coverSHADESOFCHE’NELLEAmid the bitter breakup anthems andindulgent odes to partying that seemto saturate the modern airwaves, theradio still has some heart—and internationalsongstress Che’nelle is doing herpart to keep romance alive in the mainstream.The subject has always been prominentin the Australian chanteuse’s repertoire: Her2007 debut single described her falling in lovewith a DJ, while her latest, “Happiness,” is abilingual promise of friendship for the subjectof her affection.“A lot of these love songs are very fairy talelike,”Che’nelle tells Metropolis. “They focus onfalling in love, missing each other—thus influencingpeople to think and believe that this iswhat love is always like.”You might say Che’nelle has made it amission to spread love globally. The singersongwriter’swork has explored various genresoutside her typical pop and R&B turf, includingThe pop princessexpounds on love andinternational identityBY MARTIN LEROUXdancehall and reggae, and she takes advantageof her Japanese-English bilingualism tospread her message ever more broadly. She’salso lent her talent to other artists, co-penningheartfelt tunes for the likes of Leona Lewis andfellow Aussie Ricki-Lee.It’s quite fitting, then, that Japanese fanshave crowned her “the princess of love.”“I think honesty is probably difficult to communicatein Japanese culture, because everyonecares so much about how the other personfeels,” Che’nelle says to explain Japan’spredilection for tunes on the sweet side. “Sothese love songs can either give them hopein the world of love, or give them courage tobe honest.”Born in Malaysia, Che’nelle got her musicalstart singing in her father’s karaoke bar.She then moved to Perth, Australia at theage of ten, and she attributes part of herPhoto by Ryan Brusssuccess to her international upbringing.“The ideas that I have would be more limitedif I wasn’t exposed to all these different culturesand ways of the world,” she says. “I believe thatI adapt so easily into different cultures becauseI respect and love so much.”Che’nelle performed with a pop cover bandfor five years before seriously pursuing musicupon graduating high school, when she startedwriting and producing songs that she uploadedto MySpace. It was there she was discoveredand immediately signed to Virgin Records.“Social media is, to me, a blessing and acurse,” she laughs. “The advantage is that peopleget to put music up and show it to the worldwithout having to be signed to a label … It’s ado-it-yourself world these days, and people areblessed to be able to do that.”Seven albums and a slew of singles later, itseems Che’nelle is well on her way to globaldomination: she’s just finished a video for “DoYou Wanna,” a collaboration with Miami reggaeartist Shifta; “Happiness” was selectedas the theme song to the new Fuji TV dramaDear Sister; she’s working on a music videofor her single, “Fierce,” which she describesas an “electro-pop, high-energy dancefloormonster;” and she’s releasing a new J-pop albumin 2015.2014 has also been full of firsts for Che’nelle,who’s now working on a fashion project—though she’s keeping things under wraps forthe moment, describing it only as “a really coolapparel project I’ve been developing slowlyfor some time now.” Dropping a hint, she adds,“This item normally comes in pairs, but withmine, one of them will be all you need to shinebright like a star.”This year also sees Che’nelle steppinginto entrepreneurship with the opening ofThe Crabby Shack, a restaurant in Brooklyn inwhich she’s invested. “It’s all about crabs: crabrolls, crab mac and cheese, crab this and crabthat—and it’s all bomb!” she raves. “Anyonetraveling to NYC, please go check it out. Tell‘em Che’nelle and Metropolis sent you—you’llget a special deal!”Now that she’s got the world in her hands,what’s next for Che’nelle?“I have no idea,” she laughs. “Maybe I’ll writea book.”“Whatever I do,” she adds, “I hope it inspiressomeone to reach for their dreams.”Check out Che’nelle’s new single,“Happiness,” available Nov 19.Keep up with Che’nelle at www.facebook.com/chenelleworld, www.twitter.com/chenelleworld, and www.instagram.com/chenelleworld.Check out The Crabby Shack in New York atwww.facebook.com/crabbyshackbk.06
fashion fixALTERNATIVE TOKYOFASHION WEEKBY SAMUEL THOMAS, FASHION EDITORf the mention of Tokyo Fashion Week only conjures up imagesof po-faced models walking polished catwalks over inShibuya Hikarie, where the “official” Mercedes-Benz FashionWeek Tokyo events are held, then you’re missing out on muchof what the week has to offer.Some of the week’s biggest talking points were actuallyoff-schedule, thrown open to the general public ordinarilyexcluded from the official festivities. Taking the leadon populist fashion was the Tokyo New Age runwayshow presented as part of Shibuya Fashion Week,in which Shibuya’s iconic Bunkamura Street waspedestrianized and transformed into a red carpetrunway for four of the city’s most avant-garde designers.The location not only made it possible foreveryone who wanted to attend to see the show, butalso opened the progressive fashion to shoppers,tourists and plenty of bemused passers-by who happenedto be in the area.This democratic approach to fashionwas echoed by The Happening, organizedby Xanadu Tokyo owner Tatsuro Motohashi,who staged a runway throughout theLaForet Harajuku department store that spilled out ontothe street. The fashion show—from underground Tokyobrands Garter, Roggykei, Obsess, ArakiShiro and Nyte—was entirely crowd-funded,beautifully subverting in the processthe corporate sponsorship system requiredto get a show on the official schedule.Elsewhere, Tokyo-based Taiwanesebrand Jenny Fax from designer ShuehJen-Fang invited her fans to a concretebunker in the ruins of the old Tokyo DenkiUniversity’s Chiyoda campus. Jenny Faxpresented a gaggle of corpses bound forthe afterlife, either at rest in dresses thatresembled beds or embellished with giftsrequired for entry into heaven. “My themewas negativity,” the designer mused, adding,“I am just a very negative person.” Still, itcertainly seemed as if the collection struck a verypositive nerve with her fanatical following keento wear her sardonic wit on the streets of Tokyo.However, perhaps the most subversive showof all was from contemporary kimono designerJotaro Saito, who presented his show in tandemwith his father Sansai Saito. Ever the rebelliousson, Jotaro bounced increasingly modernist ideasoff his father’s more conservative designs beforetheir ideas eventually blurred into an accord ofkimono artistry fit for modern Tokyo—respectful totradition, yet still a relevant, living fashion garment.Photos by Samuel Thomas07
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