Atelier is French for “studio”, which makes it an apropos title for a web series about a bespoke lingerie maker, as the term lingerie is itself derived from the French word for linen. All this francophonie influence could almost be considered de rigueur for a program based in the decidedly French world of haute couture. The twist with Atelier is the fact that it is set in Japan.
This Netflix creation, produced in association with Japanese conglomerate Fuji, is an example of the video streaming service’s new push toward creating native content for its now global audience. With Netflix reaching nearly every nation on earth, this Japanese-language series is a whole new type of cross-cultural programming designed for the world’s first global Internet TV network.
The storyline revolves around President Nanjo’s atelier in Ginza, where she and her staff design and create bespoke lingerie for an upscale clientele. Mayuko is a girl from the country with a fetish for fabrics, who along with friend Yuri, seeks to carve a niche for herself in the hierarchy of one of the most luxurious fashion districts in the world.
Cocktails and spirits abound in this study of Japanese craft culture, with exquisitely ritualized preparations of Nanjo-sensei’s afternoon coffee enjoying time in the spotlight as well. Routinely, the two young women meet at their favorite cocktail bar, a classy Tokyo speakeasy, to commiserate about the challenges of acclimating to the exacting world of Japanese high fashion. Here, as with much that is depicted, American viewers are presented with a situation that appears vastly foreign. None of the regulars in the place ever attempt to hit on the girls, instead maintaining a refreshingly respectful, and even fatherly, manner. Anywhere in the US, two attractive single women slamming drinks at a bar would ostensibly attract sharks like blood in the water.
The beauty of Atelier for a foreign viewer is found in this examination of Japanese etiquette, particularly its workplace culture. While to a Japanese national the show may seem more akin to The Office, to an average American the cultural landscape it portrays is wholly unfamiliar, challenging assumptions about our own deportment. For those willing to look past the subtitles, Atelier offers a charming, sincere, and often quite humorous alternative to the familiar American, or even European, lens.
Equally as important as the show’s individual merits is that with it Netflix has opened the floodgates for an almost endless array of programming aimed at providing its global viewership with a cultural insider’s perspective. Rather than the caricatures that often dominate non-native productions, Atelier is presented in the same light that the culture sees itself. Considering the appeal of this one, it isn’t hard to imagine, as Netflix chief of content Ted Sarandos put it, “great scripted series about contemporary life” in any part of the world.
