Tuesday, March 15, 2016

Spirits Of The Past (in collaboration with H&M)

Spirits of the past collaboration with HM
Spirits of the past collaboration with HM 3 I'm wearing:

1. Cotton shirt jacket in black, Modern Essentials by David Beckham for H&M.
2. Beige t-shirt with white paint circle,  from H&M Studio SS16.
3. Cotton chinos, from H&M.
4. 'Eddie' leather sneakers in white, from Frank Wright.
5. Sunglasses, from Aldo.

Spirits of the past collaboration with HM 6 Ideas of present, past and future are always plaguing our minds. Most of the times, we hear things about "not worrying about the past or the future and focusing on the present" and while I think that's an actually okay way of living, I feel like the past sometimes gets lost in a grey area. I arrived to Japan recently and one thing I've always loved about this country is how they manage to include a little of the past into their daily lives. 

Walking around Tokyo, you start seeing really cool and modern things: vending machines everywhere, skyscrapers, neon lights. It's a very futuristic city, except when it isn't. Let me explain this a bit better: around all the crazy awesome super futuristic stuff, the remains of an old civilisation live. To get to Harajuku, you need to cross a shrine; to get to Tokyo Tower, you first need to go around a temple. To get to the future, you need to acknowledge the spirits of the past.

With that in mind, I chose this location for the first batch of photos I took in Japan. It's called Aoyama Cemetery and I wanted to shoot there because I felt such a strong old vibe coming from this place, it instantly captivated me. Not only was beautiful, it also had many stories there. I felt a strong sense of respect and nostalgia here. By the time I finish snapping photos, I thanked all the spirits of the past for allowing me to be there and went on my way to the modern world.

// Ideas del presente, pasado y futuro siempre están en nuestras mentes. La mayor parte del tiempo escuchamos cosas sobre "no preocuparse por el pasado o el futuro y concentrarse en el presente" y, si bien creo que es una buena forma de vivir, siento que el pasado a veces se pierde en la niebla. Llegué recientemente a Japón y una cosa que siempre he amado de este país es cómo logran incluir un poquito del pasado en sus vidas diarias. 

Caminando por Tokyo, comienzas a ver cosas muy padres y modernas: máquinas expendedoras por todos lados, rascacielos, luces de neón. Es una ciudad muy futurista, excepto cuando no lo es. Déjenme explicar esto un poco mejor: alrededor de todas las cosas increíbles del futuro, viven los restos de una civilización antigua. Para llegar a Harajuku, hay que cruzar un santuario; para llegar a la Torre de Tokyo, primero hay que caminar alrededor de un templo. Para llegar al futuro, hay que reconocer a los espíritus del pasado. 

Con eso en mente, elegí esta locación para la primera ronda de fotos que tomé en Japón. Se llama Aoyama Cemetery y quise tomar fotos ahí porque sentí una vibra vieja pero muy fuerte salir de este lugar, me cautivó al instante. No sólo estaba muy bonito, también había muchas historias ahí. Sentí un gran respeto y nostalgia aquí. Al momento de terminar las fotos, di las gracias a todos los espíritus del pasado por permitirme estar ahí y seguí en mi camino hacia el mundo moderno.
Spirits of the past collaboration with HM 7 Spirits of the past collaboration with 2 MQ Spirits of the past collaboration with HM 5 Spirits of the past collaboration with HM 4 Stay tuned for more posts in Japan!
Love always,
Henry.

Currently listening: Cherub - XOXO.

2 comments:

  1. Hello,
    Japan.H&M Pr here. We have no record of collaboration with you whatsoever. Please remove it and post an apology before we sue you for illegally quoting us. Asap!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi,
      Sorry to hear that, but this was done through H&M Mexico; so, nothing to do with the H&M team in Japan.

      Delete

Hey, thank you very much for hitting the comment section. Let's keep it nice out here, okay? (: