NAOMI WATANABE
WORST TIMES, BEST TIMES
Forever bending the rules and keeping us on our toes, comedian Naomi Watanabe(渡辺直美), talks her recent move to New York and her refusal to be confined to labels. Underpinned by a sense of curiosity and a commendable fearlessness, she seeks to break down boundaries between countries through the medium of laughter and challenge stereotypes through her fashion, and comedic pursuits. Her talent and infectious positivity have brought her an abundance of opportunities, but she's not done yet.
dress and sleeves MONOT,
earrings SISTER FRIEND, breastplate LIVIDO,
shoes MARC JACOBS @ ALBRIGHT FASHION LIBRARY
PHOTOGRAPHER MAX PAPENDIECK
STYLIST CECE LIU
INTERVIEWER JIANMING XU
The world has been at a standstill. Socially distanced, we’ve gone almost entirely digital: the once-bustling world of entertainment has devolved into a digital abyss populated only by sporadic online concerts and talk show hosts speaking to near-empty studios filled with canned laughter. Despite these circumstances, female comedian, Naomi Watanabe, decided to relocate from Japan to New York to start from scratch. “I might not achieve anything in the upcoming five years and be gone in a flash”, with bravery to navigate fate, she says with a smile, “you can laugh at me then.” There is still a long way to go for the already internationally recognised Watanabe. But whether it be in the past, present, or future, she has always been and will continue to be a beacon of joy and a message of courage to the world.
Watanabe’s rise to fame stems from her undeniable bubbliness, wit and positive aura. Many may consider her emergence and subsequent popularity to be somewhat unexpected due to society’s harsh beauty standards, but she is representative of talent that transcends her figure. She serves as a reminder that societal standards are not indicative of what you are capable of or what you have to offer. From impersonating Beyoncé on her Japanese variety show debut on Waratte Iitomo! in 2008 to becoming a film actress and a fashion icon, Watanabe has proved herself to be a multitalented figure. Currently the most followed person on Instagram in Japan, it is unlikely that you would not see Watanabe’s face at least once if you passed through Shibuya Crossing today – she even has a train named after her. But what exactly is her magic? Her charm, positivity, and confidence shines through regardless of the medium she uses to communicate.
dress GOGO GRAHAM,
clay rings ROSELA, enamel and jewel rings BEA BONGIASCA
shoes MARC JACOBS @ ALBRIGHT FASHION LIBRARY,
Many critics like to focus on Watanabe’s physical appearance, hailing her as a triumph for plus-size women, but she doesn’t see herself as such. She’s much more than her outward appearance. There are many stars with similar figures to her in the industry now, but the attention should be on Watanabe’s personality and her comic genius, not the fact that she’s a champion of pocchari (chubby-cuteness). Her appearance, her performances, and even her words and actions have always been fraught with controversy. Whether you are interested in the Japanese entertainment industry, looking for fashion inspiration, or simply want to regain some energy during the current chaos we call our planet, just follow Watanabe’s Instagram page for a daily dose of entertainment and comfort. “Because if Naomi can do it, maybe I can too”, Watanabe gleefully declares.
A Decision
Since Watanabe’s Instagram announcement of her official move to New York this April, Japanese netizens have been in shock. She had already been commuting between New York and Japan, but the official announcement still seems to have piqued everyone’s interest. “It's true that it's easy to be misunderstood that way, but the ideal situation for me would be to do half of my work in Japan and the other half in New York – which is more world-oriented. I'd love to get a balance from that, to be able to work side by side. I’ve been travelling back and forth from Japan to New York, and it wasn’t until 2019 that I started to prepare for the official move. As the workload in the US started to gradually increase, I realised that I was not yet fully familiar with American culture and had a feeling that I wasn’t doing enough on both sides. With this imbalance, I decided to “graduate” from my shows in Japan and officially move to America.”
The small seeds of this big dream were sown during Watanabe’s short-term study in the U.S. back in 2014. While learning about the film and entertainment industry, she discovered a world full of diverse races, re-ligions, and cultures. What came to mind was an idea that would change the trajectory of her future career path, “I wondered if it were possible to build on my ex-perience in Japan and show it in a completely different context, so a whole new kind of comedy, or performance could be invented.” She continues as she reflects on her experience, “I'm probably a very special case because comedians usually have a lot of limitations. I've been very lucky to have the opportunity to work across different fields, but I would like to have even more possibilities in various industries. In Japan, Naomi Watanabe is the equivalent of a comedian, but there are still so many people in the world who don't know me. Could there be more ways of expressing myself? I'm still in my early 30s, being fully active now, of course I thought about developing overseas. With the fact that I still have so much to learn, I wanted to challenge my possibilities.”
When Watanabe was preparing to set off in April this year, even foreigners advised her that the timing wasn't quite right. But she felt the opposite, “It's because everyone is in a hiatus that now is the opportunity, isn't it? I personally think New York is starting to recover, or maybe it’s just in my personality to go against the trend.” Her work has now begun to move forward with great efficiency, but she still faces many unfamiliar areas of difficulty. The pandemic remains impactful, and she has spent a lot more time working from home. “I feel like because of the pandemic, I’ve been able to launch my vid-eos on YouTube imitating Lady Gaga. The pandemic has also given me so much spare time to study and discover myself properly. There are probably many of us. It’s true that there are those who stopped moving forward this summer, but there are also many – like me – who transformed a crisis into opportunity. When problems arise, I think about what they might mean to my future self and what kind of positive things might occur. That's how I think about it. There are limits to how we act and what we do in the midst a global pandemic, there’s a looming a sense of futility. As a result, what we do during such constrained periods is a huge challenge for every artist and creator.”
The Boundaries Of Female Artists
Watanabe is currently represented by two prestigious talent agencies: ICM and IMG. ICM is well-known for its plethora of acting and musical sensations, while IMG, the prominent modelling agency represents the likes of top supermodels such as Gisele Bündchen. As a result of Watanabe’s uniqueness and talent, she is in an undeniably advantageous position, full of resources and opportunities. Yet, despite the societal and ethnographic differences between the U.S. and Japan, she admits to being surprised by the similar values for artists held by both countries. She recalls an instance when she asked her agency if there were any female artists who worked in both comedy and fashion, she was told no. Instead, they replied, “Naomi, let's start with you.” Despite the fact that the American enter-tainment industry is brimming with diverse artists, the coexistence of comedy and fashion is rare. “I guess that's one of the things that I didn’t realise until I arrived in New York. It’s something you’ll never fully understand unless you work in the field – there are countless details that are completely different to what I’d imagined. I always assumed that the works of American female artists would be dynamic, but it doesn’t seem to have reached a balanced stage. I thought they were completely differ-ent from Japanese comedians, but reality taught me that they are exactly the same in many ways.”
dress KENZO, earrings BEA BONGIASCA,
bracelets and ring ROSELA
Watanabe occupies a unique position in both the comedic and fashion worlds, allowing her to blend and fit into both industries without compromising on her own interests. She became the first cover star for the first Japanese plus-size magazine, La Farfa, in 2013. Her cover was so popular that the publisher increased the printing by six times the original run, which led to Watanabe becoming a permanent cover star for the next year. Her time at the magazine made her realise the magnitude of her influence, as she quickly became one of the faces of the body positivity movement.
Bragging and boasting are things we were taught not to do as children, but Watanabe reminds us that self-praise and self-appreciation are not arrogance, but rather introspection and recognition of your achievements. She is aware she has had many new beginnings, but she is also a pioneer in many respects: she’s a comedian who makes her own clothes and owns a clothing brand. She has been the cover star to numerous fashion magazines and is seen as a fashion icon in addition to an entertainer; she may even be the first comedian to work with high-end fashion brands. “I may be oblivious to my surroundings in my persistence to pursue the things I like, but my freedom to experiment is entirely due to the foundations laid by the female artists who came before me. I have a great deal of respect and appreciation for them.” Watanabe continues to tell The WOW that she wants to try different things, not just as an artist, and not just in New York or Japan, but possibly also in China. She is determined to experiment with every possibility, using New York as a stepping stone to explore the rest of the world. “Comedians can be stuck in a rut where they only focus on crafting new jokes, but it’s an isolating act. Knowing this situation, I spend time thinking of English jokes, but I also enjoy music and film, delving deeper and wider through other mediums. The same thing happens in fashion; I'm plus-size, but I’m always wondering how plus-size people can ex-press themselves more optimistically through clothing. As an artist, I want to challenge myself.”
Blanket JW ANDERSON, rings ROSELA
Since childhood, Watanabe has always been optimistic and cheerful. She was the type of child who could lift anyone’s spirits and always tried to keep the atmosphere lively at school. Although she was cheery and seemed to be perpetually animated, she spent much of her time at home alone as her father had left when she was in primary school and her mother typically worked late into the night. “I was lonely, but I had a TV. The artists and comedians on TV were like my family, and that was the moment I realised I wanted to be in the same world as them. I became a comedian to make the lonely adults and children on the other side of the screen laugh” Watanabe recalled. What she saw on the screen gave her comfort and hope. Her childhood in Ibaraki with a single mother was a world away from her life today, but it appears that her tenacity for life and her effervescence has remained ever-present. Having taught herself to dance and entertain like her idols on-screen, Watanabe reveled in her ability to make others smile. “I don't aim to be anyone else, nor can I be anyone else.” It’s possible to imitate others – Watanabe would know given her rise to fame through impersonations – but imitation will never equate to authenticity or being one’s true self. “While you can learn from the experience of your seniors, you still have to show your own unique creativity. If I had one piece of advice for the younger generation, it would be to not be afraid and try your best to do what you want. That's it.”
Breaking Down The Barriers Of Identity
Watanabe spends the majority of her time learning English, now that she's in New York; and plans to showcase a more diverse and international approach to per-forming. She appreciates the opportunity to be a part of her neighbourhood community, exchanging smiles with anyone who passes. When she’s in Chinatown or when she meets a Chinese driver, she is warmly greeted in Chinese; when she visits a Korean restaurant, her exchanges alternate between Japanese and Korean. As though they are all friends, there’s mutual enjoyment in the crossover of languages, “it’s a very heartwarming atmosphere”, Watanabe exclaims.
“I was born and raised in Asia. It was a homogenous environment, and I was surrounded by Japanese culture. This means that I don’t have much experience with people of different ethnicities and religions. Here in the U.S. I desperately need to avoid the perception and bias of my own ethnic identity in order to perform comedy – a situation which I have never experienced before.” Watanabe explains, “There are some jokes that are perfectly fine in Japan but need to be adjusted for a U.S. audience, and vice versa. With such cultural differences, the way you make people laugh changes. That’s why it’s important to learn more about American culture; it is especially necessary in places where many different ethnicities and nationalities co-exist. It’s difficult, but it’s also a time for personal growth. Those who don’t know and those who don’t understand will continue to be misunderstood. You’ll no longer be angry at others who don’t understand once you’ve learned to react and communicate correctly.”
Bodysuit SAMANTHA PLEET,
circular headpiece and dress TERRENCE ZHOU
Watanabe doesn't see things from an ethnocentric perspective, because if she does, she will be treated in the same way. Since studying abroad in 2014, she has always made distinctions based on the nature of the person, or their signature traits. She prefers to understand the person’s attitudes and mannerisms, their likes and dislikes. This person is a fast eater, and that person loves sweets: it’s not about making judgements or drawing conclusions based on a person’s gender or ethnicity. “It has nothing to do with race, nationality, or gender. As human beings, we all have our own worries and struggles, and there’s no need to dwell on stereotypes. I want to capture these things in a more positive way, which is necessary and essential. When you think about the bigger picture, thinking about it as a collective and a team, creativity will emerge naturally. I'm a pacifist and I don't like to have arguments – admitting you’re wrong when you can, agreeing with each other when you can, those are the only ways we can do it together. Our world should be a place where people can express themselves optimistically, saying ‘Wow! That’s amazing’ when they see new things.”
“Believe in yourself. Don’t listen to people who say negative things; understand that loving yourself is the most important thing.”
When asked how she would integrate into a new community with a new culture more quickly…
This cover story and a longer version interview will be published in our The WOW N° 5.
Issue5 available now.
PHOTOGRAPHER: MAX PAPENDIECK
STYLIST: CECE LIU
HAIR: GONN KINOSHITA @ THE WALL GROUP
MAKE-UP: FRANK B @THE WALL GROUP
Nails: MEI KAWAJIRI using ZILLABEAU
CASTING DIRECTOR: ANGELIKI SOFRONAS
TALENT: NAOMI WATANABE @IMG
PRODUCER: LEXEY GALETSKI & FELIX CADIEUI
DIGITAL TECH: KENYON PARKS
PHOTOGRAPHY ASSISTANTS: WILL CUDD & ERNESTO URDANETA
STYLIST ASSISTANTS: TAWNEE CLIFTON & KARISSA MITCHELL
MAKE-UP ASSISTANT: NATSUKA HIRABAYASHI
HAIR ASSISTANT: SERINA TAKEI