Photo credit: Japan Today
A refugee from Myanmar, Shibuya Zarny who fled his country with his parents is now making clothes for royalty.
The Irrawaddy reports that the designer whose label recently held a ten-year anniversary show in Bangkok said, “Fashion is an art that has enabled me to survive.”
Zany’s parents came to Japan as political refugees in 1993. He was then eight years old. as a teenager, dressing with style became a way for him to avoid being bullied.
His mother taught him the art of dressmaking. But before long, Zarny was eventually scouted as a model on the dance floor in the capital. He said there was no Instagram at that time. To see and be seen, he spent time at bars, arcades and novelty photo booths called purikura.
Zarny launched his label in 2011. He got his Japanese nationality in 2012.
