely different mood, and her street garb style that she wears to a film set. Her joy of wearing the garb came across to the staff members. What is fashion for her?

“When it comes to ordinary clothes, fashion and dress up raise my spirits. Clothes are also like body armor that lets me go out without having to be self-conscious.” She also let me in on her discoveries relating to garb.

“Looking in the mirror wearing today’s Look, I felt that the garb can make you see a new you. The moment I put it on I thought, ‘I didn’t know there was this particular facet about my look’ and ‘the garb can draw out this look from me.’ I was introduced to a new me that I didn’t know existed. I also feel the garb can change your behavior and look. For example, when I wear an adult-looking ensemble that shows off the body, I naturally stand up and have good posture. Conversely if I wear at-home wear that is comfortable and relaxed, my mind is at ease and my body and mind are flat. Everybody had such an experience, right?”

With costumes, she dons the identity and character of the person she’s portraying. When the make-up is also applied, a switch turns on and she gets in character.

→ For Look 2, I ask her about her favorite clothes, what she aspires to as a 20 year old, and what she wants to do in her private time!

Direction : Shinsuke Nozaka
Photo,Movie : Yoshiaki Sekine (SIGNO)
Stylist : Itsuka Watanabe
Hair,MakeUp : Asako Baba
Text : Ryoko Suzuki