The trio has so much energy, it’s really fun shooting them. Kimono Styling: Rinko Kimino; Production manager: Satomi Imai.
When Alpha stepped in front of the camera, the naughty Cheshire cat came alive. Her makeup is by Minaho Takahashi; hair by Mayu Ikeyama and Kinuyo Takasima.
Every shot of of Hitomi works. The way she carried the Hooka prop and her expressions immediately brought the caterpillar character to life. Her makeup is by Tomoko Miyamoto; hair by Mayu Ikeyama and Kinuyo Takasima.
Here comes the white rabbit character from “Alice in Wonderland”. You can see the clear resemblance of her high rising hair with bunny ears. The hair stylists did a fantastic job. I heard from Satomi that the team brought the hair props from Japan. Tick-tock, tick-tock, you’d better hurry.
Model: Miki; Makeup: Kazuyuki Ervin Okada; Hair: Mayu Ikeyama and Kinuyo Takasima; Kimono Styling: Rinko Kimino; Production manager: Satomi Imai.
This is Tweedledum and Tweedledee modeled by Julia and Kanae, makeup by Tomoko Miyamoto, hair by Mayu Ikeyama and Kinuyo Takasima. Can you tell which is which? I can’t tell.
Kanae’s makeup is pink and red theme which is hard to wear for normal people, but she wears it well with her yellow kimono. It’s truly juicy fruity couture which reminds me of the makeup book I read by Akemi Nakano. I purposely didn’t retouch the two brown dots on her face away. They look very cute on her face and also fit the character of Tweedledum/dee. Remember in the 50’s, Hollywood star Marilyn Monroe drew a mole on her face as her beauty mark.
I had an amazing photo shoot with the group of talents for the fashion show “Kimono Girls in Wonderland” at “The Last Book Store” in downtown Los Angeles, on this year’s Thanksgiving weekend. I shot the girls right before the show started when they were being prepared by the professional stylists. We worked on a tight “beauty assembly line”. After each model finished her makeup, hair, and came to me, I got 3 to 5 minutes to photograph her before the next model stepped in.
This is the show host Amelia. Her makeup is by Minaho Takahashi and hair by Mayu Ikeyama and Kinuyo Takasima from Dali Salon in Osaka, Japan. She is reading from the book that inspires the Kimono show. Kimono Styling is by Rinko Kimino; Production manager: Satomi Imai.
The trio from Kimono Girls in Wonderland (Caterpillar, Alice in the middle, Cheshire Cat) are full of playful energy. Models: Hitomi, Mayuko, and Alpha; Makeup by Tomoko Miyamoto, Kazuyuki Ervin Okada, Minaho Takahashi; and hair by Mayu Ikeyama and Kinuyo Takasima.
More than 20 people worked in a tight conference room upstairs of the bookstore. When they walked to the door, they had to pass the maze of my lighting gear and be careful not to knock down the softbox on their way. Time was pressing and space was small though everyone was so courteous and full of fun spirit.
The character of Alice is modeled by Mayuko. Her makeup is by Kazuyuki Ervin Okada, and her hair by Mayu Ikeyama and Kinuyo Takasima. Mayuko is such a versatile actress. I didn’t even recognize her at first sight even though I’ve shot her last year in a different role.
There are 11 girls in total that I shot in this less-than-one-hour photo session. I have more photos to be processed and I am going to post them in a series on my blog.
The trio has so much energy, it’s really fun shooting them. Kimono Styling: Rinko Kimino; Production manager: Satomi Imai. 
When Alpha stepped in front of the camera, the naughty Cheshire cat came alive. Her makeup is by Minaho Takahashi; hair by Mayu Ikeyama and Kinuyo Takasima. 
Every shot of of Hitomi works. The way she carried the Hooka prop and her expressions immediately brought the caterpillar character to life. Her makeup is by Tomoko Miyamoto; hair by Mayu Ikeyama and Kinuyo Takasima. 
