Kitago Kandare Short Interview

Meet this talented hairdresser, wig-maker, photographer, and costume maker from Moscow, Russia!

While recently lurking through YouTube, I randomly came across the talented Kitago Kandare for the first time. I stumbled upon his Koichi (Mejibray) wig tutorial (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YDDPYWRetWw&t=419s) , and boy was I shocked! I had never seen anyone perfectly recreate such complicated hairstyles within Visual Kei. It’s a very unique hobby, and his accuracy to recreate famous hairstyles continued to fascinate me as I continued to watch. As I came into contact via Instagram, I also learned that they are a great photographer and costume maker as well. I decided to grab a quick interview in order to learn more about this creative individual.

Kandare’s wig remake on the top and bottom left. Koichi (Mejibray) on the bottom right.

A-to-J: What inspired you to start creating these wigs?
Kandare: I am VKei fan already many years, and I always want to create costume and hair for myself, but it is not cosplay. Most are my original style and design. Other people say to me “Kitago, you are talented man, why do you not do something for us?” In this moment, I ended my time at hairdresser academy, and since I really love VKei hair and style, my dream was to make hair for VKei bands. But I live in Russia, and I decided to make wigs for people who cosplay VKei musicians. Now I have custom wigs in all world. And I’m inspired by absolutely beautiful Japanese hair, and Japanese hairdresser’s imagination. I love unusual hairstyle and makeup, more strange details and crazy music! Now I famous hairmaker, photographer and designer VKei in Russia, and I decided to tell other foreign people about Russian talented humans on YouTube.

A-to-J: How do you store your styled wigs?
Kandare: After I make wig, i send it to customers. I save other wigs on special holders.

A-to-J: What makes a photograph perfect for you?
Kandare: When I create photo, I am guided by JRock style photoshoot, and I like to set light so that the photo turns out immediately with minimum photoshop using.

A-to-J: How long does it take you to do this?
Kandare: I do this two hour to few days (five days max).

A-to-J: Who is your favorite Visual Kei band?
Kandare: My favorite band is DIR EN GREY and Insanity Injection.

Two more simple looks Kandare wanted to share with us.

It is obvious Kandare is a talented, creative, and very hard working individual! It is always great to meet someone who is so dedicated to their passion. They definitely take their time and focus on the little details, making their effort worthwhile and perfecting every last bit of their work! Whether it be a photoshoot, a costume, or a new wig, they have a lot of talent that deserves to be shown off to the world!

If you would like to know more about Kitago Kandare’s work, you may find him here:
-Personal Instagram: @kitagokandare
-Hair Gallery (Instagram): @hairdresserkitago
-YouTube Channel: Kitago Kandare Wig Making

-Kaz