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Barrage of complaints force Miss Universe Japan to change costume design for finals

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Japan's candidate for the 2009 Miss Universe Pageant, 25-year-old Emiri Miyasaka, will wear a different costume to the finals this month in the Bahamas after her original design received widespread criticism as being "too extreme."

Shocking pink stockings, panties and a garter belt completed the ensemble of a black leather kimono cut off to reveal everything below the waist, a look that received a flood of criticism both domestically and from across the globe. Voices of protest also came from the obi and kimono makers, who were not informed of the design of the costume beforehand, ultimately leading to a decision to redesign the dress.

Miss Universe Japan officials announced the decision on their website. They said the new costume would feature a kimono of the "original length," covering the lower half of Miyasaka's body and hiding her panties and garter. The pattern on the kimono itself will not be changed.

The costume was originally designed by Frenchwoman Ines Ligron, the director of the Miss Universe Japan office, who was given the job by Miss Universe Organization owner and U.S. real estate mogul Donald Trump himself. Sources say Ligron was inspired by a Christian Dior collection of kimono-like garments. She ordered the kimono to be made by Yoshiyuki Ogata, owner of a company that is pushing for a revival of traditional-style Japanese clothing.

The costume, which was revealed to the world on July 22, drew criticism from over 2,000 people including comments that "Japan will be misunderstood" and "the garter belts make it look like something a prostitute would wear." The obi manufacturers, who were not informed of the kimono's design beforehand, complained, "Had we known it was going to look like that, we would have never provided them the obi," a disapproval that ultimately led to a decision to redesign the costume.

In reaction to the complaints, Ligron initially stated on her blog that "It has surely created a huge PR buzz around the world which was the concept. The conservative and fashion-dinosaurs are criticizing her costume, meanwhile the fashionistas love it. I care only about the movers and shakers in the fashion industry."

Ogata was also assertive on his blog, posting: "That the kimono is a symbol of the humble Japanese woman is a delusion created by modern-day Japanese."

Yoshitaka Tsujimura, board chairman of Shizuoka's Tsujimura College of Japanese Clothing, said of the design, "Our entire faculty was shocked at how obscene it was. For those who have never seen a real kimono, it may be fine, but to us it just looks like someone's efforts to strip the garment into something lewd and cheap. This woman is going to be representing our country, and she has no right to ruin the image of 'proper Japanese clothing.' I'm quite frankly relieved to know they've decided to change the design."

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idiots

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OK, I'm like totally gay, so the sex and women (except as good friends) and Ms. Universe etc. mean nothing to me. But, this is just embarrassing. What are they thinking? Oh, yeah, they weren't thinking. Maybe the theme is: "Let's show the world that Japan is everybody's whore, but in a very cute way".

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I'm so pleased. Not that it really matters in the grand of scheme what someone wears at the Miss Universe finals, but that outfit was about the most tasteless thing I have ever seen in my life. Shouldn't something which is supposed to be a national costume be designed by a Japanese person, anyway?

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Who cares? Let her go naked if she wants to. Hardly important in the schenme of things.

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Could have been the perfect outfit if only she also worn ... a huge pair of shoes and a little plastic red nose.

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she does look hideous in this pic from "Whores are Us"" haha.

unless part of the competition calls for wearing traditional clothes from ones country the use of a kimono is a huge mistake, especially in those colours!

but sadly this pic is a good depiction of modern-J

its too bad this never got out till the actual competition then this wud have been huge news & hugely amuzing, haha

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The people have spoken!

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the fashionistas love it. I care only about the movers and shakers in the fashion industry

hahahaha what a bunch of nanas

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I think Japanese get angry because this shameful costume will disfigure the traditional Kimono culture in public. It is understandable. But there is no problem that people do it in your house.

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this is the kind of thing you see on the train every weeken night. it speaks volumes for the state of fashion in Japan. The old-schools have way too much influence. They should have taken the top off as well and the haters would not have any say in anything.

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this is the kind of thing you see on the train every weekend night.

Not around here in Akita-ken

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hahahaha

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this is the kind of thing you see on the train every weeken night

What, someone basically not wearing any kind of skirt or pants, just letting their underwear hang out? Not something I've ever seen on a train in Tokyo on a weekend night. Very short skirt, yes. No skirt at all, no. Where do you catch the train?

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including comments that “Japan will be misunderstood”

Oh, the shame.

I've always been amused by the 'will be misunderstood' comments - it comes across more as "In our minds, we need to project a certain image, and this isn't it"

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I like it! It is a sort of critique on the kimono. The kimono always been fetishistic, bondage apparel, masking the feminine under all those layers of cloth, under that self-satorising belt, so that women can hardly open her legs even to walk. As Ogata seems to suggest, this costume deconstructs the delusion of the 'pure kimono'. Kimono are and have always been sexy.

Good luck to Yoshiyuki Ogata in his push to bring back Japanese style to clothing. Send Jeans and Engrish T-shirts back to where ever they came from.

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Old Japan is, sadly for them, losing the battle to keep change incremental and regimented. Good thing too. More freedom of expression is what Japan needs and why not announce to the world that change is coming by opening up?

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Is she a few sandwiches short of a picnic? That would explain alot.

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I am glad to see people fought back! This would have been a big disgrace for Japan.

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Guess Ms. Ligron learned first-hand that Japan isn't France afterall, despite the fact that many women here copy much of their fashion sense from there. Apparently she didn't grasp that a J-lady carrying a LV bag does not equate to being international in the truest sense of the word. They are just copying their peers, not adopting a way of thinking.

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no miss france would were a whore dress to a world wide event... this dress is just a thread to everyone who likes japanese traditional dresses.

maybe they let her wear a skirt... this would make the whole thing 80% less provocative...

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"fashionistas" = people with unforgivably bad taste in clothing design Good job Mme Ligron.

"Ogata was also assertive on his blog, posting: “That the kimono is a symbol of the humble Japanese woman is a delusion created by modern-day Japanese.”

I don't agree with this at all.

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“Japan will be misunderstood”

What is there to misunderstand? With the way women are sexualized and objectified in this culture, I would say this would be a pretty accurate representation.

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Thank you Mme. Ligron; well you shoulkd try that kind of thing with the french girls. So glad that Ms. Japan will not wear that cheap whatever you call it. It will never be called a kimono.

Anyway, the whole thing with Ms. Universe and Ms. something, just money making opportunities for people like Trump. What a waste.

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"The conservative and fashion-dinosaurs are criticizing her costume"

It's not about old Japan VS. new Japan, the costume was ugly, pure and simple. On top of that, it's completely classless.

They didn't have to go floor length, it could have ended right above the knee and look just as good.

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A "shame" to disfigure the kimono - oh God forbid! However, the fact remains that it is perfectly acceptable that the manager of Miss Universe Japan has told all her girls "If you want to win, you need implants, tans, and perfect teeth." I think the manager is European.

So, where is the moral outrage at disfiguring Japanese women?

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Maybe a modest maid costume would have been better than the Hooters ...ehrr hookers fashion for representing modern Japan.

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Beauty pageants are a lot like making love to a beautiful woman. After extensive research you pick the best looking woman you can find. Dress her in fine clothes from the best designers. Make her up in a fantasy image. Then, after much preamble, on with the show, an intense experience lasting several hours. After all the screaming and shouting has died down, you can stand back, light your pipe and admire your handiwork.

The current Mrs Swiss doesnt approve but I do. If the remit is to shock, theres no harm in the design. I doubt Emiri's costume would have impressed the Miss Universe judges though.

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Way to go JT Commenters! Clearly the torrents of (much deserved) abuse unleashed in the previous thread were responsible for this change of heart.

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yes, damn killjoys. It was an awesome costume and precisely the image the young women of Shibuya/Harajuku are working towards.

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This is awesome pre event publicity for Miss Japan, everyone will be looking out for her in during the event now. Maybe that was the whole point?

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The woman need not be clad in 'traditional' kimono to "represent dinosaurs", but the design in the photo above is absurd, and would, as with the miniskirt police, maid-cafe girls, 'cuteness envoys', etc. display the Japanese sense of 'fashion' as amounting to a bunch of whores and pimps peddling them.

"...a look that received a flood of criticism both domestically and from across the globe."

The key word is 'across the globe', because that's what it takes for Japan to realize the error of its ways -- international condemnation in international events/forums. If this were Miss Universe Japan only you can bet it would stay as is and people would chalk up 'foreign' condemnation as a lack of understanding.

Once again, we're seeing how sick some people have become. I'm glad to read that a whole lot of Japanese were shocked as well (mind you, most commented that they were shocked that this would 'represent Japan' in said international forum, but still), and embarrassed. Leave this kind of fashion for the more extreme modelling runways, or adult magazine covers (in Japan), but for miss Universe this woman would be out on her exposed can in a minute, and Japan would be utterly embarrassed again.

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“Japan will be misunderstood”

From an establishment that promotes ex-prostitutes such as the Kanno sisters as television celebrities, that's a bit rich.

or those who have never seen a real kimono, it may be fine, but to us it just looks like someone’s efforts to strip the garment into something lewd and cheap.

So maybe now you can also have a go at Ginza hostesses and ask them not to wear traditional kimonos ?

A lot of hypocrisy coming out of the Japanese establishment here. Something to do with a foreigner (Ines) designing it ?

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Hmmmm its obscene to wear this outfit but its not obscene to do a bikini parade wearing way less than this. Isn't the whole thing about fashion and beauty based in the underlying fact we all have a need to reproduce and there are many studies that backup the idea that what we perceive as sexy or nice or whatever you want to disguise that word as, is simply our brain telling us that that person would make a good breeding partner. Personally I think its a cool and funky out fit, you would just not be able to wear it many places. Maybe some would like her to dress like a 40yo shop assistant of a handcrafts shop hahahahahahahahahahaha. Interestingly people are talking about the image of Japan but I believe that Japan is the 2nd largest producer of porn, so what is the real image of Japan? what people say or what they do?

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So I guess that when they get to the swimwear section of the competition, the idea is that the girl who looks most likely to be a good swimmer gets the most points ? Rubbish. The swimwear section of Miss Universe gives panelists a chance to vote for the girl with the best body who is the most sexually attractive. So complaints about a Miss Universe outfit being lewd and cheap are laughable. This is Miss Universe, not election time (although I'd vote for Miyasaka..)

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Uh, it's not so much that it's "lewd" but rather that it's ugly and tasteless. She looks awful.

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PS. This, if you recall, is the girl in the orange dress. The one Taro-kun couldn't take his eyes off of. I don't blame him. (You wouldn't either; google her image if you don't remeber). Now compare the two pictures. Its like defacing a work of art.

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someone left the house without their pants!!How embarrassing.

It just looks silly. Why not just short instead of nothing down below?

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here is an interesting article. The photo aint the best I think its OK. What's the difference between a garter and panties and a bikini? Wheres the moral outrage their. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/disgrasian/whats-the-difference-betw_b_249180.html

"Yeah, it's really pervy, but we are talking a beauty pageant"--an event where coating one's teeth with Vaseline, shoving one's tits up their chin with tape, and spouting ignorant drivel from the stage are all kosher, if not recommended. Jen also ventured that the outfit might even be evidence of progress: maybe the Miss Universe Japan people are boldly stepping ahead of the curve, finally recognizing that the world kinda views the Japanese as pretty... pervy,

LoL at the last part

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As an overall ensemble it's just TERRIBLE. It doesn't match at all.

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A "shame" to disfigure the kimono - oh God forbid! However, the fact remains that it is perfectly acceptable that the manager of Miss Universe Japan has told all her girls "If you want to win, you need implants, tans, and perfect teeth."

So, where is the moral outrage at this disfiguring of Japanese women?

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I'm not a prude, the outfit is ugly and classless. A woman can be sexy without a ton of makeup and her ass hanging out!

And there is a difference between a swim suit and that.

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scoobydoo: "Hmmmm its obscene to wear this outfit but its not obscene to do a bikini parade wearing way less than this."

You make a good point, but whether or not you want to chalk it up to semantics or societal opinion(s), there's a difference, which I'll get to in addressing northlondon.

northlondon: "The swimwear section of Miss Universe gives panelists a chance to vote for the girl with the best body who is the most sexually attractive. So complaints about a Miss Universe outfit being lewd and cheap are laughable."

Not rubbish at all. Hell, I love the beach for it's bikinis and exposure, etc., but let's face it, while you can walk around the beach in string bikinis (even less on some), walking around in garters and tiny panties would get you different looks altogether. While some beaches are more conservative and enforce certain guidelines on what can or can't be worn, it's generally accepted that at the beach, pools, or sun-tanning bathing suits/bikinis are garments you wear in public. Underwear is not. Hell, don't you remember the loser kid who had to wear his skivvies because he didn't have a bathing suit? Sure, the girl may not be shunned or bullied for donning nothing but a bra and panties (and garters) to the beach (quite the opposite, in many cases), but the reaction to that as opposed to a bikini would be different.

Again, you can argue there is no difference, since both expose pretty much everything, but there is indeed a difference.

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Yeah I have a complaint about her costume. She needs less of it if ya know what i mean.

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I care only about the movers and shakers in the fashion industry

Right. So by her book it is OK to dress a woman in a monstrosity like this design. Utterly tasteless and totally unfashionable.

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I couldn't help but laugh at Ligron's bravado and Miss Japan's surprise at how ugly a majority of Japanese and foreigners think her dear costume is. Ligron is obviously barking to cover her blatant failure of choice. If Miss Japan had some backbone, she would have protested at being told to strut showing her panties and to stand spread-eagle for a publicity photo. Going vulgar for the sake of attention is demeaning - and it is inadmissible when representing a country for the world to see. Neither the words elegance and class could ever be applied to the design Ligron coughed up in an attempt to plagiarize Christian Dior.

Perhaps it's time Ms. Ligron takes vacations in order to freshen up her brain. Perhaps stress is making her hear voices... or laughter.

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Poor Emiri getting caught up in all this. I still love the costume. I hope the replacement has the same impact, but somehow I think it will be far too conservative and boring, in order to shut up the ultra conservative ossan establishment.

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smith, my 'rubbish' comment was actually directed at the prudes who were upset by this Miss Universe outfit, who do not realise that we are talking about a Miss Universe competition here. My description of the swimwear section was aimed at those very same prudes who obviously have no idea what a Miss Universe competition is all about. The girls parade around in swimwear and people vote for the best bod. Period. So an outfit with some suspenders and garters involved is par for the course for a beauty pageant.

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please tell me where i can find an enlarged copy of this photo

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In the pageant there is a swimwear parade and a national costume parade. The national parade is to do with a national costume. Shocking pink garters and stockings with underwear showing is a little too unrelated to the Kimono.

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I think it is less the sexiness-no doubt thats there, I wouldnt mind some-but from this picture it seems the kimono is lacking the skill and professionalism in the material and make, that ought to at least be there.

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KaptainKichigai: Look at the picture of the day a week ago. Better picture, and I also posted links to more pictures. You'll find it.

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this is an offend to Japanese tradition. it is well known that kimonos were wore without underwear. please respect the culture!

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dressed like a cheap hooker in pyjamas

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Sorry for the rudeness, but dressed like that she looks like more "miss street hook*rs 2009" ....

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What is disturbing to me is she actually put this on and posed with it. (I would have said, 'No way I'd wear this!'). Shows where her head/tastes are...

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I'm really not getting how anyone could find that costume attractive. Even her makeup is horrendous. I don't usually care about those sort of things, but really... it's almost as if they are trying to make her look awful. There are soooo many gorgeous photos of her out there, and this... this should be a crime. Does Ines Ligron hate beuatiful Japanese women, or just poor Emiri?

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The girls parade around in swimwear and people vote for the best bod. Period. So an outfit with some suspenders and garters involved is par for the course for a beauty pageant.

I am not all that into beauty pageants but I have seen bits of them on TV. I know that yes, they do show off their bods in the swimwear. Can't really recall this "par for the course" garter/hooker look before. lol

Swimwear is certainly more revealing than the outfit above, but in my view, the outfit above doesn't shock us for showing skin, it is shocking because well...it's pretty garish and the style here doesn't suggest grace, form and style. (Yes, I admit it does look like something we imagine a high priced hooker might be wearing.) Sometimes what makes an outfit vulgar is not the amount of skin it shows, but simply how the outfit looks. This one has lots of shock value, no doubt, and kudos to her for wearing it but this might not be the costume that would impress Miss Universe judges.

Funky, yes. Cool, very modern, yes. Shocking, yes. On the streets of Harajuku, of course. Even on avant-garde runways, sure! In the Miss Universe pageant...only if you really, really don't want to win.

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I think her costume depicts japanese culture very well.

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Crokk at 04:25 PM JST - 1st August

Sorry for the rudeness, but dressed like that she looks like more "miss street hook*rs 2009" ....

are you saying she looks like a prostitute?

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WMD at 04:55 PM JST - 1st August

I think her costume depicts japanese culture very well.

are you saying she looks like a prostitute?

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Yes

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WMD,

I agree. I think that is the reason they don't want the outsiders to know that.

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I like the look, shame on her for succumbing to the pressure. Gams like that should be seen and appreciated. Society advances only on the sacrifice of the strong... Next time stand for all that is good n decent Emirichan!

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They should stick her in a school girl uniform and pose her like the manga girls in what the slobbering salarymen read. That would be more realistic. And the traditional Japanese fashion police wouldn't have anything to say on the issue.

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Can I have the dress if they don`t want it ?

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Why don't they just cut off everyone's evening dresses at that level? Ligron sounds like a fool.

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onewrldoneppl: kimono is a matter (and personally i saw better kimono), but with "personal touch" of Ines Ligron , the result is TERRIBLE! I can't understand how that woman could be in charge.. .totally messing up original costume (messing, not re-inventing)

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Nothing generates quite so much copy amongst some, as items about ladies under garments,probably inversely correlated with potency.

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northlondon: "So an outfit with some suspenders and garters involved is par for the course for a beauty pageant."

Oh, I know what you were saying, and I wasn't at all disagreeing that they are judging the body in the swimsuit competition. But show me someone who wouldn't say a girl is out of place walking on stage in her gitch to a swimsuit section and I'll show you someone who clearly lacks the mental capacity to distinguish between the two.

Her wearing this gaudy outfit is not at all akin to the swimsuit section of the competition. They ALL wear swimsuits in that part of the competition; only SHE would look like a painted jezebel for the rest. I could just see her up there in this get-up talking about how she wants to help achieve equality among women and men, etc. :)

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was given the job by Donald Trump himself.

Need more be said?

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she looks like one of those cheap hooker on sale............ must be the economy

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Either way I think this woman has destroyed her chances of winning.

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I am so glad to not be a fashionista! I am a humble university professor, so of course you know that I have no fashion sense. However, I did ask my students (in Japan) what they think of the outfit and all were appalled! It is so cheap and stereotypically street-walker looking. They all hate it.

If Ines Ligron and others are serious about this being fashion, then I honestly believe that the human race has already split into two distinct species. Hers includes people who like this detestable kimono, along with Paris Hilton, and beauty pageants in general. In my camp, all I ask is that you let us have Albert Camus.

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Score one point for good taste.

"I care only about the movers and shakers in the fashion industry.”

If so, she should not have been chosen for this job, which is to help Japan's MU candidate win the pageant or at least represent Japan well in front of a global audience. It's not to promote herself to "the fashionistas."

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Kimono are and have always been sexy.

Yes, and the reason is their subtle suggestion that lets the imagination work. Nothing for the imagination here. There's a difference between sexy and trashy.

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That's a really nice slut suit! All the fellas in Akihabara will love it! Grow up you bimbo! This is the Miss world competition, not the Akihabara slutty trout competition!

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If the designer thinks it's perfect then she shouldn't have given in to the pressure. Why not quit? The dress was like a bad holloween costume!

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I wouldnt have described the original "dress" as "too extreme" bu simply too moronic.

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Or maybe we "poor" humans doesn't understand nothing about real fashion...

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that is what i am saying before...it will alarm the whole nation and flood criticisms....anyway she can use any costume rather than changing the original traditional kimono.

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so... what was the problem?

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A real and modern and classy and lovely kimono !

What do you want more ?

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Crokk

...but with "personal touch" of Ines Ligron , the result is TERRIBLE! I can't understand how that woman could be in charge.. .

Himajin

... Ligron sounds like a fool.

Mrs Ligron has produced three top 5 finishes within four years beginning with Miyako Miyazaki finishing 5th in 2003, Kurara Chibana finishing 1st Runner-Up in 2006, and Riyo Mori winning Miss Universe 2007, the first time in 48 years a Japanese woman won the title...

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The Ligon woman was out of her mind & she put severe shame to the young woman due to this print of here in the cheap & lewd outfit. What a shame to Japan.

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She can come to my house, any time of the day or night and model that outfit for me. I won't complain at all.

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Kimono is basically nice, traditional, respectful but hardly walk, or go to toilet. This picture is showing a beautiful girl, beautiful kimono( upper part), nice healthy legs, fun, sexy stockings and so on ...however the combination of all these is somehow weird . This is open position picture, what it looks like in close position? Never easy to change a tradition.

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But our universe is all about the lewd and the cheap. Kudos to the obi maker for having integrity, however. I do wish this costume would ... can I get this pic of Miss Universe Japan in say, a 20" x 30" size poster? Would be a lovely addition to the den. Let me know.

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The key word is 'across the globe', because that's what it takes for >Japan to realize the error of its ways -- international condemnation in >international events/forums. If this were Miss Universe Japan only you >can bet it would stay as is and people would chalk up 'foreign' >condemnation as a lack of understanding.

Nonsense smith. Your usual totally speculative J-bashing is uncalled for. The fact is that this stupid looking getup was canned by the Japanese themselves, period. Reason? It was in utterly bad taste, so bad it crossed all cultural borders as evidenced by the comments by JT readers.

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Bruno Award winner.

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Much ado about nothing

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It reminds me of some of the costumes on Second Life. It also brings to mind the female Manga Characters that Japan is well known for.

I would concur that the conservative Japanese leadership would probably rather be remembered for adding a more refined beauty to the world.

This is a form of beauty however, just not the kind most folks want to admit exists.

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if she wore a double g-string and was totally shaved, I would appreciate the costume much more.

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Ossan: "The fact is that this stupid looking getup was canned by the Japanese themselves, period."

Which I addressed, in my comment, which you of course needed to cherry pick. I said that I was 'happy to read as well that the Japanese shocked'.

"Reason? It was in utterly bad taste, so bad it crossed all cultural borders as evidenced by the comments by JT readers."

Agreed, which I also commented on. You (and I mean people in general) cannot deny the impact the international community has had in this, and how that often helps sway Japanese opinion in how they want to be seen by others in international events. And again, I'm happy that many Japanese themselves expressed their distaste -- from the kimono makers to stylists, etc. I don't think she should be wearing a traditional kimono or anything like that to represent Japan, but this is just tasteless.

I went on to talk about how it was simply lewd and tasteless later.

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Make it a little bit longer, change the pink stockings for bare tan skin... and you will have the same kimono, a beautiful lady with very nice legs, and if not a Miss Universe, a finalist. Honestly what I dont like is the sight of panties and suspenders for a Miss Universe. I am Japanese, and even I appreciate kimono is time for change, and maybe to throw the kimono in the night dress arena for everbody not only for Japanese. Why not? This one is in black leather... I like it.

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Mrs Ligron has produced three top 5 finishes within four years beginning with Miyako Miyazaki

This is the end of her winning streak.

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she'd be a winner, walking around nishi ogikubo station at 11pm that is, she'd be beating customers off with a poopy stick. well, beating customers off at least..

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personally, I dont know why they waste time with the clothes at all. lets just be honest and let them sell their sex. who is kidding who? she does not represent japan, she is just representing her sexuality. oh, I am so cynical... of course she wants to eliminate cancer and world poverty ; ) just let her prance naked, that will solve the problem completely. for the record, the pseudo kimono sucks as do the garter n stockings.

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The outfit is terribly ghastly and yucky wucky. She looks loke a prostitute sitting in one of those Amsterday brothels where they sell their wares.

Also she is too chubby wubby to have a chance of winning.

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Yeah, that's an awful outfit.

Where do you figure chubby?

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Good for the people of Japan to not accept trashiness as their >ahem< national costume.

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Mrs Ligron has produced three top 5 finishes within four years beginning with Miyako Miyazaki .........This is the end of her winning streak.

I am pretty sure of the contrary.

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I do understand the people complaining about the costume. However if the nation in question was to be a little more open about some of the not-so-hidden passions and well-established fetishes found in its culture and everyday life, the Miss Japan's costume is nothing but plain suitable in the context of a Miss Universe 2009 - an openly sexist kind of entertainment [and money business!] in itself. The outfit is both manga-AV-kawaii-cute and a reference to traditional costume.. yes, one can argue about the sense of haute fashion as the leather outfit is slightly on the kitschy Gaultier side, while the kimono aesthetics is so sacred to many. But as a statement in the world of showbiz this works fine [see the reaction!] - my great respect to the designer and to Emiri-san for the courage. Sometimes I wish people and “nations” in general had a slightly more relaxed, honest and humorous attitude towards their own “national values” and “national image”. In the end, we are all but humans, no matter nation or race - and we all smile at, cry about and get aroused by the same things.

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The costume was originally designed by Frenchwoman Ines Ligron.

Why not a Japanese designer?

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You have to remember, everybody is watching her step. This is in a image business and potential advertising agencies and companies will probably pass her up. She missed a golden opportunity by not making a good decision. This is going to cost her alot of money. Regardless of her explanation, the outfit bashed traditional kimono, a symbol of Japan.

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If it had trashed all of Japanese tradition and looked good, I would say GO FOR IT, but it just looks so dumb and pointless. Glad they decided to change it. Kimono were not designed to be revealing. They were designed to be modest.

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1) I see more obscene stuff on the streets of Kobe every day. On high-school students. 2) The costume is truly horrible. What kind of idiot designed it and do they understand the spirit of a kimono in the first place?

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i like it, fits the occassion on oh so many levels

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She must be an idiot to not know how skanky she looks and how wearing that garbage would make Japanese a total joke.

aw

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I don't think it's Emiri's fault for wearing it. She's a model - she has to wear whatever is given to her. I happen to love it, though. She's an incredibly beautiful woman.

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..an incredibly beautiful woman... I guess we all have our standards. You mean unimaginably or unbelievably beautiful, right? "As though such a person could not possibly exist on this planet"... beautiful?

These beauty queen types are a dime a dozen if you hang out in the right places. I suppose the most amazing thing about her is the way she pulls it off even though she must know it is ugly. She looks genuinely thrilled. WOW! Now that is a person who can sell vitamin drinks and bad beer. I have no doubt that she will go far in the business, but beauty? It is not even part of the equation.

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Ugly

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I guess most people don't want to see the nightmare in a renowned international event-- unleashing the shock values of extremely sensual garment through public media-- like JJ's wardrobe malfunction at the Super Bowl Half-Time Show in 2004.

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It's a very silly looking costume. Kimono are not supposed to be lifted like that anyway! :)

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Too much noise on this subject... I think this kimono was more a cheerful way to show that tradition and modernity can live well together... Oh well... On her election show as Miss Universe Japan in May, Emiri was already critisized for her outfit while performing quite very well, I found, on Chicago, the musical. She was wearing fushia lingerie, stockings, high heels and a beautifull hat designed by Mademoiselle Slassi, the Parisian milliner. That was all... An as far as I was concerned I found her very classy; not an ounce of vulgarity... But what do you think? Watch on Youtube.com/watch?v=psftGklt5ZA

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