Photography Kanako Takase

Shingo Shibata Follows His Own Thread

Hair can be a material, an image, a memory of movement. In Shingo Shibata’s work, it is rarely treated as something fixed - hair is not just something he simply styles for an image. It is part of how he sees a person, how he creates form, and how he arrives at a feeling or identity through the act of working.
After twelve years in New York, Shibata returned to Japan at the beginning of the pandemic. Since then, his work has continued to follow curiosity - wherever it lands.
His latest project, Portrait of Threads turns threads thinner than hair into something between hairstyle, portrait and material study.
Ahead of the exhibition’s Paris opening, Shibata speaks with Submission about New York, Japanese beauty, photography, strange tools - and why the process is still the most important part.

PHOTOGRAPHY KANAKO TAKASE @knktksbt and Kiyoe Ozawa KIYOE OZAWA @kiyoeozawa
INTERVIEW JANE SERENSKA @sweetbbjane

Hi Shingo, thank you for speaking with us! Your work shows that you're also passionate about fashion and makeup design. As a kid, were you interested in fashion and beauty? How did you come to specialize in hair? How did hair styling become your career path?

When I was teenager, I worked at a hair salon where the owner was an African lady in my hometown. I encountered the joy of hair design there. At first, I went to beauty school and the course I took was a makeup class, but I realized that makeup wasn’t for me. I was just a kid enjoying fashion in Tokyo. I visited NY when I was 19 and it hit me. I decided to come back here after graduation - I just wanted to learn African hair design style in NY. I wasn’t thinking about becoming a hairstylist in the fashion industry at the time.

Where are you based now? How did you land there? Where have you worked as a hair stylist so far?

I live in Japan now. I was in NY for 12 years and moved back here from NY during the beginning of the pandemic.

I loved the interview you and Kanako did together on the subject of collaboration for models.com. It looked like it included some b-roll (maybe super8?) of you working on a collection. Was that the Junya Watanabe SS24 collection? Where did the inspiration for this collection come from?

I believe the design was inspired by things that stick in my head from daily life. An emphasized version of people I saw on the streets of New York.

  • Photography Kiyoe Ozawa

The blow dryer for a hair stylist is a very important tool. The one you use in this b-roll looks vintage - is it? I love vintage dryers because they're often much more powerful but they are a lot heavier. Where did you find this one? Is this your go-to dryer? 

The hair dryer is actually a super modern product called Repronizer 7D Plus from Bioprogramming Club. Crazy science shit that I don’t understand but somehow, I feel the difference. The products from the brand makes hair super soft which is not really necessary what I was doing in the B-roll lol but I use a hair dryer or flattening iron from the brand especially when I work with a Japanese model or actress. Makes hair softer and easier to style.

What's inspiring you in your work right now? Anything in particular you're working on or ideas you're exploring?

This may answer to the next question too but I’m working on the project with the company called “Kajif “. They make synthetic fiber and fabric in Kanazawa. My friend reached out to me at the beginning of this year saying “There is a company that makes fiber that is 1/3 thinner than hair. I thought it would be amazing for you to make hair styles with the fiber and capture yourself. And do exhibition in Paris and Tokyo and Kanazawa. What do you think?” He follows my hair work but also my recent work as a photographer.  I started photography as hobby in 2019 by collecting cameras and taking different dark room workshops in Paris and Japan. Since I met my photo mentor Yoshimi Ikemoto in Tottori, I started to become more obsessed.

  • Photography Kiyoe Ozawa

What's coming up next for you? Any projects on the horizon or any you've done recently that you're excited to share?

The Exhibition is held in Paris first. The date on Tokyo and Kanazawa is TBD.

I will also display hair styles with Kajif Fiber on mannequins.  

SHINGO SHIBATA × KAJIF
Portrait of Threads

Location
Jacques Levy Gallery
62 Rue Charlot, 75003 Paris, France

Dates
Opening Reception
June 26, 17:00–21:00

Exhibition
June 27–28, 11:00–19:00

What advice do you have for hair stylists just starting out in this industry? What would you tell yourself when you were just starting out in hair school?

The most important thing is enjoying the process. The more you practice, the more you will see and feel. Then you will start understanding your character through hair style.

@SHINGOSHIBATA