Kaneko Isao

Kaneko Isao

Birth	July 15, 1939
Associated Brand(s)	Pink House, Wonderful World

Kaneko Isao (金子功) was born July 15, 1939. He is best known as the founder of Pink House and Wonderful World.

In 1958 Kaneko Isao enrolled in Bunka Fashion College. Some of his classmates included Kenzō Takada (高田賢三) the founder of Kenzo, Masami Aramaki (Taro) (荒牧政美 (太郎)), Mitsuhiro Matsuda (松田光弘) the founder of NICOLE, and Junko Koshino (コシノジュンコ). This was followed by Setsu Mode Seminar.

In 1961 he joined the Ad Center (formerly Japan Textile Publishing Co., Ltd). in 1964 a new weekly men's fashion magazine called Heibon Punch was launched targeting young men. Inside that magazine, the men's fashion page "PUNCH MEN'S MODE" was planned by the Ad Center with Kaneko Isao as the designer and fashion director of “PUNCH MEN'S MODE” for volumes 1-4.

in 1970, Heibon Publishing, the publisher of Heibon Punch launched a new magazine called An An with Kaneko Isao as the designer and fashion director for the first 49 issues. In 1972, Kaneko Isao left An An and established his own brand: Pink House.

Design Inspirations

In the April 1985 issue of AnAn, there was a Pink House advertisement with the title "Isao Kaneko's Red", where the designer wrote: "

“I love red. I like red because it reminds me of my childhood. I have a strong attachment to red and its existence is absolute. Black, white, red! It's more important than anything else, it's nothing less than black or less than white. It's bright red. Make up bright red lipstick. Dye your nails red. I can't think of any lipstick other than bright red. It's better not to use any other color. It's much better to have a real face. I feel the strength of red when I wear it with my cheeks dyed in the setting sun. Red is an effective color. But I love it so I want to make it the main character. I think so. A red collar that peeks out at the base of the cold Yuki's collar. This much Although there is no color that works. The combination of red as the leading role is also the epitome of fashion. And I want adults to wear a lot of red. I want them to wear it proudly. The red of Imari, the red of the lacquer, the red of mizuhiki . Everyone loves the red of the banquet banners. I like it because it's not a sad color. Piling red, piling up patterns, and mixing materials.That's how red comes to life."