Life With Yuji Chung
Life With Yuji Chung
In this latest installment of the Life With series, we talk to Yuji Chung, the octopus of Japanese clothing brand Ernie Palo. (Although, personally, she identifies more as a cat). Think everything outside of designing – that’s basically what Yuji does, and she does it well. When she’s not working, Yuji likes to grab a bottle of wine and head to her favorite park. And just hang. We also talk peak 1980s Japanese fashion and some warning words from her mother, who used to work in fashion, too.
Text by Oliver Bodh Larsen, Photos by Ian Lanterman
Yuji wears ANOTHER Polo Shirt 2.0, Night Sky Navy (see more) & ANOTHER Suit Pants 1.0, Brown (see more).
Hi Yuji. How’s the weather in Tokyo at this time of the year?
”We’ve just had the warmest day in a long time – like 23 degrees Celsius.”
Oh really?
”Yeah, I saw some girls wearing sleeveless tops. That’s crazy. I wore a short-sleeved T-shirt and a jacket and it feels pretty damn good, actually.”
How do you like to enjoy a sunny day like that?
”Well, I worked. But if it was my day off, I would just go to the park, and I’d have a little bit of booze by myself haha. Or with my friends. Just enjoy the day and the sun.”
Yuji wears ANOTHER Shirt 2.1, Natural (see more) & ANOTHER Suit Pants 1.0, Brown (see more).
You bring the drinks to the park?
”Actually, there is a wine bar very close to my house. It’s called Lulu. You can drink there, obviously, but you can also get a bottle and take it out. So, what I do is I go to that wine bar and get a bottle and go to the park and … drink it.”
Haha!
”I have to say, I’m not an alcoholic, haha, but it’s what I like to do.”
That’s cool. Do you have a favorite park?
”Setagaya Park. It’s like five minutes on bike, and I go there almost every weekend for picnic with my partner and my friends. It’s not really that big. Or small. It’s a cozy size, I’d say.”
What’s your favorite neighbourhood or place in Tokyo?
”Where I live now, actually. Gakugei-Daigaku. It’s 10 minutes from Shibuya by train, but somehow it’s a really cozy town. It is absolutely my favorite area. All of my friends live nearby, so I can always see them. And, as I said, we have this park where I go all the time.”
Is it a hip area?
“I like to say so haha. There are a lot of wine bars and restaurants. Not big places, but independent places with their own kinds of moods.”
Are there any on-going trends in your area that we should know about?
“Uhm … I have to say, I’m a super mundane person. Like boring. I like to do my routine. I like to, you know, keep my own routine and in my own pace. I’m like a cat, you know? I like to be places where I feel comfortable.”
Your mother used to work in fashion. Did she give you any warnings before entering the industry yourself?
“Absolutely. She said, ’Don’t work in fashion. Ever.’”
Haha. But you didn’t care?
“Well, I knew why she said it. Fashion has cultures inside of it, music and arts and stuff like that. But fashion is also very much about looking. So, my mom said, ’You’ll see many people looking amazing and fantastic, but inside their head they might be faking.’ And she’s absolutely right. I didn’t really mean to work in fashion, either. I’m a slow person, and fashion is very busy. But I applied for this job at Ernie Palo because I really liked the owner. I used to be a buyer, and that’s how I met him. My first impression was that he’s a human before he’s a designer.”
Sure. So the vibe is more chill at Ernie Palo than elsewhere?
“Yeah.”
Is he like a cat as well?
“I think so! Haha.”
Nice. Two cats. What’s your go-to everyday work uniform, Yuji?
“I just wear black wool pants and work jackets. I really, really like work jackets.”
Like a French work jacket or what kind of style are we talking?
“Yeah, like vintage work jackets, be that from Germany or France or where-ever. I always just wear my mom’s used clothes. It’s mostly 80’s and 90’s stuff. Comme des Garçons, Yohji Yamamoto, Helmut Lang, Miu Miu, Prada. They were really at their peak at that time.”
Last question. Do you have any style icons? Or just your mom?
“My mom, absolutely. But I also really like the kind of rock and punk styles, too. Like, skinny British guys wearing really tight flared trousers with really tight T-shirts.”
Who could that be?
“Freddie Mercury, let’s go!”
