イネスリグロン｜ミスユニバース｜美容スペシャリスト｜ファッションスタイリスト｜Ines Ligron official website » SHARING AN INTERVIEW I DID IN JULY WITH A.P. (AGENCE PRESSE)

August.10,2008

A.P.: Two years in a row, you’ve led 2 Japanese women, Ms. Kurara Chibana and Ms. Riyo Mori, to the 2nd place and the winner of Miss Universe competition. How do you think about the achievements of Kurara and Riyo?

I believe they represent the movement, the evolution that is happening since the past 10 years among Japanese young women. They are becoming much more outgoing, confident and opinioned. They feel free to challenge themselves on a global level, which better it was unheard of. Both Kurara and Riyo’s biggest motivation is to be a good role model for women in Japan and also for Japanese women leaving outside Japan. This is a good thing because Japanese women need to have a role model, it has been lacking in Japanese society I would say, and it is good if they can relate to someone of their own and someone that gives them hope and a high goal to reach.

- Do you think that they are representing today’s Japanese beauty? And how do you think so?

Women in Japan are becoming very self-conscious about health and education issues. Also they are keen to learn different languages in order to travel and communicate with people from different cultures. They are also conscious of the importance to find the right balance between work and life-style; they are keen to archive their career dreams. They want to feel good about themselves, which is what Kurara and Riyo have achieved, mastered and demonstrated, not only on a national scale but on a global level. They are regular Japanese women from Okinawa and Shizuoka and based on their hard work they have been able to prove that anyone can be beautiful. -

Kurara and Riyo seemed to discover their strengths in beauty which are “global” and at the same time “ethnic. What do you think is Japanese beauty today?

Japanese beauty is represented by women who have high goals in life, well educated, humanistic, aware and healthy. They have beautiful faces, healthy hair, slim and fit bodies, and beautiful skin. They are also very sophisticated and humble. But they have the strongest will and would do anything to reach their dream. They are very hard working. All these criteria combine to create the unique characteristics of Japanese beauty today. I could seen it when I came to Japan, I knew that this uniqueness was buried inside of them, and that they just needed to find their own confidence to glow. -

Stereotypically, Japanese women are known to be timid, but do you see any change in Japanese women’s mind after the achievements of Kurara and Riyo?

In Japan role models in the entertainment field are never making decisions of their own and always have someone, a manager, making decisions for them regarding the way they should project themselves in the media, they have to be reserved, conservative. Women in general tend to imitate this to feel safe. Anyway, why should they take a risk? In Japan you are never rewarded for being different but you are nailed down if something goes wrong. Also young women feel they always should play safe…. Now Kurara and Riyo have both been displaying a totally different attitude/image, they have displayed a great deal of self confidence but they remain humble and polite. People now start to see that you can dress seductively, act confidently and speak out freely without being perceived as impolite or arrogant. And I believe that they are inspiring a lot of young women in Japan. I can see high-changes in different fields already, such as in movies, music and fashion. Also in the office environment, in the fashion districts streets, at business meetings that I attend, and at social events. I live in downtown Tokyo and my world is quite niche I am aware of it, but big trends always start in main cities and then democratize to the rest of the country. There is no doubt in my mind that women today have more confidence, they are laughing freely, they walk more sensually, they dress more fiercely and they are definitely more engaged in conversation,. It is a question of time, and every ten years there is a social movement in any part of the world. In Japan those movements are faster, they take place within 5 years only. I am so excited to see the outcome within the female society in 2012. I can forecast that many more women will be seated in the President’s seat of big multi-national companies by 2020. And yes, I might be perceived as pretentious, but I do not mind saying honestly that I believe my work has been one of the strong detonators of these positive changes. Confidence is contagious, beauty gives power, happiness brings success, and this is what my coaching is all about. My motto in life is that if you educate one girl, you educate an entire generation. Women are the absolute key to positive changes in any society. I am a passionate person and if I do my work with so much intensity it is because I get so much reward from working with Japanese girls, they are inspiring; they are fighters with a big heart. I hate beauty queens, I would also never consider manufacturing packaged-women to represent their country on a global stage, instead I try to enhance the best of their personality and mind and put invisible wings for them to fly high. I love the women that become finalists and then winners because they understand the meaning of their power among other young girls and they feel the mission to teach the right exempla to them. They are little missionaries with a big goal, and I am very proud of being the architect of this process. -

In some past interview, you said that you wanted to liberate Japanese women, what is your biggest mission as a director of Miss Universe Japan?

My biggest mission is to teach women to show their personality, think out of the box and not to try to hide behind a safe-attitude. I teach them to show their uniqueness, which is untaught in Japan. From an early age, student wear an uniform, they walk in a line, 2 by 2. They speak when asked a question and have to answer with over-humbleness. They are not supposed to ask questions or “why?” but instead they have to follow the rules even if they do not understand the reason behind them. To me they have been conditioned, modeled as clones and never truly encouraged, embrassed and complimented by their family. They are put big pressure on by the society but not given any manual about how to succeed in life. They do not understand the power of their own sensuality; they are not aware of how to display them selves or how to use their feminity.

-How do you believe you can liberate Japanese women? Any example?

I teach them by complimenting them, helping them to appreciate their body, their face, their neck, breast, bottom, arms, legs, body muscles and most importantly their curves. A 3 way mirrors tells you everything about yourself, your image, your aura, how people will perceive you. I teach them to judge/see themselves with indulgence, compassion. I teach them to love themselves instead of being self-critical. I teach them to be independent, to have high goals, to focus on their positive attributes, -

Being a French woman, do you think it is influential on your position, the director of Miss Universe Japan? and how does/does not it help?

It helps a lot! I can get away by not following the rules, The grass is always greener somewhere else, also young women tend to think that if I am French I must know better,,,,,, and they play more attention and trust in my saying rather than if I was a Japanese person. -

Many people tend not to take this kind of beauty pageants and its candidates very seriously, how do you think it influences positively/negatively on the candidates’ self-confidence?

I was the first one to think this way 10 years ago, that beauty pageants were just a joke, old-fashion and completely empty of any outcome for the girls entering them. (and sometimes trust me I still feel this way! But this is human, who doesn’t sometimes doubt about his product?!). I worked with fashion models and celebrities since many years, and before, I thought that was the real deal,. But then when I got hired by the Miss Universe Organization, I started understanding the reward of helping young girls to find their inner beauty and to help them develop into a spokesperson and a role model in their own country. Models represent an very small percentage women, they have a body that regular women will never obtain even if they stop eating and pray all day to grow 20 more centimeters. Model purpose is to sell clothes and products. Their photos are retouched in the magazines; they bring false dreams to young women. Instead, :my “girls” work hard to deliver a message of confidence, self-esteem, awareness, healthy lifestyle tips, compassion and trust. What beauty pageant teaches to young girls is exactly this. It teaches hem how to archive their goals in life. It teaches them to believe in themselves, to be independent and aware about world issues. But….. I am speaking for my own work, and I understand that some part of the world there are maybe pageant-organizers just trying to make money but this is a fact for many businesses, not only for beauty pageants. Each year the Miss Universe Organization gathers all the National Directors together, (we are about 80), so that we can exchange ideas and get to work together and I promise they are all good people with a true respect for women and to their work. But again, there are a lot of beauty competitions around, I am only talking about what I know, which is the Miss Universe competition.. -

In recent years, Shiseido, a major cosmetic company, keeps appealing that “Japanese women are beautiful” on their shampoo (Tsubaki) campaign which makes many Japanese women discover their own beauty. Do you see it positive or important for Japanese women to have self-confidence about beauty? And why?

Of course it is very important to feel confident as it is a step toward beauty. Definitely! -

What is your prognosis of this year’s Japanese candidate on coming world competition?

All I can say is that we worked very hard this year again as a team and whatever the results will be we will be happy with it. NHK, the national broadcaster of Japan is doing a one-hour program about the preparations, I am very happy that Japanese young women will be able to see the determination and the focus of their national team! They will feel the power of confidence and the power of Hiroko herself, it is very inspiring and I am very proud of her. I would like to point out that we represent the winners after Miss Universe and we help them with their career, we help them to archive their professional dream.

What happen to your winners after their year is over?

After their year is over, we give them the option to represent them. We work for them, they are our client, they have a full say about their career moves and deal negotiations. 2006, Miss Universe first runner-up, Kurara Chibana whom my company represents and manages. Kurara has currently 6 major campaigns in place,. (Includes: Maybelline NY worldwide, Narita airport, New Balance, Konami gym, Toyota, Kao toiletries). She is a regular on 2 television programs as a reporter and is the monthly cover of top fashion magazine called DOMANI, with a 12-pages fashion spread monthly. 2007 Miss Universe, Riyo Mori comes back to Japan in a few weeks and she will be also represented and managed by us. We have endorsement deals and a top fashion magazine cover annual deal waiting for her. Also Riyo owns a dance school in Shizuoka which will be opened before the end of the month, where she will teach regularly, this has always been her dream, she actually said when she won that she would like to teach patience to the next generation and teaching ballet can be one great tool.. Riyo is currently ROLEX worldwide image and the campaign now runs in all VOGUE magazines around the world. Riyo would like to start an acting career if she was given a good opportunity. 2008 Miss Universe Japan is also represented by us and will work for the sponsors for a year, be a spokesperson for the organization. Her wish is to be a sport-reporter on television. Thanks for reading….

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August.10,2008

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SHARING AN INTERVIEW I DID IN JULY WITH A.P. (AGENCE PRESSE)

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