We ask Nick Wooster about his past, 21st century men’s fashion, and the possibilities of Japanese brands as well as its challenges. At the end of the interview, we are joined by KUON designer Shinichiro Ishibashi to hear about their collaborative approach. Let’s listen to the thought-provoking words of Nick Wooster.

Nick Wooster
Born July 2nd, 1960. Wooster worked as a buyer at Barneys New York and Bergdorf Goodman, a retail merchandising director at Calvin Klein, and as a design director at Polo Ralph Lauren. He currently works as a fashion consultant and an advisor for multiple brands. He has over a million followers on Instagram and has gained international attention for being a men’s fashion icon. He also serves as a TOKYO FASHION AWARD judge.

A passion for fashion awakened in his youth

–– What event awakened your interest in fashion?

Nick Wooster: The short answer is  that I don’t know. I remember being particular about clothes at a pretty young age. Since kindergarten into my elementary school years, I remember choosing my clothes myself.

–– You’ve been dressing yourself since you were that young?

Wooster: Even my mother couldn’t dress me. I had to choose my clothes myself because I would reject the outfits my mother put together for me. It was obvious that I was interested in clothes at a young age. When discussing fashion, I was adamant that I was interested in clothes, not fashion. When it came time to choose a job, I decided to get into jobs that revolved around fashion and clothes simply because it seemed the most interesting. So I don’t think there was a specific event or reason why I’m in this industry.

–– Which fashion designers or fashion influencers do you consider your icons?

Wooster: Similar to my previous answer, I never had an icon whose style I admired. For me, the most interesting places to see clothes are not necessarily at fashion week or at fashion shows. I’m more interested in looking at people at airports and restaurants rather than designers’ clothes on a runway.

–– Fashion you see in the city is more important to you.

Wooster: There are designers like Ralph Lauren in his early days and Rei Kawakubo with her forty-year career that are important designers to me. And of course there are legendary designers that have contributed to fashion history like Karl Lagerfeld, Coco Chanel, and Georgio Armani. But I draw more inspiration from looking at different things than from one specific designer. There are some great contemporary designers, though. And for me, most of them are Japanese. I find many things about Japan to be interesting.

–– I’d like to ask you about your career. You started in the retail business at places like Barneys New York, and then went on to work for brands like Calvin Klein and Ralph Lauren. What made you choose this career?

Wooster: That’s exactly right. I initially worked as a buyer for Barneys New York, and then at Bergdorf Goodman. Around that time, I realized being involved in products and in its creation and development would be more of interest to me. Fortunately, I was able to build my experience by working first for Calvin Klein, then Ralph Lauren, and other smaller designers’ brands. What’s funny is that I worked for Neeman Marcus and Bergdoft Goodman in 2010 – I came full circle and ended up back in the retail market. I like both the retail business and being involved in the products themselves. But the main reason why I decided to switch careers was ambition.

On the work of great designers and Japan

–– Hedi Slimane’s skinny style and Thom Browne’s suits made a huge impact that affected change in 21st century men’s fashion. What do you think is the most impactful event in 21st century men’s fashion?

Wooster: It’s interesting you mention Hedi Slimane and Thom Browne. I also believe these two are the most important figures for men’s fashion of the early 21st century. But what’s intriguing is that Hedi Slimane himself is moving away from the super skinny silhouette and is instead utilizing a more oversized look. I think Rick Owens is also a key player when it comes to silhouettes, as well as Balenciaga creative director and Vetements co-founder Demna Gvasalia, who was essential in changing the idea of oversized clothing. What’s most compelling about all the designers is that the public has grown interested in these new styles.

–– What is something that fashion designers should keep in mind?

Wooster: It’s important for designers to keep producing appealing products. They must create desire, and continue to create it. Hedi and Thom Browne were able to realize a new desire at the beginning of the century. Rick Ownens and Demna have done the same thing. There are also people like Rei Kawakubo, who have continued this work for forty years. Designers are constantly creating objects of desire, even if they’re really weird and esoteric. You may not even want to wear these clothes, but the impact that the designers’ have may continue on. That is the job of a great designer.

–– In Japan, we use the word “ametora”, which is an abbreviation of the term “American traditional”. Many traditional American items and styles have been imported into Japan, which have now all culminated into a new style of fashion. How do you feel about Japanese men’s fashion?

Wooster: I’m not sure if this answers your question, but as far as I can tell from the 33 years I’ve been coming to Japan, I think Japan always embraces tradition.

–– What does “embracing tradition” look like to you?

Wooster: Having a respect for tradition and for the classics – there is always respect. I always say this, but even Rei Kawakubo, in my opinion, is quite classical. Although her designs are avant garde, she constantly uses British tailoring techniques, colors like navy blue and blue, and incorporates white shirts, all things that are rooted in traditional menswear. Of course her interpretation of these traditional styles is very different. Junya Watanabe, a student of Rei Kawakubo, also pays respect to and has an understanding of tradition. You can always find fabulous vintage pieces at great places like The Real McCoy’s. The fashion you see in places like that are always rooted in something American, but with a uniquely Japanese interpretation.

What do Japanese brands have to do in order to compete on the world stage?

–– What do you feel are the strengths and distinct qualities of brands in Japan, Europe, and the US? I’m curious specifically about your thoughts on Japanese fashion.

Wooster: Each country – Italy, the US, France, and other places in Europe – have their own individual strengths. The US, for instance, is known for their casual style. For better or for worse, casual style ideas like sweatshirts and sneakers we have in America have been attracting worldwide attention.

–– How about other countries?

Wooster: Europe, specifically Italian fashion, emphasizes tailoring, sartorial style, and high-quality clothing. Japan incorporates the strengths of each country and filters them to make it their own, new idea.

–– You also serve as a judge for the TOKYO FASHION AWARD.

Wooster: Brands that participate in Tokyo Fashion Week and TOKYO FASHION AWARD are precisely what I mean by “new things”. Long-standing Japanese brands have been presenting their work in Europe for years now, but Paris is now their home.

–– What does Paris signify in the fashion world?

Wooster: Paris is a melting pot of different ethnic groups, including Americans, Italians, British, and Japanese, and in some ways is the most international of all fashion capitals. At Tokyo Fashion Week and TOKYO FASHION AWARD, on the other hand, one has the opportunity to encounter new brands that will one day stand on the same stage as many brands in Paris. It’s great that there’s a system that allows people to discover new brands, and I believe Japan is at the forefront of this field. New brands aren’t considered as important in London or New York Fashion Week as they were in the past.

–– Up-and-coming brands from Japan are our strength, but are there any weaknesses in Japanese brands or Japanese fashion strategy?

Wooster: I’ve spoken about this countless times, but I’ll say it again. I believe that a problem that is unique to Japan is its approach to sales. In countries around the world, it’s crucial that a selling campaign can be showcased to customers around the world within a month to six-month period, on average. Japanese brands, however, conduct shows across Japan for a set period of time, each brand having two to three days to showcase their work. For instance, Brand A showcases their collection on March 1st and 2nd, and a different brand does their showcase on March 30th and 31st. Let’s say you’re coming to Japan from Paris, Milan, or New York and you’re only here for a week. What would you do if that week only one brand, either A or B, was showcasing?

–– Meaning that even if you want to see both brands, you have to give one up.

Wooster: This is a phenomenon specific to Japan, and it’s not great for building relationships with the rest of the world. It’s not like people around the world are able to come to Japan at any given time. This problem must be addressed if Japan seeks to attract people to see up-and-coming Japanese brands each season.

–– That’s a very difficult problem for smaller, emerging brands to tackle.

Wooster: Of course, newer Japanese brands can’t do what mega brands like Gucci and Prada can do on an international scale. People may come to see a season and order a collection, but that’s reliant on luck.

–– But I believe the Japanese market is a bit different from the European or American markets. In terms of design, Japanese brands must design their collections after considering the Western market. Would you agree? In order for Japanese brands to find success globally, should they focus on a product-first or market-first model?

Wooster: It’s like asking which came first, the chicken or the egg? Meaning that they’re both just as important. I personally believe the egg comes first – or the product must be right. And nine times out of ten, or 90% of the time, I can say with certainty that Japanese products are the best. The problem, or perhaps the area that needs to be reconsidered, is adjustment.

–– What specifically would that entail?

Wooster: There are problems with size and market schedule, and pricing has been a problem in the past. The weak yen has been an advantage recently, but these issues always arose when Japanese brands did business abroad. If these brands can overcome market conditions such as size, time, and pricing, they would be able to do business anywhere in the world. And there’s currently an increase in Japanese brands that hold that potential, which should be encouraging. It’s very exciting.

An unwavering style expressed even though collaboration

–– The collaboration item between KUON and Nick Wooster is set to be presented this June. When did you first meet Nick?

Shinichiro Ishibashi: We first met during the judging of the 2018 TOKYO FASHION AWARD. KUON was one of the awarded brands, and Nick was one of the judges. He came and visited KUON’s tiny office, which was located in Nakameguro at the time. I was worried about the space being too small to visit (laughs).

–– What did Nick say about KUON at the time?

Ishibashi: He said it was “super nice” (laughs). As we talked, he taught me strategies for taking my brand overseas and about pricing, among other things. I had seen him in fashion magazines before the age of social media and Instagram, and assumed he would be a serious person. But upon meeting him, he was very open and answered all the questions we wanted to ask. Perhaps calling him a “nice older man” is rude, but he seemed to be a very dependable person, an impression that has not changed.

Wooster: One thing that I think is special after my collaboration is KUON is that each of their pieces are made so thoughtfully.

–– I imagine striking a balance between KUON’s distinctive designs and Nick’s unique style was difficult. What was important to you in this collaboration, Mr. Ishibashi?

Ishibashi: When deciding how much we wanted to play within the limitations of a dress, using a 150-year-old kimono to do a patchwork piece is hard to do. We were able to accomplish this because of KUON. Nick and I often talked about how to propose this as a style. We thought about how elegant we could make a simply-made jacket without shoulder pads.

–– I feel that your everyday style is reflected in your collaboration with KUON. How do you choose what to wear everyday? Do you choose your bottoms first? Do you have a routine or rules?

Wooster: I don’t really have any specific routines or rules, but I usually have “something” that becomes the basis of my outfit. That “something” could be a jacket or a suit, perhaps a pair of shoes, or maybe even an item like a T-shirt. But it’s not that clear most of the time. Usually, my ideas are ambiguous. I ask myself questions like, “Should I wear a suit today?” “Maybe shorts?” “Should I go with navy or pink?” But there’s one thing I believe is very important. It’s to consider the weather first. This is how I choose my clothes: “It’s raining, so I shouldn’t wear white”, “It’s hot, so I won’t wear anything heavy”.

–– It seems like your collaborative collection has a wide range of clothes, offering not only dressy items such as jackets, but also casual clothes.

Ishibashi: T-shirts and sweatshirts have become indispensable everyday items. It may not be right to say that the collection ranges from everyday wear to business wear, but Nick and I have discussed this, which is why we were able to create a collection with a wide range of styles.

–– I sense a hint of workwear inspiration in KUON’s style. What influenced your view of menswear, Mr. Ishibashi?

Ishibashi: I read a lot of fashion magazines in my elementary school and middle school days. Out of everything, I was most impacted by Christopher Nemeth pants. I think I liked constructed punk and street clothes. That’s what got me into it.

–– What have your influences been since you started your professional career in making clothes?

Ishibashi: When I became a pattern-maker and started to create things, I found myself finding interest in the history of western clothing. I came to understand the meaning behind the details of clothes, like the work and tailoring, by learning its history. The experience became more and more enjoyable because I was able to gain knowledge about the history of clothing.

–– Lastly, I want to ask Nick about tips on how to coordinate the KUON collaborative items.

Wooster: My personal styling tip is to “start from scratch”, meaning there’s no need to coordinate your whole outfit. If you coordinate your whole outfit from head to toe, that will end up being very expensive. That’s why I think focusing on making one item shine is what makes an outfit interesting.

–– What is the key to styling one selected item to make it shine? Wooster: Let’s say you decide that you like the shorts or the pants in the collaborative collection. You can choose a jacket, as well. You need an outfit that is natural to your personal style. There is no need to do a full coordination. Instead, the key is to make that one item special. Each collaborative item with KUON is specially made. Frankly, what I just told you is detrimental to selling our whole collection, but I believe that making every piece special is most crucial.

Sincerely loving clothes and fashion

During Tokyo Fashion Week 2023AW, I visited several brands to cover their runway shows and saw Nick Wooster many times. The look in his eyes as he gazed at the looks showed a tenderness that felt like he was watching over the young designers. I found myself wanting to hear what he had to say about how he felt about the clothes.

As we talked about at the end of the interview, he willingly collaborated on this project, and emphasizes his love for clothes even if that means it’s detrimental to sales. He puts importance on the need to be sincere towards fashion. In whatever scene, in whatever place, Nick Wooster’s style is unwavering.

Translation Mimiko Goldstein

The post Nick Wooster’s Path and the Possibilities of Japanese Mode Fashion appeared first on TOKION - Cutting edge culture and fashion information.

Daisuke Tanaka, the designer of tanakadaisuke, can turn a dainty bejeweled embroidery or lace into a dynamically beautiful jacket and skirt. He invites us into a bittersweet world that seems familiar but doesn’t exist. 

While Tanaka designs collections for his own brand as a fashion designer, he also creates costumes for artists as an embroidery artist. Rather than pouring his energy into building a wholesale brand, he mainly designs made-to-order clothes through e-commerce. His work and business ethos are unique; this is made possible thanks to each item from his brand having the immense power of allure. How are his clothes, which capture the hearts of fans and artists alike, born? This interview, which traces his source of creativity, starts with a vital piece of inspiration: anime.

Daisuke Tanaka
Daisuke Tanaka was born in Osaka in 1992. After graduating from the Knitwear Course in the Fashion Creator Department at the Osaka Institute of Fashion in 2015, he worked at a high fashion brand. After leaving the company, Tanaka formally started his brand, tanakadaisuke, in 2021. Aside from designing for his brand’s collections, he also creates costumes for artists as an embroidery artist. Many of Tanaka’s products incorporate intricate embroidery, have picturesque elegance, and provide a magical experience.
https://tanakadaisuke.jp
Instagram：@daisuketanaka18 / @tanakadaisuke_official

Anime, embroidery, and costume-making

——I heard that you watched a lot of anime growing up. Which anime do you still remember watching?

Daisuke Tanaka(Tanaka): I used to watch Sailor Moon, Magica Doremi, and Full Moon wo Sagashite. I was born in 1992 and watched anime “for girls” with my older sister. 

——What was it about those series that you liked?

Tanaka: It was imprinted in my mind that girls save the world; I believed they were strong. I also loved Cardcaptor Sakura. It’s about Sakura-chan (the protagonist, Sakura Kinomoto) saving the world. She has a friend, Tomoyo-chan (Tomoyo Daidouji), who makes outfits for Sakura-chan; the story progresses with the two’s collaboration.  I wanted to be Tomoyo-chan.

——So, Cardcaptor Sakura is also about girls saving the world. Did you take an interest in the character’s clothes?

Tanaka: In Cardcaptor Sakura, the clothes were different in each episode, which was exciting. She also had her ultimate form, where she would wear an outfit that was a step up from her usual. I couldn’t help but pay attention to that.

——Is there an anime series you like at the moment?

Tanaka: There’s an anime called Land of the Lustrous, which is about anthropomorphized jewels, and the story and illustration are beautiful.

——That anime features anthropomorphized diamonds and sapphires; I feel like your collections have a similar vibe. Does anime serve as a significant source of inspiration for you?

Tanaka: I think so.

——Before you fully launched your brand, your masks with embroidered cherries, which you posted online, were very popular. What was the catalyst for you to make them? 

Cherry-embroidered masks that Tanaka made (from Daisuke Tanaka’s Instagram)

Tanaka: I had already designed the cherry embroidery before I made the masks, so I had a lot of leftover cherry-embroidered gauze fabric. Covid hit right around then, and it was the norm to wear masks made out of gauze, so I tried making some and—

——they gained a lot of attention. Where did you learn how to do embroidery? Did you teach yourself?

Tanaka: At fashion school, everyone wanted to master different things, so I had to do embroidery myself. I could get advice, but I used to look at books featuring close-up embroidery details and tried to imitate what I saw using my hands. I’d think, “What would that look like if I did it?” I’d have realizations like, “I can do this much!” or “I can’t embroider at this level on my own.” I gradually embroidered things to my taste.

——Aside from designing your own collections, you also make costumes for artists. Is there a difference in your approach to the two?

Tanaka: When I work for an artist, although I go back and forth with the artist at times, I often communicate with their stylist. I make sure to consider the stylist’s preference. What the artist likes is important, of course, but I come up with embroidery and designs by being conscious of the point of view the stylist wants to convey.

——Let’s say you suggested a costume idea for an artist, and it doesn’t get used. What would you do with that design?

Tanaka: If I suggested five designs to the stylist, only one would be used. The other four would become futile. But I’d have a design I like out of the four, so I’d use that as a reference and put more of a personal twist on it for a tanakadaisuke collection.

Clothes that allow each person to tell their story

——What is the theme of your Spring/Summer 2023 collection?

 “Sharp Bright Darkness,” tanakadaisuke’s Spring/Summer 2023 collection

Tanaka: When I was a student, I had waist-long hair. I kept my long hair once I started fashion school, but my teacher told me, “You won’t be able to work for a brand in Tokyo if you don’t change. What are you going to do?” During that time, I had a crisis about whether I wanted to present myself in a masculine or feminine way. 

For this collection, I tried to express what I needed then; “If something like this existed, I might’ve pursued that,” “If I kept my hair long, I might’ve had another calling in life.”

——Do you mean you wanted to create a world for another version of you that might’ve existed?

Tanaka: I hope this creation could be the catalyst for that. Say, if someone had styled their uniform like my Spring/Summer 2023 collection, I think I would’ve felt like this life was a bit bigger than myself.

——The shade enamel bijou skirt has a vintage, romantic feel reminiscent of dancers in old European paintings. What’s the story behind this skirt?

 “Sharp Bright Darkness,” tanakadaisuke’s Spring/Summer 2023 collection

Tanaka: I first got the idea to make a skirt shaped like a lampshade. Also, I used to read a magazine called KERA quite often as a student because of my older sister. So, I liked lolita fashion. I wanted the skirt to hint at that, so I chose this shape. But I didn’t want it to feel too saccharine, so I topped it off with leather gloves and black socks. Plus, I wanted to challenge myself on something.

——What was the challenge?

Tanaka: Today, it’s hard to present men and women in clothes with a lot of skin showing. I wanted to see what people were willing to accept with my brand. If a brand like Alexander McQueen did it, people would accept it as art, but some people would get angry if a Japanese brand did it. I wanted to see how far I’d be allowed to go, so I tried doing that.

——Another image that stood out: a model has one hand in a lace glove and the other in a lace glove and a robotic hand. It was rare to see something mechanical in your brand. What’s the intention behind this image?

 “Sharp Bright Darkness,” tanakadaisuke’s Spring/Summer 2023 collection

Tanaka: I like girly vibes and the mood of machines and wires. At the time, those elements were interwoven in my mind, so I combined them in an easy-to-understand way.

——The look with knitted sleeves doesn’t have any embroidery, which is your brand’s signature, and it makes me think of words like armor, strong, and cool. It has a newness that’s different from your brand’s image in the past.

 “Sharp Bright Darkness,” tanakadaisuke’s Spring/Summer 2023 collection

Tanaka: I tried to give it a sweet yet strong feel. It’s like you’re customizing yourself; you can feel good about yourself by combining the items. The short leather pants and knitted legwarmers are supposed to be a set, so it’d make me happy to see people wearing the full look.

——Do you come up with a story when you design collections?

Tanaka: I can tell you the story behind each item, but it’s hard for me to tell you the overall story. There was something I wanted to do for this collection which I hope to do for the next one.  

——What would that be?

Tanaka: One day, I want to ask Sayaka Murata-san to write a story for my brand. I can come up with dots, but I can’t connect those dots to make a line, so I want to ask someone else to do that. 

——-I feel like you’d be able to make a line, so to speak, but why do you think you can’t? 

Tanaka: I probably can, but the story would be too much of my own. That’d be like forcing my story onto the customer, and they’d have to be conscious of that. That doesn’t feel too right. It’s better to ask a third person to write a story of their interpretation. As it stands now, I talk too much about things related to men and women, which is important, but I don’t think that should be the priority.

——What is your priority, then?

Tanaka: This zeitgeist demands true-to-life realness, but I want to portray fantasy. Rather than explain things in words, I want the items I create to speak for themselves.

In search of a place where originality sleeps 

——How do you want your brand to be like in the near future?

Tanaka: Ai Hashimoto-san wore my design on the Tokyo International Film Festival red carpet, and in an interview, she said, “I wanted to highlight a Japanese brand because it’s the Tokyo International Film Festival.” I’m sure many people wear brands from other countries in such situations, but when she said that, I discovered one reason she approached me out of the many brands out there. I want my brand to stand tall in spaces like that. I want to be able to make clothes for such events. 

——Which moments bring you joy in terms of your brand?

Tanaka: It makes me happy when I can work with people I like or admire, like Ai Hashimoto-san and filmmaker Show Yanagisawa-san, and that experience leads to another opportunity.

——Is there anyone you’d like to work with?

Tanaka: Yoko Maki-san recently wore my design at an event overseas. I want to work on something with her.

——I’m excited to see what kind of clothes you come up with. What do you keep in mind when designing clothes? 

Tanaka: I love Asakusabashi and Nihonbashi. I go there frequently. Honestly, it’s not like the stores change what they sell every time I visit. The products don’t change, but the things I see do according to my mood, so I always walk around the same route. 

——What’s the process behind designing collections like?

Tanaka: I do decide on the theme, but I can’t help but make something I want to make with my own hands first. I make whatever I want to make at that moment, like bead embroidery and lace items, and I create a theme simultaneously. I then search for where to apply that theme. 

——In most cases, do you develop a concept as you make the clothes with your hands?

Tanaka: That happens a lot. I’d be lost unless I used my hands. Because there’s a limit to the thickness and size of beads and threads, I need to look for a shape that’d look the most beautiful when combined with fabrics. There’s no use if you only draw; using your hands is crucial.  

——So, you make what you want to make at any given moment?

Tanaka: I always think about how far I can push myself. I don’t necessarily have to make easy-to-wear knitwear and things like that. 

——Are you trying to challenge yourself differently?

Tanaka: If my brand were big, I’d be able to sell comfortable, high-quality clothes for cheap, but other brands do that already. With where I’m at right now, I want to polish my skills to make more decorative clothing.

——What you said right now could be helpful for us to discover our originality too.

Tanaka: It’d be an exaggeration to say my rival is Gucci, but I know there are some things I can do that Gucci can’t. As a small brand, there has to be something more hardcore I can work on that a big brand wouldn’t be able to. I want to work toward that. 

While there’s a demand for brands to have originality like no other, there’s also a demand for brands to make clothes that appeal to the people. Perhaps it’s the designer or brand’s duty to design such a contradiction. 

Isn’t what Tanaka said at the end of this interview one tip on what we require to discover an original point of view? Submerge within yourself; it might look narrow and small at first glance, but that’s where the source of creativity that could echo throughout the world lies. Daisuke Tanaka still has more clothes he wants to make. His inquisitive spirit will never come to an end.

Photography Shinpo Kimura
Translation Lena Grace Suda

The post The Urge to Create is Everything: An Interview with Designer Daisuke Tanaka appeared first on TOKION - Cutting edge culture and fashion information.

The following is an extended interview with Sayori Tanaka and Akira Kuboshita, divided into two parts, so nothing gets left out. Here, we traced the pair’s past and discussed the future. 

Part.1 Here

Right→Left
Sayori Tanaka
Sayori Tanaka started her own brand, TANAKA, in New York in 2017. Since founding TANAKA NY TYO LLC, TANAKA has been designing globally, spanning New York, Europe, and Asia. She was born and raised surrounded by nature in Niigata with her father, an oil painter and kimono textile designer, and grandfather, a landscape gardener who made Japanese gardens. After graduating from Mode Gakuen, she joined Yohji Yamamoto and cut her teeth planning and designing cut-and-sew knitwear. Tanaka then joined Fast Retailing and was the womenswear director of the global design team at the Tokyo, Shanghai, and New York Uniqlo offices.

Akira Kuboshita
Akira Kuboshita became the official creative partner of TANAKA in Tokyo in 2020. He’s been involved in projects in and out of the country, with Human Made as his focus. Kuboshita’s forte is in creative direction and spatial design. After graduating from the department of styling at Bunka Fashion College, he joined Fast Retailing. Kuboshita was the menswear director of the global design team at the Tokyo, Shanghai, and New York Uniqlo offices, working with activewear and knitwear.
https://ja.tanakanytyo.com
Instagram：@tanakanytyo

New paths lead to new goals 

——You both went to fashion school. Tanaka-san, you went to Mode Gakuen and Kuboshita-san, you went to Bunka Fashion College. How did you choose your respective schools?

Sayori Tanaka(Tanaka): It was natural for me to choose the fashion route, partially because of how I grew up. I was born in Niigata, and when I was in high school, the Tokyo Mode Gakuen commercials were always on TV. This information was a big deal for someone like me in Niigata who didn’t know much. I’ve wanted to go abroad since I was small; I wanted to go to Paris. Tokyo Mode Gakuen had a course where you could study there, which was a huge factor. 

——Did you study in Paris once you started school?

Tanaka: I got into the Paris course, but moving from Niigata to Tokyo in and of itself was a major change for me, and I got overwhelmed. I could’ve gone to Paris a year after I started school, but I gave up because I was an intimidated 19-year-old.  

——But you’re now based in New York, and you work abroad. 

Tanaka: It took time, but this has been my goal since childhood. That motivates me to be empowered to work abroad. 

——Kuboshita-san, you enrolled in the department of styling at Bunka Fashion College.

Akira Kuboshita(Kuboshita): Back then, stylists like Tsuyoshi Noguchi-san and Daisuke Iga-san were doing well, and I looked up to them. They made me want to become a stylist. But I shifted gears right after I started school.

——How come?

Kuboshita: I felt like I couldn’t make a living off being a stylist assistant and that only people who live at home could do it. Both of my parents worked as civil servants, and they believed it was only natural for me to leave home. A part of me felt like I had to learn a trade. 

——What did you strive for after you stopped wanting to become a stylist? 

Kuboshita: After quickly giving up my dream of becoming a stylist, I wanted to become a graphic designer. I loved graphics, but I only knew the basics when it came to the computer. I could only make posters for fashion shows at our school festivals and create some videos. I started learning to do graphic design once I joined a company. 

——The company you’re speaking of is Uniqlo, yes? How did you go from going to the department of styling at Bunka Fashion College to working as a graphic designer at Uniqlo?

Kuboshita: I wanted to work as a graphic designer, but graphic design recruiters didn’t visit my department, so I applied to become a sales staff or corporate stylist for around ten companies. But I failed every interview because I would be honest and say, “I want to become a graphic designer.”  

Tanaka: Gosh, hearing that is… He said, “I’m thinking of changing jobs after three years.” He was too honest (laughs).

——(Laughs)!

Kuboshita: But Uniqlo was the only company recruiting for someone to work in the graphic T-shirt division, so I applied. That division was the precursor of UT. The head of it was Yutaka Tada-san, the president of Issey Miyake, and he founded an R&D office called the Uniqlo Design Laboratory. Tada-san said, “I like interesting people,” and hired me.

——Your career in graphic design started with UT after you joined Uniqlo.

Kuboshita: Yes. From there, I gradually transitioned to the main knitwear team. I worked there for a long time—17 years—so I worked at the Shanghai and New York offices and returned to the Tokyo office. Ultimately, I became the UT and activewear design team director. 

——Tanaka-san, you joined Yohji Yamamoto after you graduated.

Tanaka: When I was job hunting, people called it the “Employment Ice Age,” but thankfully, I got a couple of job offers. I applied to companies I didn’t care to work for because of the instability of the times. But I decided to apply to a company I thought was amazing since I studied for four years in school. It was like an entrance exam. And that company was Yohji Yamamoto.

——There’s a disparity between your current style and Yohji Yamamoto. It’s pretty interesting. 

Tanaka: I’ve always liked mixing vintage clothes, “DC” brands, streetwear, and Urahara styles. I didn’t have a single Yohji Yamamoto piece. It may sound misleading, but I didn’t have a brand I strongly looked up to; there wasn’t a brand that made me go, “This is the one for me!” But I thought Yohji Yamamoto was a cool brand regardless, so I took the entrance exam. I went to the interview in jeans because that felt authentic to who I was.

——In jeans? When I think of Yohji Yamamoto, I think of black clothes. 

Tanaka: Everyone else had black clothes on. I was the only one wearing jeans. But that was my everyday style, so I thought there was no point in dressing up for the interview. I told the interviewee that I wore my favorite vintage clothes and jeans. Maybe they liked how I didn’t put on a show. 

——You gained experience planning and designing sew-and-cut knitwear at Yohji Yamamoto. You then moved to Uniqlo. I imagine the environment in both companies was different. Why Uniqlo? 

Tanaka: I joined the company when Uniqlo started collaborating with designers. An older colleague told me about it, partially because of the timing. 

——I see. So, you two met for the first time at Uniqlo, right?

Kuboshita: Right. 

Tanaka: Kuboshita-san worked at Uniqlo before me. At first, I thought he was older than me, but I was surprised to learn he wasn’t (laughs). 

What Japanese people require in order to succeed internationally

——You’re currently based in New York, Tanaka-san. Are there any good things you realized about Japan while living abroad? What about things that could be improved about the country?

Tanaka: I lived in Shanghai for roughly two years before New York. I haven’t lived in Japan for over a decade, and my experiences have led to my current opinion about the good thing about Japanese people. I would say Japanese people are thorough. 

——Which moments make you feel that way?

Tanaka: It shows up in the craftsmanship. I visited Kaihara-san the other day and saw that the factory was clean. The environment alone made me believe their fabrics were of high quality, without a doubt. That’s how well-managed the place was. The diligence and sincerity of Japanese people are remarkable compared to other countries.

——Is that good characteristic of Japan rooted in you too?

Tanaka: Even if I compete against Americans at what they’re good at, I can’t win. The good thing about me is how I persevere and commit to detailed things. I carry those Japanese characteristics within me.

——What about you, Kuboshita-san?

Kuboshita: I agree that Japanese people are very serious and do their jobs well, but they’re not used to competition. When a Japanese person goes to America…

Tanaka: Don’t you think Japanese people could improve their presentation skills?

Kuboshita: People from other countries sometimes overdo their presentations (laughs). 

——I see (laughs).

Kuboshita: Japanese people tend to speak only after the other person is done since that’s regarded as polite. If you do that abroad, your turn might never come. People are competitive, and they’re assertive. You won’t be able to survive in that world unless you acclimate to the environment. Foreigners present themselves like, “Look at me!” but Japanese people aren’t good at that.

——Was there a time when you weren’t good at doing that either?

Kuboshita: I underestimated how hard it was going to be. I lost three kilograms in three months from the pressure of moving to a new place. But I got used to it little by little since I had to learn about the characteristic [of being assertive]. The staff at the New York office excelled at giving presentations; I would’ve bought what they were selling if they were doing an infomercial. I learned so much about how a product can change depending on how you sell it. In a sense, it’s like the world of show business. 

Looking at the next 100 years 

——Tanaka-san, you quit Uniqlo in 2016 and founded TANAKA in 2017. Kuboshita-san joined the brand in 2020 as the creative director. How did that come about?

Kuboshita: When I first heard she was going to quit working at Uniqlo back when I was still at the company, I asked her, “What are you going to do?” I was thinking about her career and told her she couldn’t fail. I asked her what kind of brand she wanted to build, and she said, “I want to make a company like Levi’s or Hanes.”

——So she didn’t name a high fashion brand. 

Kuboshita: Rather than a fashion brand, she mentioned brands that invent products: Hanes made shirts as a medium for graphics when they were considered underwear. Same with Levi’s with denim. Instead of building a company that acts arrogantly because it built values and can exist for a long time, she wanted to make a company that’s equally kind to everyone. That’s what I thought. 

Tanaka: Levi’s turned workwear denim people into a fashionable clothing item people wear every day. The brand has existed for over a century and is loved by everyone. I wanted TANAKA to become a brand like that. 

Kuboshita: I liked that she had a strong backbone. We talked about how we need to keep the brand going. We know the brand will be around a century later, so the concept of TANAKA is: Clothing that connects the past and the next 100 years.

——I didn’t know that was the backstory.

Kuboshita: That was the first time we agreed on something.

——(Laughs).

Tanaka: (Laughs).

——Out of the years you’ve spent at TANAKA, which moments give you joy or happiness?

Kuboshita: When our products sell. We take clothes-making seriously, so we think, “Let’s make something good” and “This should be good” when we make clothes. But when we hear that something’s sold out in a day, that makes us so surprised and happy because it’s faster than we expected. 

Tanaka: That’s when the stores that carry our products, customers’ feelings, and we come together. When I can see that with my own eyes, it makes me happy; it’s an important thing. 

——Do you ever experience something similar when making clothes?

Tanaka: A sample of the selvage jeans we spoke about (in part.1) arrived at my home in New York from the denim factory, and I saw it for the first time. I went, “Yes, this is it!” I’m confident we created a great design. When I saw Kaihara-san’s reliable fabric quality and Nishie Denim-san’s manufacturing and sewing come together, I did a little dance because I was happy (laughs). 

——Since covid hit, there’s been so much bad news in the world, and it’s hard to be optimistic today. You two stay sensitive to the times and convey a positive message through your collections. Do you want to look at the times and make collections in the future too?

Kuboshita: If the state of the world is at rock bottom, the only way to go is up. 

Tanaka: We’re in the position of making clothes for people to see and wear, so we want to channel our feelings into the collections. We’re considering introducing fashion presentations and runway shows, so I hope we can level up that way. 

——I’d love to see your clothes on the runway. 

Kuboshita: I hope you can.

Tanaka: I believe clothes are for people to wear and move around in and that they exist with people’s actions and everyday lives. People can feel that through runway shows, and I hope we can express the world of TANAKA in a more precise way. If the visuals of our current collection were in motion, we could’ve conveyed our world and message better. Shows are essential. 

I want to finish this interview with words that impressed me. Kuboshita bought and is renovating a historical Japanese-style house. The reason he’s doing this is: 

“Old houses use good materials. The house I’m renovating can’t be built today even if someone wanted to because of the materials. I felt like the only option was for me to renovate it.” 

The philosophy behind TANAKA came to the forefront with these words. The philosophy—Clothing that connects the past and the next 100 years. Clothing that is loved forever beyond time and gender—dwells in Tanaka and Kuboshita’s minds when working on collections and in various situations and moments. No matter how much the world changes, TANAKA will create clothes that stick by people’s side in any era. Their beautiful blue hue goes beyond time and borders. 

Photography Erina Takahashi
Translation Lena Grace Suda

The post The Designer and Creative Director of TANAKA, Sayori Tanaka and Akira Kuboshita Part 2: The Present Will Lead to the Next Century appeared first on TOKION - Cutting edge culture and fashion information.

I can’t peel my eyes off the contrast of the beautiful colors. There are two young people in yellow denim looks showing their side profiles, looking ahead with refreshed expressions. Behind them are the vast blue sea and sky; the white waves crash onto the beach under the white clouds. 

The photos for TANAKA’s Spring/Summer 2023 collection were taken in America. It’s as though they reveal the sensitive interior world that young people have, showing us that sensitivity makes humans beautiful. The emotionally stunning visuals signify that TANAKA, a brand renowned for its craftsmanship for denim, has evolved to the next phase: human expression.

Since being founded in 2017, TANAKA has steadily gained popularity and recognition and won the Tokyo Fashion Award 2023 in September of 2022. This is the first interview TANAKA has given since the award and the first extended interview Sayori Tanaka and Akira Kuboshita have given together. 

This interview is in two parts, so none of their words will be left out. The first part is about the craftsmanship behind the brand, using the Spring/Summer collection as the primary reference while looking at the latest sample pieces. 

Right→Left
Sayori Tanaka
Sayori Tanaka started her own brand, TANAKA, in New York in 2017. Since founding TANAKA NY TYO LLC, TANAKA has been designing globally, spanning New York, Europe, and Asia. She was born and raised surrounded by nature in Niigata with her father, an oil painter and kimono textile designer, and grandfather, a landscape gardener who made Japanese gardens. After graduating from Mode Gakuen, she joined Yohji Yamamoto and cut her teeth planning and designing cut-and-sew knitwear. Tanaka then joined Fast Retailing and was the womenswear director of the global design team at the Tokyo, Shanghai, and New York Uniqlo offices.

Akira Kuboshita
Akira Kuboshita became the official creative partner of TANAKA in Tokyo in 2020. He’s been involved in projects in and out of the country, with Human Made as his focus. Kuboshita’s forte is in creative direction and spatial design. After graduating from the department of styling at Bunka Fashion College, he joined Fast Retailing. Kuboshita was the menswear director of the global design team at the Tokyo, Shanghai, and New York Uniqlo offices, working with activewear and knitwear.
https://ja.tanakanytyo.com
Instagram：@tanakanytyo

Looking at the world through a “BUTTERFLY”

——What does your collection-making process look like?

Sayori Tanaka(Tanaka): We start by discussing things with each other, such as the construction and design of the clothes. We think of the concept as we work on designing the collection; Kuboshita-san and I try to put together and convey our sensibilities through words. I do most of the designing, but I often get his opinion on technical things or details and give him my thoughts like, “Wouldn’t this look more gender-neutral if we changed it like so?” We move things along while having such conversations.

——Do your respective opinions ever clash?

Tanaka: They do at times. But Kuboshita-san rarely says anything when it comes to denim. 

Akira Kuboshita(Kuboshita): I don’t have any complaints. That’s how perfect the denim products are.

——I associate your brand with denim. For Fall/Winter 2022, you developed an original denim fabric using recycled cotton with Kaihara (a denim manufacturer in Okayama prefecture known for producing high-quality denim). Do you make original denim fabric every season?

Tanaka: At TANAKA, we always aim to use the same denim fabric. We need to order a fixed number of denim fabrics since they’re custom-made, but even still, we continue using the same denim. Of course, we use lighter denim for spring and summer, but we usually stick to the same fabrics. Things of quality don’t change that quickly. 

Kuboshita: Exactly. There’s no need to change. All we do is adjust the seasoning. 

Tanaka: Perhaps in five or ten years, there will come a time where we’ll be like, “We should change things a little.” I hope to update things just a bit once that time comes, as we believe in continuing to use things. 

——I’m sure there are different steps in creating a collection, such as deciding on a theme first. What’s important to you in the collection-making process?

Tanaka: First, we need to consider which clothes we should continue producing: “Out of the ones we already have, which clothing would our customer want to wear next year?” At TANAKA, we want to promote something long-lasting that doesn’t require constant modifications. That’s our brand concept. Also, we believe fabrics are important, so we collect and research them beforehand. 

Kuboshita: That’s one part of the process, but we don’t always start with a physical object. We get inspiration for themes from the state of the world in a given year and period. There have been many restrictions over the past two years because of covid. For instance, the theme for our Spring/Summer 2021 collection was: Take a deep breath, dance slowly. 

——So, movements and social changes have a considerable influence on your collections.

Tanaka: Rather than decide on a big theme right from the start, we base it on conversations we have every day. Most of the time, we verbalize the theme as we make the clothes. 

Kuboshita: The fact that [social] issues come up in our conversations means that we’re influenced by our surroundings and the state of the world at that time. 

Light nShadow, the Fall/Autumn 2022 TANAKA collection

——So many things have occurred one after the other since covid hit.

Tanaka: Including covid and the war, many tumultuous things have occurred over the past two or three years. I believe we shouldn’t look away from them.

——Is the theme for your Spring/Summer 2023 collection, BUTTERFLY, related to the current state of the world?

Kuboshita: I really couldn’t forgive the war. But as people who work in Japan and America, we couldn’t do anything political. We could only pour positive images and feelings into craftsmanship and put them out. We got the theme for this collection from the term, the butterfly effect.

The theme includes our hope that even a small brand like ourselves could create a big wave and go out into the world as long as we stay driven. You have to raise your voice, even if it’s small. 

——Tanaka-san, do you share the sentiment?

Tanaka: Yes. The war played a huge part. Our Fall/Autumn 2022 collection, the one before BUTTERFLY was titled Light nShadow. Covid had changed our lives drastically then, but we didn’t want to view it in just a negative way. With change comes the positive and negative and light and shadow. Things are tough, which is why they have meaning: that was the idea behind the theme.

——I can see you two trying to see the light at all times, even if things are hard.

Tanaka: What we can do is convey a message through clothes. I would get inspiration and courage from people fighting against and speaking up about issues related to not only war but the environment and gender. It’s like the butterfly effect. This ties directly to the collection themes. If we want to create a better future and make a change, it’s essential to raise our voices, no matter how small.

“BUTTERFLY”, the Spring/Summer 2023 TANAKA collection

The excellence of Japanese craftsmanship

——Speaking of the environment, sustainability is becoming more urgent in the fashion industry. Do you feel any differences between sustainability efforts in Japan and abroad?

Tanaka: Foreign countries developed an awareness of sustainability much earlier, and corporations and brands implemented sustainability efforts very early on. I hope the term isn’t seen as a trendy buzzword, though. Since founding the brand, I’ve felt like I absolutely can’t make any waste. There was a period when I felt so conflicted about making clothes. I’ve implemented sustainability from the start and promoted long-lasting craftsmanship.

——How did people respond to your efforts?

Tanaka: Some people would pigeonhole my brand when I told them I was trying to be sustainable. On the contrary, some thought I was jumping on the bandwagon. I would get told things like, “You have a sustainable brand, right?” I don’t mind being told that. It’s true we’ve incorporated sustainability into the brand since the start by being aware of what we could do. However, I don’t want it to end as another trend. Japan is tuned into trends, meaning things come and go very fast. I find that a bit sad about this country.

——There was a point where “made in Japan” products felt trendy. Of course, fashion brands must do well because fashion is a business. But some brands make things in Japan while believing in the cause, so it feels wrong for “made in Japan” to be used as a buzzword for profit.

Kuboshita: It’s a difficult issue.

Tanaka: I genuinely believe Japanese denim is an excellent domestic product. Fabrics and fabric treatments in Japan are especially good. But the quality of sewing is comparable to other countries. I’m Japanese, so I want to create jobs in Japan and contribute to the country, but with Chinese sewing, for instance, the finish of some factories is beautiful. In terms of quality, some things don’t necessarily have to be Japan-made. It’s a tricky one. People do fully trust the way Japanese products are handled, though.

——Do you have any criteria when you choose a manufacturing factory?

Kuboshita: We choose which factory to work with according to which fabric they’re good at using. Many silk products sold in Japan are made in China, so a Chinese factory sews silk for us instead of importing the material to Japan. It’s expensive to import and manipulate down feathers, so we ask factories in Europe or China, as they’re closer to countries with good down feathers.

——What’s the most appealing part of Japanese craftsmanship?

Kuboshita: Perhaps its history. We have denim, dyes, mud-dyeing, and indigo because we have a long history and culture of making things. We still have traditional dressmakers, weavers, and dyers, which is so appealing to me.

Tanaka: Another appeal is how craftsmen can discern minor differences. I feel this way when I see fabrics. The amazing thing about Japan-made products is how they see the subtle changes in the final stages and work on developing and controlling them.  

Kuboshita: There are synthetic fiber manufacturers in the Hokuriku region who develop new things. People collect old knitting machines in Wakayama and still use old-fashioned loop knitting machines. Some factories specialize in that. It’s impressive how the old and the new coexist in Japan.

Thinking about the smallest details, designing how a customer could wear a garment

——One garment that caught my eye from your Spring/Summer 2023 collection is a pair of pants with a drawstring and the selvage shown on the outside. You blended elements of jeans and sweatpants; it’s as though you mixed the best parts of casual clothing.

Kuboshita: That’s our most popular product. 

——I liked them the moment I saw them. What did you think about when you designed the pants?

Tanaka: I think selvages are pretty. But this special detail is always hidden away on the other side of the fabric. Once you flip the fabric over, the selvage pops up and looks stylish and sophisticated. It was such a waste not to show them. The idea started with my wish to make the selvage detail stand out. 

——I like how you got rid of the belt too.

Tanaka: We call that unfinished. I’ve been designing the unfinished belt detail for a while. One aspect of the design is that you can wear the pants low-waisted instead of high-waisted. I felt like it would be fun to combine that with the selvage detail.

——The selvage starts from the hem to the waist without breaking off.

Tanaka: Selvages are the edge of a fabric, meaning they’re straight. If you trace a selvage along the curves of a human body, it will ultimately break off. I thought it would feel unsatisfying seeing a selvage that stops in the middle. The pattern on the side is straight because we wanted to utilize the selvage detail, but it wouldn’t fit the human body if we didn’t do anything.

——True. What did you do, then?

Tanaka: We made a line that would match the lower waist by pulling the drawstrings around it. But Kuboshita-san said, “The waist seems cinched in, but some people might not like how it could look stuffy.” So, I crossed the center of the front with a hidden hook so it could look cleaner. The angle in the front part of the pants added another touch. 

Kuboshita: It’s like how you would wear a kimono.

——So, you created a new design on the front.

Tanaka: Those who don’t want to wear the pants like that could bring it up to their waist and tie the drawstrings for a more casual look. These pants have straight lines, so they make your legs look nice. If you wear them by bringing the side to the front, anyone will look good wearing them. 

——Anyone of any gender can wear your clothes, and people can wear these pants without giving much thought to their bodies. In other words, anyone can wear them if they want. 

Tanaka: Right, it’s for people who want stylish jeans (laughs).

——The pants are a test for your taste (laughs). Did you get inspired by butterflies for this expressive black jacket?

Tanaka: Kuboshita-san designed the print.

Kuboshita: It’s a print of butterfly wings. It’s a collage, but I didn’t want to use butterfly wings in an obvious way. I edited it to make it look painterly. We release clothes with prints during spring and summer, and the print of this series of silk fabrics gets updated periodically.

——The fragile feel of it is beautiful.

Kuboshita: It was a surprise how the light-colored butterfly print was popular among men in America. 

——I believe the brand has a design sensibility that goes beyond gender. The visuals for the Spring/Summer 2023 collection feature models of different races, and you portray the fragility of youth, which is emotional and beautiful. What was the theme behind it?

“BUTTERFLY”, the Spring/Summer 2023 TANAKA collection

Tanaka: This is our fourth season working with photographer Jiro Konami-san. This was the first time we used four models. 

Kuboshita: Gender-neutral. Transcending race and gender is the theme behind TANAKA, to begin with. 

Tanaka: I wanted to communicate that even more through the visuals. 

——Is that why you used more models than usual and from different backgrounds?

Tanaka: Right. But there’s a limit to which models match our image, so it wasn’t like we decided how many people of which race we would shoot. It ended up being diverse in a balanced way. The models in this shoot were all young and had a lot of fun during the shoot. 

Kuboshita: We told Konami-san we wanted to express the rawness of human energy and the everyday. He shoots on film, so we didn’t know how the photos looked until they were developed. I was supposed to be on set for the shoot but couldn’t make it because I was on a work trip. I felt so excited when I saw the photos for the first time. 

——Tanaka-san, what about you?

Tanaka: I couldn’t get up for two days because I used so much energy for the shoot. This was my first time shooting at the beach. I had a clear vision of models wearing gorgeous yellow denim looks while walking on the beach in my mind before we had the shoot.

Read Part.2

Photography Erina Takahashi
Translation Lena Grace Suda

The post The Designer and Creative Director of TANAKA, Sayori Tanaka and Akira Kuboshita Part 1: A Sublime Denim Blue that Transcends Race and Gender appeared first on TOKION - Cutting edge culture and fashion information.

Today the outdoor brand and wander, founded in 2011, makes clothing and conveys the beauty of the outdoors to many people in ample ways, such as hosting and wander HIKING CLUB in which people could actually experience the mountains and nature.

Through asking designers Keita Ikeuchi and Mihoko Mori about the background of their clothesmaking, what came to the surface was a world where everyday life and nature are closely intertangled.

Connecting with nature and discovering the outdoors

——What were you into as a child?

Keita Ikeuchi (Ikeuchi): I’m from Atsugi-shi in Kanagawa Prefecture. I grew up in a residential area surrounded by a forest, which was made by carving out of the edge of the Tanzawa mountains. It may sound like a cliche, but I played among nature often, like building secret hideouts with friends, fishing and swimming in the local river, and more.

——When did you develop an interest in fashion?

Ikeuchi: I started liking clothes around middle school. I immersed myself in many magazines. Then I started wearing casual, American-styled clothes and streetwear, dug through secondhand clothes, and tried wearing high-end brands. I wore a lot of different styles from time to time.

——Mori-san, did you grow up around nature as well?

Mihoko Mori (Mori): I grew up in Aomori and Sapporo. My father was in a mountaineering club and loved the mountains. And because of that, I spent long vacations skiing and camping in nature from a young age. I became interested in fashion because my grandmother ran an atelier and made clothes, and I wanted to do a job where I could make things like her.

——What was the catalyst that made you want to experience the outdoors full-on?

Ikeuchi: This is from when I was in college; back then, I wasn’t seriously involved in the outdoors, but I loved traveling. I was what you’d call a backpacker and would visit many places abroad during school break. As a student, I learned the joy of seeing scenery I’ve never seen before and going to places I’ve never been before.

——Did you continue traveling after you graduated from college?

Ikeuchi: Once I became a working adult, it became hard to take long vacations. I could only go travel once a year or so. Then, my friend, who also liked the outdoors, invited me to go camping. Even though it was a weekend getaway where I was among nature for a short while, I found it refreshing and fun. I felt that it was extraordinary because of the scenery during the day and night, coupled with the ambiance created by tarps, tents, and other equipment. I’ve been loving the outdoors ever since.

——In what way did you enjoy the outdoors?

Ikeuchi: More and more people we knew started liking the outdoors, and we got to go camping even more. We found ways to have fun, such as hiking in the surrounding mountains, and started getting seriously into it.

——So, you started seriously becoming interested in the outdoors once you went camping.

Ikeuchi: Yes. I wasn’t even interested in outdoor clothes. I would wear Prada Sport and react like, “Oh no, I got a hole in it” (laughs).

Clothes born from different approaches

——I’d like to hear you talk about your brand’s collections. What’s the design process like for each season?

Mori: We start by selecting materials. We think about what function we want the clothes, not only items for mountaineering, to have. We also think about whether or not it’s necessary for the season. We value the functionality of the material and sensory qualities like texture and bounce. Also, a factor that influences [our design process] is how Japanese synthetic fibers are renowned worldwide. We’re in an environment where information about materials like new functions and directions are accessible.

——After you gather your function-oriented materials, how do you start designing the clothes?

Mori: We decide on the details and cut so that people can have fun comfortably in whatever field we set. We design with a sense of “arranging” a shape so that the qualities of the material come alive and don’t hinder the body’s movement.

——Do the things you experience daily ever tie in with the design of the clothes?

Mori: I think about what makes clothes difficult to wear and how I could improve their mobility for everyday acts like walking, riding on a bicycle, climbing up the stairs, and carrying a bag. It’s impossible to think about such things without my everyday life.

——Do you have other approaches aside from focusing on materials?

Ikeuchi: We also take an approach where we get sparks of inspiration, saying things like, “I wish something like so-and-so existed” or “I don’t think there’s anything like this in the world,” through outdoor activities and everyday life. Inspiration from different occasions is also a vital part of the brand.

——What sort of flashes of inspiration do you get?

Ikeuchi: Once, we thought about being active with a backpack on, so we put pockets in unusual spots. We also came up with the idea that when you make a bonfire, you need comfortable pants to sit on for a long time without getting holes from the fire, and then made something that we never did for our brand. Being out of our comfort zone is also an important aspect.

——Your collections are made by these two different approaches.

Ikeuchi: I believe having many different sides also contributes to the depth and fun of the brand.

——A look I liked from your Spring/Summer 2022 collection used fabric from Schoeller. What are the traits of this fabric?

Mori: Schoeller is a Switzerland-based fabric manufacturer. The 3XDRY fabric we used for this product has a water repellent function on the surface and a humidity control function on the inside. This type is usually water-repellent on both the surface and inside, but 3XDRY is outstanding because it has different functions on both sides. It doesn’t feel sticky on the skin, and it’s stretchy and comfortable. We’ve been using it since 2015 and updating the design of the clothes.

——The graphics of the Spring/Summer 2022 collection are also very memorable. How did you come to make them?

Mori: We commissioned Post Wook, a project by artist Natasha Chomko who lives in Los Angeles. She’s an artist who creates totally new landscapes by collaging natural and artificial elements like American national parks and cities.

——They’re very intriguing and have a futuristic feel to them.

Mori: When we commissioned her, the pandemic was raging on. We couldn’t travel, and our activities were severely limited. But her work seemed to transport the viewer into a new world. The expansion of my imagination liberated me from my constrained days.

I pictured a happy mood being in the air by the time it was Spring/Summer 2022 when the products printed with her collages were going to be out, with optimistic people wearing bold colors and prints after the pandemic. Unfortunately, the pandemic’s still ongoing, but I want people to see a new sight as though they were traveling.
To feel around the world and time travel.

Awareness directed toward world issues leads to creating

——stainability’s currently a vital keyword in the fashion industry.

Mori: We’ve been participating in exhibitions abroad since 2015. Overseas, there’s much more awareness surrounding sustainability, and people ask us things like, “Which materials are recycled?” and “Which products are environmentally friendly?” We felt the need to change our awareness. Even when we’re out in the mountains having fun, we can see tangible changes, such as the decrease in snowfall and its remnants in the summer.

Under such circumstances, we’re constantly looking for answers about the choices we can make to do our part. We choose recycled materials and accept secondhand clothes at our store.

——Do you have any projects you’re working on at the moment?

Mori: For Fall/Winter 2022, we’ll hold a special exhibition with the support of the brand CORDURA, whose products boast excellent resistance against abrasion and tear. Photographer Naoki Ishikawa-san’s photos of Maori forests will be exhibited alongside the message, “Living harmoniously with nature isn’t about humans protecting nature, but rather about humans and nature having an equal relationship.” We’ll also be selling shirts with the photos printed on them, made out of CORDURA fabric. The shirts made of CORDURA fabric are durable, don’t look tired, and can be worn for a long time. You can lessen the frequency of repurchasing them and indirectly reduce environmental harm. Also, a portion of the proceeds of these collaborative products will be donated to a forest conservation organization based in New Zealand. Why don’t we reconsider the relationship between people and nature via this special exhibition?

——This is a different topic, but unbelievable things are happening today, such as the war in Ukraine. How do you feel about the state of the world, personally? What do you want to express and say as fashion designers living in times like these?

Mori: Through and wander, I hope many people will come to interact with mountains and nature and learn about their appeal.

In Aomori, where I spent my childhood, I would walk to the river every winter morning to feed bread to swans. In springtime, the birds go back to Russia. Birds don’t have national borders, migrate in tune with the seasons, and enjoy the fruits of nature. As a small child, I prayed that the place to which the birds would return would be safe and thriving. That was more important to me than the principles and positions of a country. Nature taught me about the significant connections and cycles on the planet. I believe if the world could connect this way, we can create a kinder society.

——Why is your brand based in Tokyo when you enjoy spending time in nature? I assume it’s one option to work somewhere near the mountains. Is it because you want many people to enjoy the mountains, especially people living in the city?

Ikeuchi: We believe that city-dwellers who go out to experience nature on their days off understand our brand the best. Maybe we’re based in Tokyo because we want to show a lifestyle that’s similar to the ones such people have, as we’re one of them too.

and wander’s Spring/Summer collection video

At times, fashion designers observe the zeitgeist and channel what they perceive through their collection. A reality no one could’ve predicted is unfolding today; perhaps these fashion designers feel something only they could feel because of their profession. When I listened to the answer to my question, it was as if I saw the beauty of the other side of the world. At the same time, I felt like what’s imperative is learning more about the world. We can’t shut our eyes and only see what we want to see.
With their ears open and gaze directed at the world, and wander is sending out the voice of nature.

Keita Ikeuchi
Born in 1978. After graduating from Tama Art University, he joined ISSEY MIYAKE. In 2011, Keita Ikeuchi founded and wander with Mihoko Mori. Starting from his travels in college, he’s actively enjoyed the outdoors. Ikeuchi continues to convey the beauty of the outdoors by adding a wearable yet chic touch to clothes meant to be worn in nature. 

Mihoko Mori
Born in 1978. After graduating from ESMOD Japon, Mihoko Mori joined ISSEY MIYAKE. She founded and wander with Keita Ikeuchi in 2011. Growing up in Aomori and Hokkaido, she had a lot of experience playing in nature. By utilizing high-performing materials and creating collections featuring stylish, sophisticated clothes with functionality, she continues to convey the beauty of the outdoors.

Photography Teppei Hoshida
Translation Lena Grace Suda
Edit Shuichi Aizawa(TOKION)

The post Everything is connected in the world of Keita Ikeuchi and Mihoko Mori, the designers of and wander appeared first on TOKION - Cutting edge culture and fashion information.

But a moment came where he decided to give up on soccer, a sport that was supposed to be his passion. During a game in his second year of high school, he became acutely aware that there was a clear difference in level between those who could go pro and those who couldn’t. At that moment, Takuya made a mental shift, deciding to make moves towards his next goal.

“I don’t want to have any regrets about whatever I do next.”

With soccer, Takuya had a strong feeling of regret about how he could have done things differently back then. Later, this feeling would become a driving force to pave his path. That’s how his journey into fashion, something that had been familiar to him since childhood, seriously began.

After moving from Osaka to Paris and gaining experience at the maison he’d always wanted to work at, he launched his brand, mister it., in Tokyo in 2018. I’d like to open this interview by asking him about his experience living in Paris.

Clothing is made by a team, not an individual

――You started university at ESMOD in Osaka, and then went on to study abroad at ESMOD Paris. After graduating, you began your career at Maison Margiela. I heard that you memorized your self-introduction in French before your interview there.

Takuya Isagawa(from hereunder, Takuya): At the time, I couldn’t speak any French at all. So I had a friend who could speak Japanese and French translate my self-introduction into French. Then I asked him to read the French self-introduction aloud so I could record it. I listened to that recording every day and was able to memorize it through repetition. Before I knew it, my pronunciation was perfect. (laughs)

――(Laughs). I’d assume that they asked you all kinds of questions during the interview. How did you respond?

Takuya: At the time, I responded to everything with “oui” [yes] and got through it with laughter. (laughs) However, within five minutes of passing the interview and getting the job, they realized that I couldn’t speak any French at all.

――What did you do from there?

Takuya: Every evening after I got home from work, I practiced telling anecdotes in French. Not just any anecdotes, but funny stories about mistakes that I’d made. Yeah, I’d think of an anecdote that would make people laugh, and I didn’t care if my French was wrong. I’d practice every night with the thought that I’d tell this anecdote no matter what the next day. And then the next day, I’d talk about it at work. I kept this up daily, and before I knew it, I started being able to hold conversations in French.

――What kind of work were you involved in at Maison Margiela?

Takuya: I joined the company as an intern, and right after I started working there, the head designer told me, “At this brand, whether you’re an intern or an employee, the interesting ideas will rapidly take shape. So we want you to keep bringing new ideas to the table without hesitation.” It’s much more motivating to be in an environment like that, where ideas are valued more than seniority or position, isn’t it? Whenever I was asked to do something, I didn’t give it 100%; I gave it 200%. That was what I always did.

――And that’s how you earned their trust.

Takuya: Three months into my internship, the president of the company called me in and asked me, “Takuya, what do you want to do in the future?” I told him, “I want to have my own brand in the future, but until then, I want to stay in Paris.” And then my boss said, “Well then, you’re a full-time employee now.” And from that moment on, I was in charge of the collections and haute couture. But one thing I can say is that I didn’t design any pieces completely on my own. We crafted the clothes with everyone on the team adding their ideas to update the pieces, and that turned into the clothes. That was how we did it. So there isn’t a single item I can say I did from start to finish on my own.

Takuya’s collection started from a desire to convey his gratitude

――Could you tell us about the brand concept behind mister it.?

Takuya: If I had to describe it in a few words, it’d be “accessible haute couture.” When people think of “haute couture,” they have this image of clothing that’s made for celebrities walking down the red carpet. I’ve had experience making that kind of clothing, and I came to think that I wanted to make haute couture more accessible. I think about the people close to me and what kind of clothes would make them happy. So if I make clothing that way, and that clothing reaches people who identify with it, that would make me really happy.

――Even though you were involved with Maison Margiela, a major fashion brand, mister it.’s concept is inspired by real people you meet, which is very interesting.

Takuya: I want clothing to be familiar rather than a distant concept, so I want to make clothing that’s accessible. In the mister it. collection, I make clothes that look like art pieces, but that’s intentional. It’s not that I want people to actually wear art pieces on the street. Rather, I want people to enjoy looking at the clothes, like, “Oh, clothing can look like this” or “Clothing can be made like that, too.”

――Before you actually launched mister it. in Japan, you created your own collection in Paris. What was that collection like?

Takuya: After putting some thought into how I’d launch my brand, I wanted to properly pull off Zero. I wanted to show all the people I’d been working with at the time my gratitude for everything. So I titled it “Collection Zero” and crafted pieces that were specifically for the people I’d been working with. And then I gifted those pieces to them.

――How did you present Collection Zero?

Takuya: I rented out a shop in Paris and had everyone get together there. In front of everyone, I presented the clothing to each person, telling them, “This piece is yours. I made it especially for you.”

――What was the response like?

Takuya: Everyone was very happy. Yeah, how do I say this—basically, everyone was just very happy, and really moved by it.

――You must have been happy to see everyone’s reactions too.

Takuya: I was very happy. Really, truly happy. I didn’t want to think of anything more than what was necessary. I simply made it to say thank you. That was all I wanted to do. To be able to do that was really amazing.

Clothing inspired by people and overflowing with love

――What’s the theme of the 2021 AW collection?

Takuya: It’s a collection that’s very conscious of focusing on the people who make the pieces. The collection truly came together with the work of so many people—the people who make the fabric, the people who make the thread, the people at the sewing factory—so I wanted to incorporate the creators into the theme a bit.

――When I went to the exhibition, there was some kind of background music playing of people talking. Whose voices were they, and what were they talking about?

Takuya: I wanted to collect something from all the people who were involved in the making of this collection. So I figured that voices would be a good way to do that.

――So you mean the voices in the background were the voices of the people who made the clothes?

Takuya: Right. I recorded the voices of so many different people—the people who did the printing, the people from the sewing factory, the people who were involved in the photoshoot—and then at the exhibition, I played those voices as if it were an installation. There, I made it so that people could hear the voices coming from behind the clothes. I also played the voices from underneath where the lookbook was placed.

――But the voices I heard at the venue didn’t sound like Japanese…

Takuya: I didn’t want to make it that serious; I wanted to make it catchy. So I purposely had the creators speak in English. In katakana English [adjusting English words to a Japanese pronunciation], I had them say just a few words on what kind of clothing they had made, saying, “I made so-and-so thing.” At the venue, it may have sounded like one person talking a lot, but it was actually a lot of people talking, with each person saying just a few words.

――In the 2021 AW Collection, you presented a blouson with a daring print. This powerful print almost looked like a painting. What is the print depicting?

Takuya: The print portrays a scene of the people who were the theme of Collection Zero actually working in the Paris atelier.

――The blouson looked like a painting that used the clothing as a canvas. I was really surprised by how powerful it was. The print truly conveys the theme of this collection: the creators.

Takuya: I wanted to make it straightforward and vigorous. And the result was this print.

――The coat was impressive too. It looked like a trench coat, but it also gave off the impression of a soutien collar coat, while feeling like a duffel coat at the same time. How did you come up with the idea for that coat?

Takuya: Regarding that coat, someone once gifted me a blouson made of the same melton fabric as the coat from this collection. That led me to think that it’d be nice to respond with a jacket that was the same color as the blouson. I made that coat with that thought—like I’d be returning the gift.

――The ribbons and other details on the coat are interesting.

Takuya: I think a unique characteristic of mister it. is that it can be worn with many different looks. Sometimes, depending on your mood that day, you might want to wear the coat with the waist cinched. Other times, you may want to wear it loose. Even a slight change in how you’re wearing it can make it look quite different. This coat is also reversible, and when you turn it inside-out, you can see the white piping detail.

――When it comes to mister it., the shirts really stand out; The small black heart on the cuff of the classic shirt leaves an impression. Do the shirts from the 2021 AW Collection have any new features?

Takuya: I put a small heart on the cuff so when you see a friend for the first time in a while and go to shake their hand, it comes into view. That heart becomes an opportunity for communication. That was how I wanted people to use the shirt. But with the pandemic right now, I think that even if people meet with their friends, they might feel uncomfortable or reluctant to shake hands. So I thought it’d be appropriate for now to get a glimpse of the heart when you nonchalantly reach in your pocket for something, for example. So as an extra detail, I added another placket on the inside of the shirt, like an inner belt, and printed a small heart onto it.

――So you want your clothing to reflect the current mood of the world?

Takuya: Rather than create things in response to trends, I want to create things that are conscious of what we need to do as a brand or what works for our modern world. For example, the base shape of a shirt really hasn’t changed in hundreds of years. Yet, the way we go about our lives with the shirts we have now versus the shirts people had hundreds of years ago is definitely different. So I think it’s strange to have the same details and features today. But the outline and base of a shirt are great, so I try to update that by adding my brand’s vision of the present while still keeping that basic feel.

The story lies within the minds of the people who wear the clothing

――So you wanted to create the brand’s vision of the present. Now that the coronavirus has changed the world and our situation, could you talk about your vision and thoughts regarding what kind of clothing mister it. wants to create in the future?

Takuya: It goes without saying that I’ll keep updating the clothes. But more than that, there’s something else that I want to be conscious of. And that’s designing not only the clothes, but also designing how to deliver the clothes to people.

――Do you mean something like an online store?

Takuya: No, not exactly an online store. Rather, I want people to wear my pieces for a long time, so I think a lot about how I can have people do that. That’s why I’ve devised little tricks. For example, the coat we discussed earlier has a custom mister it. hanger, which is a regular wire hanger with a cover.

――That’s interesting. It makes an everyday wire hanger look special.

Takuya: I started out with the idea of making a hanger, and that led to the idea of making a hanger cover. I think a wire hanger is something that most people have, but by putting a cover on that sort of everyday hanger, it becomes more personal. If there’s a place where the piece belongs, perhaps people will cherish it for a long time. I think people will definitely put a piece back in its place if there’s a designated place for it to return to.

――So you mean if there’s a place you want to return the piece to, people will cherish the piece and wear it for a long time?

Isagawa: You can also remove the hanger cover. You can expand the shape and insert a single flower into the hole, too. For example, if you put a shirt into a box with a hanger cover that has a flower inserted into it and gave it to someone as a gift, I think the recipient would be happy upon opening the box and seeing the flower and shirt. I think this way of delivering clothing itself needs to be designed.

――That’s an incredible idea. If I got a piece like that, I’d personally want to treat it with care.

Takuya: Generally, I think long-lasting clothing is about the quality of the tailoring or how basic it is. But I think mister. it clothes can be worn for a long time because they have an emotion or a story built into them. Actually, since last season, I’ve been trying to avoid telling a personal story. An idea starts with the person who inspired it and a story. But I want the people who actually wear the pieces to create a story that’s unique to them. It’s not that I’m just leaving it up to them, but I’ve come to think it’s ideal for the wearer to wear it how they like and create their own story without me telling them too much.

There was one thing from this interview that left quite an impression on me: Takuya’s actions after he started working in Paris and his colleagues realized that he couldn’t speak any French. At the time, Isagawa started preparing funny anecdotes to laugh at himself. Although he was in crisis, he chose humor. I think that attitude is precisely what mister it. is all about.

In a world that can be serious and harsh, sometimes, a smile can save the day. Isagawa brings smiles to people’s faces by incorporating humor into fashion. He has a kind sense of humor that never hurts anyone, which is combined with the elegance he refined in Paris. At the end of this interview, there was one question I asked: “What kind of moments make you happiest while making clothing?” I’d like to conclude with his answer to that question. It’s clear that mister it. loves people.

“I want my creations to reach customers and make them happy, that’s it. That’s what it’s all about.”

Takuya Isagawa
After attending ESMOD Osaka and graduating from ESMOD Paris, Isagawa started mister it. in Tokyo in 2018. By dynamically combining form, material, color, and the other elements that make up clothing, he designs clothing at the intersection of fashion and realism. His collections combine elegance and humor, with a diversity that transcends gender and seems to bring out people’s charm.
http://misterit.jp
Instagram：@misterit75003

Photography Shinpo Kimura
Translation Aya Apton

The post The thought that mister it. designer Takuya Isagawa puts into his clothing appeared first on TOKION - Cutting edge culture and fashion information.

In this final installment, vol.3, we unveil Ganryu’s perspective on the society and future construed in the brand’s latest 2021 Autumn Winter collection. The conversation went beyond the scope of fashion to diversity, internet, society, and finally, his future.

Standardization is in extent of diversity

――The theme of the 2021 Autumn Winter collection is “Inevitable Diversity”—what does this mean?

Fumito Ganryu (Hereinafter Ganryu): For instance, even though we are currently in the pandemic, I think there are still inevitable encounters. I occasionally had opportunities to meet people from different industries whom I wouldn’t have had a chance to meet before the pandemic. This isn’t just happening to me, and I’m assuming that it’s happening to people from other places all around the world. I thought by unraveling these unprecedented aspects, I would be able to craft things that fit the mentality and mood that may arise in the future. Various stories that are now oozing underneath will forge and conjure new diversities. By calling it inevitable, I was aiming to make a proposal that is almost like a prediction.

――Did you have some sort of uncertainty in regard to diversity?

Ganryu: Regarding diversity and standardization, if someone asked me which word simply gives me a good impression, I would probably answer, for the most part, ‘diversity.’ But I actually think both words are neutral, and that they both have positive and negative aspects. I think the word ‘diversity’ going off on its own is dangerous, and even today, I absolutely feel many forms of expression are being taken away as more diverse rights are getting approved.

――I feel so too even when I’m watching TV dramas and anime shows. The contents that were once accepted in the old days are being prohibited today.

Ganryu: Nowadays, social media has power, and a unilateral ethical viewpoint is pressuring people and thwarting them “from challenging things that are different.” As more diverse statements get accepted, diversity itself starts to lose its colors and transition into standardization. I feel like the history is repeating itself. Though, I was concerned that I might be the only one who thinks this way.

――But I’m assuming those thoughts led in creating the 2021 Autumn Winter collection. Was there something that turned your hesitant thoughts into certainty?

Ganryu: I found a quote of a philosopher putting my exact thoughts into words: “Standardization awaits beyond diversity.” It was being said before Christ. Through various generations and in various countries, diverse thoughts that fight for equity are born and rules are set to manage confusion, which then leads back to standardization.

――I feel like there’s going to be a new type of frustration arising from being standardized.

Ganryu: But standardization is, in a way, a source of stability in each era, and I think the ability to create as freely as possible within that given range is what’s required for the creators in every epoch.
From the standardized morality and value, new expressions or diverse statements are born, but then, new issues arise from there and as we try to solve these problems through discussions conducted in a mood or atmosphere of tacitness, and begin to organize rules, we are again drawn back to standardization. We keep repeating the same cycle. It would’ve been better if this cycle was evolving.

――Today, in the fashion industry, showing contribution in supporting environmental sustainability is of paramount importance. It is deemed an important justice in the current fashion industry.

Ganryu: Sustainability is merely one of the guidelines from an ethical point of view. I, of course, think it’s one of the important guidelines, yet I’m surmising that in the future, the broader ethical outlook will be in demand more in various industries. As we enter the age helmed by the multifaceted AI technology and genome industry, I think morality and ethical sense will both be bought up in every discussion. What are clothes suitable for the era and how should the brand take its shape? —I want to propose creations while sustaining the inevitability and ethical outlook.

Practicing inevitable diversity and the QR code

――Regarding the photos of the looks of 2021Autumn Winter collection, I thought they were unique and different from the look photos of other brands—the backgrounds are artistically cluttered, like there’s a dog in the background.

Ganryu: Details like studs and safety pins are my favorites. I’m sure there are many different ways of thinking and expressing, but as a brand, I want to focus on spirituality on a deep level, and instead of using something that’s symbolic, I want to convey neutrally the ‘label mind,’ which is my basis. So, for example, purposely implementing aggressive nuances when conveying something in a mild tone, is a paradoxically punk mindset to me. The way we published the visuals of this collection on Vogue Runway is one of the representations of such mindset.

――I see, compared to the type of look photos we see on Vogue Runway that are mostly taken at a beautiful studio and with beautiful backgrounds, the look photos of your new collection are disorderly and punk. How did you proceed the shoot with Tom Guinness, who did the styling?

Ganryu: As the theme was “Inevitable Diversity,” we didn’t give him orders, but instead we requested him to do however he liked. I casted the models but other than that, ultimately everything was done freely. If we had a solid blueprint and gave instructions accordingly, we would have lost our main intention of demonstrating diversity. When we saw the look photos and the dog in the background, it made me content and think, “Tom Guinness has a great punk psyche.”

――There are QR codes on the items of the 2021 Autumn Winter collection—what’s the intention behind this?

Ganryu: There are a lot of intentions behind this, but moreover, I didn’t want to rely on the logo, but instead, I wanted people to give attention to the intrinsic components of the clothes like the forms, materials and theme. I wanted to propose a question, ‘what is value?’ by giving functionality to a simple meaningless insignia and turning it into a device.

――It looks like there are alphabets in the QR code….

Ganryu: ‘FG’ is hidden in the center of the QR code. By embedding these characters, it’s no longer a mere device, and it’s now a logo device that denies logos while embodying a logo.

――Is this logo embedded QR code used on all items?

Ganryu: The QR code is on almost all items of 2021 Autumn Winter collection, and it’s also on the tops exclusively available on our online store. If you scan the QR code, it jumps to the website. The lineup on the website is consisted of simple items considering the disadvantage of e-commerce, where fittings cannot be done.

――So, by scanning the QR code, people can access to the brand’s E-commerce site where they can buy the simple items.

Ganryu: That’s right. You can access immediately to our website and buy the items with one simple step. We are using the type of QR code called dynamic QR code, and in the future, we want to do something that’s only possible with this type of QR code.

Development of the internet wreaking havoc

――In the previous interview, we talked about your show held at the National Art Center, but there’s one more thing I’d like to ask. On the paper handed out on site, it was written: “the world getting diverse, while on the other hand, the society, which its goal is to manage and capitalistically govern, is getting standardized.” I felt like these words were trying to express something that was captured from the social aspect—From your perspective, how do you see the current society?

Ganryu: All is said on that one line, so I’m not sure if I should break it down further…. If I were to add to this, internet has become an imperative part of our lives, and I think its instant quality is what’s accelerating the shift.

――We can promptly obtain information from the internet, and we can say it’s extremely convenient—however, you are saying that it’s an encumbrance?

Ganryu: It might be deviating from the subject, but you see, when we try to glean information, we go and look up on a search engine; the whole process is so quick that we just take it for granted and we soon forget about what we were searching for. In the old days, whenever we wanted to deep dive into a certain topic, we would go to different bookstores to look for references and visit and ask someone, like a person working at a bookstore, who had expertise in the area. When you actually travel to see someone to glean information, the whole process turns into an experience, and the surroundings and air you felt during the journey help entrench the information in your memory. It is said that this countless information becomes clues that lead to memory. However, this doesn’t work with internet—because it allows you to get access to information immediately. That’s why we don’t remember the information for long. I think internet is incredibly convenient when retrieving information from far, doing casual research, and as a gateway for deep diving into something, though, whatever you acquire instantaneously won’t last long. No matter what, I want to face things with fair and just, neutral sense of balance.

Unveiling my own future

――Today, lifestyles of people around the world have changed, and I think the way fashion is delivered is going to change as well. The experience of buying may be done in stores but may be done more online. How do you like to present your collection to the world in the future?

Ganryu: I might split the collection into bits. I want to split them into small lines, so that each line will be specialized in its own way, for example, a line solely comprised of T-shirts, a line consists of only accessories, a line only with bottoms, or a line limiting to a single color or a type of fabric. Suit industry is said to be in a difficult circumstance, but with some creative ideas, I think it can still work out as a good business; I think it would be interesting to have a line only with suits. I’m also thinking of how it would be like if we had a collection mixing respective styles from these segmented lines. Of course, I’m thinking of something else completely different from this idea, too.

――Why do you think it’s necessary to have multiple different lines?

Garyu: It’s in fact difficult to stay on track and keep in control when trying to do everything with one single brand. Having multiple lines makes us easier to set clear goals and see challenges like, “for this season, let’s increase our sales with this line,” and “how should we amend this line?”; it also enables us to create a sense of exclusivity as of a specialized brand and acquire a strong presence. I think we will be able to curb risks by dishing out various issues in advance and establishing a solid blueprint.

――Hearing your stories, I was able to feel more of your punk psyche. Next is going to be the last question. As you continue to fight through as a fashion designer, what would you like to present through your creations?

Ganryu: If I were truly satisfied with everything in this world, I wouldn’t have become a designer. “How come we don’t have something like this?”—such thought gives me a good drive to create clothes that aren’t self-satisfying but can envision people’s needs and resonate with people’s feelings, as well as clothes that are needed for the generation and worn for a long time. I want to turn these ideas into clearer shapes. Also, regarding the ideas that are hard to channel through clothes, I’m thinking about gradually elaborating them through other mediums. However, they will always be conducted from a fashion designer’s outlook.

ーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーー

Fashion design is about designing clothes. Few people may object to this idea, and some people may say, “that’s so obvious.” However, after this long interview with Ganryu, I was reminded that fashion design is not only about designing clothes, and it is about designing a new way of living for the society. I now think that ‘mode’ may be the most suitable uniform to live life in a new way.

As generations change, people’s lives are persuaded to change as well. This is proven by “now.” In the world that has changed, there are new ways of living, and new clothes needed for these new lifestyles. Mode is what designs the future. Fashion projects the generation, and wearing clothes is an act of wearing the generation. Fashion is born from the society. Ganryu continues to prove these points and he will keep producing clothes that will keep us comfortable and excited in the future. With his punk psyche, he will continue to emanate the intriguing aspects of fashion.

Fumito Garyu
After he graduated Bunka Fashion Graduate University and worked at COMME des GARÇONS, in 2018, he founded his own label, Fumito Garyu. The brand presents diverse and updated border-crossing styles conflating the iconic street style with sporty or tailored styles; the brand’s collections feature daily wear that are pragmatic yet with designs that critically embodies a smattering of the society.
Instagram：@fumitoganryu

Photography Shinpo Kimura
Translation Ai Kaneda

The post The Designer of His Eponymous Brand, Fumito Ganryu vol.3–Fashion Born from the Spirit that Paves Its Way Through the Society and Future appeared first on TOKION - Cutting edge culture and fashion information.

In the previous episode, Vol.1, Ganryu’s stance of designing fashion from society has been unveiled. So, how did he nurture his creative stance and mind? To explore his roots, in vol.2, we will be looking into his life’s path starting from his growing up in his hometown Fukuoka, to re-establishing his career with his own label, Fumito Ganryu. Also, we have steered our conversation around contemporary luxury streetwear. In this installment, we will be sharing the beginning of Ganryu’s interest in fashion, his sentiments toward street culture and his clothes he makes—Inspirational stories that are well worth reading.

Imagination as a child

――In the last interview, I was able to hear about the brand’s 2021 Spring Summer collection, and now, I’m keen to know how you’ve nurtured your mind and where it all started. I heard you’re from Fukuoka—so, at what age did you start getting into fashion?

Fumito Ganryu (Hereinafter Ganryu): The first time I noticed I was choosing and wearing clothes with clear intention was from skate clothes. I remember the feeling clearly even to this day. Back then, I was living in my hometown in Fukuoka; My brother had great taste in fashion, so I asked him where he buys his clothes, and he said he buys them at this famous store in Fukuoka-city. I was slightly intimidated to go to that store. Though, I eventually went there low-key borrowing and wearing my brother’s clothes, then the store owner came up to me and said, “Hey, you’ve got some cool clothes on, but aren’t you still in middle school? You’re very cool.” He was really nice to me and taught me a lot. Back then, I myself was a skater, and that’s probably one of the reasons that got me into fashion.

――So, since then you wanted to work in fashion?

Ganryu: Actually, if I think back further, there were more factors that sparked my interest in fashion. When I was little, I used to draw something like manga or more like…design sketches with story developments. In retrospect, I was drawing awfully heavy themed stories for a kid, who wasn’t even 10 years old [laughs].

――What kind of stories were you drawing?

Ganryu: It was right before the new millennium, and I was trying my best imagining and portraying the world in the new century, and in that world, many unexpected incidents occur that the earth gets in imminent danger of destruction.

――And you were writing such story when you were little!?

Ganryu: I know [laughs]. In the world I drew, humans were about to become extinct, and the sky was covered with multiple layers of smog and the ocean was polluted that no one living in the world knew the real colors of the sky and ocean. But they just knew from old stories that the sky and ocean were beautiful in the old days; they didn’t know or couldn’t even imagine the color blue—Well, that was the story.

――That’s an interesting story.

Ganryu: There are a lot of contradicting points like would people lose their memories in such short amount of time and did the color blue completely vanish from the world? It’s quite a poor endgame [laughs]. Anyway, the story was about restoring the color blue in the world. The worldview and the clothes the characters wear in the film Tank Girl, which I saw later in life, were similar to those in my story, although the contexts and endings of the stories are completely different from each other. The characters I drew also wore goggles on the head and military-style, punkish clothes. I can’t really explain how I came up with the type of clothes, but I wanted to dress the characters in attire that exudes a rebellious mood. I still keep parts of the story, and I feel embarrassed looking back at them [laughs], but I do get ideas from them.

――I’m surprised that you were creating a story based around the society since you were a child.

Ganryu: Since I was little, I’ve been feverishly curious in such topic. I was drawing many illustrations with story developments, but when I graduated middle school, I’ve shifted my focus to drawing something closer to design sketches; I was drawing during class and got in trouble all the time.

――[laughs]. So, you were a boy who liked drawing clothes and illustrations. Back then, which did you like to draw more: clothes or illustrations?

Ganryu: Even now, I draw pictures occasionally, so I guess I liked drawing illustrations more. I also liked music a lot.

――What kind of music did you like?

Ganryu: I still remember, in elementary school, we used to watch this science show on a reg in class. As I was obsessed with Einstein, I was so excited about that class and the science show.

――I remember from last time, you were saying that you love Einstein.

Ganryu: I liked science in general. In the science experiment show, they were playing the type of music that would now be called electro or ambient music—I liked those kinds of music.

――I’m assuming there weren’t that many kids who liked those types of music—is that right?

Ganryu: When I was going into middle school and high school, every time I was asked, “what is your favorite music?” So, I always answered, “you know the type of music played in the background of science experiment shows? That’s the kind of music I like.” No wonder people told me I was weird [laughs]. I was into anything that was creative including music, illustrations and fine art.

――And after you went through different experiences, you embarked on the path of fashion.

Ganryu: I want to diligently pursue the art of making clothes, but I’m also hoping to create something other than clothes, like media contents with a fashion designer perspective.

Current thoughts on my origin—street culture

――As you ride the skateboard, I felt like street culture is one of the sources of your origin, but I remember in the paper distributed at your show at the National Art Center, it was written: “Is the schema of “mode” and “street” that has been relentlessly projected as a proposition, rather conflicting parameters?” In fact, can you elaborate on this point, about your take on the schema of mode and street?

Ganryu: Essentially, mode and street are generated differently, yet they are in close conflict with each other, and if you oversee the phenomenon that lies in the extent of these words, they could be synonyms. Generation after generation, as more focus has been shifting towards people’s minds and different stances have begun surfacing, various brands have started coalescing these dismantled pieces into one with their established clear mindsets; I feel like new movements are emerging, one by one, from these brands’ creations. However, nowadays, what I see from luxury brands, how can I say, like their textures…they seem to be using only the surface elements to convey the contrasts. Of course, there are brands and people from both domestic and overseas countries that I feel have strong mindsets, but I just can’t feel the spirit from luxury streetwear taking over the world today, as it seems like they’re merely taking in street tastes, which isn’t intriguing to me. I can’t feel any rebellious ethos from a pseudo-contrast missing its core, and ultimately, I question its intrinsic meanings.

――Why do you think the luxury streetwear isn’t captivating your heart?

Ganryu: If considered under the premise of categorization, I think an unyielding spirit is the fundamental source of ‘street-mind.’ It’s a shame that the luxury world has a natural inclination of lacking this unyielding spirit. I don’t mean to deny those who like luxury street brands, but I personally want to see more ‘minds’ than ‘styles.’

――Now, other than luxury brands, from your perspective, are there any street-minded brands from overseas?

Ganryu: I think there aren’t that many compared to in Japan.

A new vision found from being away from fashion

――There was a blank period from when you graduated high school and entering Bunka Fashion Graduate University—can you tell us what you were doing right after you graduated high school?

Ganryu: I found a school in Antwerp, Belgium when I was floundering having so many different interests in, like again, drawing illustrations, music, and fashion. Back then, since there were no Japanese graduates from that school, I thought about going to that school, and studied the language while working part time, but eventually, I’d decided to go to Bunka Fashion college where a lot of eminent designers studied.

――And after you graduated Bunka Fashion Graduate University, you had started working at COMME des GARÇONS—was it your goal to work for the brand since you were in college?

Ganryu: I had been thinking that if I’m working for a company, it had to be COMME des GARÇONS.

――How did you spend the time from after you left COMME des GARÇONS to founding your own brand, Fumito Ganryu?

Ganryu: During the time frame, I was thinking about not only fashion but, what’s ahead in this 21st century, and where this society is heading. It is said that fashion industry is the second biggest factor that is destroying the environment. In the energy and car industries, consideration for the environment is the major premise. These industries were the first to be picked on, so they were persuaded to get on with finding the means to resolve, improve, and confront the issues at an early stage. Eventually, I was able to return to the fashion industry because I was able to go through the most valuable moments to reflect and nurture my stance of confronting the society—that’s how I feel in retrospect.
(Continues on to Vol.3)

Fumito Garyu
After he graduated Bunka Fashion Graduate University and worked at COMME des GARÇONS, in 2018, he founded his own label, Fumito Garyu. The brand presents diverse and updated border-crossing styles conflating the iconic street style with sporty or tailored styles; the brand’s collections feature daily wear that are pragmatic yet with designs that critically embodies a smattering of the society.
Instagram：@fumitoganryu

Photography Shinpo Kimura
Translation Ai Kaneda

The post The Designer of His Eponymous Brand, Fumito Ganryu vol.2–Exploring the Origin that Links Between Society and the Creation appeared first on TOKION - Cutting edge culture and fashion information.

His new aspect was especially significant in his 2019 Autumn Winter collection. The brand’s fashion show at Paris Men’s Fashion Week was constructed of tailored style, which was different from his past styles potent in street style components. The collection embodied the representation of modern mode street-style and oversized silhouettes; however, the designs were not on the casual side, but rather on the traditional men’s wear side, which was classically turned into king size—the designs reached a level equivalent to that of a counterpunch to the current generation’s fashion king, street fashion, and it seemed as if the brand was implementing street style only to deliberately reject it.

Fumito Ganryu constantly updates his own unique style. In order to deliver his bona fide words, we will be providing this long interview in three installments. In vol.1 we unveil the background of his 2021 Spring Summer collection that is currently out in the market.

Linking between social issues and creations

――The 2021 Spring Summer collection seemed to be compromised of the most casual designs out of all the Fumito Ganryu collections since the debut, and they were almost like loungewear. There was a certain ambiguity to the clothes as they could be worn both inside and outside, and I felt like christening the collection, something like “New Room Wear.” Were the designs influenced by the dramatic changes in lifestyle due to the outbreak of the novel coronavirus?

Fumito Ganryu (Hereinafter Ganryu): For me, I wanted the clothes to be something very pragmatic, so not only for this collection, but all the collections are based on the premise of different circumstances and moods. I’m sure there are different directions of designs in the world; I don’t mean to deny other different mindsets, and I’m always trying to maintain my stance of proposing ideas to others like, “maybe these kinds of clothes will be in need?” Having that as a base, I came up with the designs envisioning that I personally wouldn’t want clothes that are only worn when I go out.

――Since the pandemic, people spend more time indoors, and I feel like we’re in a time now where clothes that are only made to be worn outside are no longer a match for our lifestyle.

Ganryu: I wanted to create a hybrid lineup, by which I mean mixing comfort or so-called loungewear-esque features in the type of clothes people wear for going out. Right at the moment when we started producing the collection, I knew that I wanted to set a theme considering the delivery timing—for the mood of the collection to be vibing with the time when the collection is delivered.

――I see. But they aren’t just loungewear, and I can feel design aesthetics from Fumito Ganryu 2021 Spring Summer collection.

Ganryu: I, of course, had in mind that I shouldn’t be making mere loungewear. I wouldn’t say this stay-at-home circumstance is going to last forever—that’s not realistic. Of course, there are some people who seriously think that way. But, in order to live, people can’t shut themselves in for a long period of time. I’m sure there are a lot of people, who are looking forward to spreading their wings as much as they want when things settle down and freed from the suppression. So, we came up with clothes that are loungewear that look like town wear, enabling people to go out in clothes that embody coziness of loungewear, and can be worn both for indoors and outdoors; we made the collection under the theme, “FREE ACCESS” as we wanted to make clothes that aren’t transient yet universal.

――I’d like to ask you about the items a bit more specifically, but first, the tracksuits that appeared in the 2021 Spring Summer collection were in readable. They were something I’ve never seen in the past Fumito Ganryu collections.

Ganryu: I guess it was quite daring in a way.

――I think so. Why did you decide to include those tracksuits in the collection?

Ganryu: You see, in Japan, there are people who like to wear tracksuits as loungewear. And I wanted to propose that style to people overseas. They are also worn for the completely opposite occasion of physical sports. I think tracksuit is a single garment with multifaceted attributes that can also reach the field of contact sports and enables us to construe various paradoxical elements at the same time—so that’s why I wanted to make a set of tracksuits.

――I see, so this tracksuit is an emanation of such idea.

Ganryu: But we’re not using fabrics used for conventional tracksuits, yet instead, we’re using special stretch-bonding materials to achieve that high-quality texture. Regarding the small details, we’ve tried our best to select the lightest materials that don’t make the item look cheap.

――If you feel it, it’s quite puffy; it’s an interesting fabric.

Ganryu: It’s the kind of texture that’s so nice that makes you want to touch forever. The armpits are made with special features for ventilation, and if you pull up the side zippers the expansion panels appear. It can be worn for sports as it provides ventilation and functional range of motion; it’s a garment with augmented design that can be donned as cozy loungewear, town wear, and in various occasions.

――The track pants are unique as they are in Sarouel form, and it feels like there are multiple looks and ways of wearing hidden in this piece.

Ganryu: Sarouel pants are extremely high-rise retaining a spacious space, which makes it a relaxing and liberating fit. The unique structure is a design and creates comfort at the same time. The design itself is both the function and solution. My favorite approach in designing is exploring and proposing logical designs that project multiple guidelines.

Being fair and just, and pursuing the society

――Regarding the shirt embodying mods coat details, the form of the sleeves was very fascinating, which by the way, I didn’t notice from the look photo and found out when I actually tried it on.

Ganryu: I’m happy to hear so.

――I thought it’s made in a women’s wear kind of distinctive shape that we don’t get to see in men’s wear. Do you aim to obscure the line of gender between male and female?

Ganryu: I think things slowly change through generations, and from an ethical point of view, there are many things that need to be ameliorated, but I think it’s healthier not to lose uniqueness. We need to, sort of, always consider what’s fair and just (the act of discerning good is good and bad is bad, regardless of the situation); things with extreme mindsets, for example, things made really ragged and “very manly,” or really feminine and “very womanly” may appear intriguing, but while having them in mind, I personally try not to abide by gendered traits when creating things.

――As I’m hearing your thoughts, it seems like you focus strongly on consumers’ perspective—is that something you’ve always pay heed to?

Ganryu: It might sound dramatic but making things that aren’t in people’s best interests can turn into a mere hobby, and I think it’s rather more important to come up with proposals that are on point with regard to serving the needs of people. However, I don’t want to have a stance where I’m only trying to flatter people like, “you wanted this type of clothing, right?” But instead, I try to envision people’s needs and mindsets in the near future, and try to translate them into designs and be more like, “how would you like to have something like this?” Generally speaking, clothes are crucial in people’s lives, and I think fashion harnesses a potent power that moves people’s hearts.

――Fashion is creative but it’s also business, and in order to gain fans of the brand, you need to propose clothes that make people go, “I want this, I want to wear this.”

Ganryu: Even if you’ve thought really carefully, there are still things you won’t know until you try; a professional fashion designer that I conceive of can come up with the best creations possible while having a determined business goal. If realness is being ignored completely, I want to take media and fashion separately.

――In order to capture people’s needs, is there something you practice on a regular basis?

Ganryu: Obviously, I study fashion design, but at the same time, I try to see things other than fashion. While working and designing, I basically listen in fast-forward, like Speed Learning, to various news, play videos of people with high literacy levels on social trends and whatever they are interested in, and debates among trustworthy job holders; I also ruminate as I read reference books. I sometimes have to really rack my brain to come up with ideas, but once an idea hits me, it just floods out front here—so basically, I try to shift my focus on social trends and take a lot of time contemplating.

――I’ve never met a designer who listens to things like news while working. So, would you say those social trends you absorb from news are naturally imbued in or percolated through your designs?

Ganryu: No, I wouldn’t say the social trends are percolated through my designs. I just try to envision things from them. The act of envisioning is equivalent to an act of pondering, and it’s part of my creative process. I’ve admired [Albert] Einstein since I was little, but there’s one of his quotes that I think is wrong: That is, “Information is not knowledge.” In fact, I think information is knowledge. If I were to correct his words, it would be, “Information is not intelligence.” Accumulating and updating knowledge with information is incredibly important, and knowledge is the only source that guides us to our genuinely realistic goal of knowledge. Someday, I want to make a T-shirt that says, “Information is knowledge. Not intelligence” [laughs]. Yet, I feel bad if Einstein had just said it wrong and didn’t mean the way he said it, and if that’s the case, I don’t want to jump on his mistake by making the shirt.

――That’s very informative [laughs].

Ganryu: It’s all because I love Einstein [laughs]. Sometimes, when you like something, you do research and find something that makes you think, “this ain’t right.”

――For the looks from your 2021 Spring Summer collection, you had sent the samples to Wiltshire in the UK and had the stylist Tom Guinness wear them. Why did you decide to shoot the looks this way, instead of hiring models and doing the shoot in Japan?

Ganryu: Tom Guinness is a stylist I was introduced to by our CMO Nakamura (Seiya Nakamura: CEO of Seiya Nakamura 2.24 and CMO of Fumito Garyu) and I was really allured when I saw Tom’s styling as it was nonchalant and cool. We’re also having him do the styling for our upcoming 2021 Autumn Winter collection, which we announced during Digital Paris Fashion Week.

――What did you find attractive about Tom Guinness’s works?

Ganryu: When it comes to lightly and concisely portraying a core subject or heavy theme like social circumstance or trends, while also depending on a catchy phrase like “FREE ACCESS,” I felt like Tom Guinness is the right person who would have a special affinity for these things and can interpret them in a light manner.

Abundant options are what make people’s minds opulent

Fumito Ganryu 2021 Spring Summer Visual&Sound installation

――The video you’ve released concurrently with the looks was intriguingly mysterious. It shows Tom Guinness hanging the clothes on a rack and putting things away, which are customary actions, on multiple separate monitors. It felt so surreal that even these basic actions you would see on a daily basis seemed mysterious.

Ganryu: The footage was also made with our CMO Nakamura, and the visual expression and direction were decided together with him. As it was for the world’s first digital fashion week, Nakamura and I unanimously agreed to take a digital approach and thought that it would be in vain if we lurched towards the normal approach. I obviously don’t mean to deny the conventional runway format; it’s just that I didn’t want to do it this time. Since it had to be expressed digitally, I felt this indelible discomfort in taking the same physical approach.

――Was there anything new you’ve discovered from this unusual show experience ?

Ganryu: I again felt the rationality of runway shows. By parting from the physical show, I’ve re-acknowledged the reason to never-change and stay the same as a creator. Of course, in the future, I want to explore and propose rational expressions or dramatic renditions that can only be achieved digitally, though, in regard to “delivering” information or beliefs, I would say physical shows are way more rational. How the garments move in response to the wearers’ motions, gauging how comfortable and exciting the clothes are from the mood exuding from the wearers, whether the clothes reach the level of perfection or not, and whether they are realistic or not—I think these things can never be fooled on the actual physical stage.

――I can sense that from watching the runway shows. The bonafide value and traits of the garments can only be emanated by people actually wearing them.

Ganryu: If the garments were only objects, they may be good enough in still pictures, yet, they aren’t ornaments and they are meant to be worn. Regarding the rendition, music is of coursed used, but if we wanted to do it without music, there would still be a silent message expressed through the venue, models, and hair and makeup, and we can present our works in only about 10 minutes. Runway isn’t an extraordinary space, but it’s a stage for rational form of expression, and that’s what I’ve been reminded of from being away from it.

――I really think the collection is presented the best in a runway format. Is there no potential in digital presentations?

Ganryu: I absolutely think there is potential in digital presentations. I think it’s good that we now have more opinions and get to choose between ‘physical’ and ‘digital.’

――So it could be said that globally, people’s lives have been restricted due to the circumstance, however, in the fashion industry, a new option of digital presentation was born.

Ganryu: Under the pandemic, how come we have to feel this much frustration. I’m sure each person has their own reason for their frustration, and one of the causes could be the dynamic restriction and options being taken away when there are so many desires. ‘This can’t be done,’ ‘this is the only way,’ or ‘this has to be done’—I think it’s because the suppressed thoughts keep compiling without ever being resolved. If only we were to have the nutrients called ‘options,’ we won’t be losing the opulence of our minds.
(Continuing on to Vol.2)

Fumito Garyu
After he graduated Bunka Fashion Graduate University and worked at COMME des GARÇONS, in 2018, he founded his own label, Fumito Garyu. The brand presents diverse and updated border-crossing styles conflating the iconic street style with sporty or tailored styles; the brand’s collections feature daily wear that are pragmatic yet with designs that critically embodies a smattering of the society.
Instagram：@fumitoganryu

Photography Shinpo Kimura
Translation Ai Kaneda

The post The Designer of His Eponymous Brand, Fumito Ganryu vol.1–Clothes That Cross Over the Border Derived from the Pandemic appeared first on TOKION - Cutting edge culture and fashion information.

Junichi Abe captures clothes from everywhere

I think many people are familiar with the name of the painter Paul Cézanne. Many people have seen the works of painters representing the 20th century and are known as the “father of modern painting” in art textbooks. Initially, Cézanne was active as a member of the Impressionists such as Claude Monet and Pierre-Auguste Renoir, but later separated from the Impressionists and established new expressions, whose style also had a big influence on painters such as Pablo Picasso and Henri Matisse.

One of the paintings drawn by Cézanne is a work called ” The Basket of Apples.” When I saw this picture, I was caught in a strange feeling. This work is a still life depicting several apples placed on a basket or white cloth with a bottle and a white plate on a wooden table. A sense of incongruity that cannot be felt from normal life.

The angle of the work seems to be looking down diagonally from above, but as I stare at the picture, the apples placed on the table gradually be seen not only from above but also from the side. The mysterious sensation of looking at an apple from different angles at the same time begins to look like the apple is about to fall from the table. Still, in the picture, the apple is placed on the table as if it’s firmly rooted in the soil, without falling.

A mysterious feeling that you can feel a multifaceted angle from one angle. I feel the same feeling from the collection. The brand is “Kolor” by Junichi Abe.

The “Kolor” collection, unveiled during the FW21 season, features a mysterious and multifaceted design that captures clothing from various angles. This time, “Kolor” held the first runway show in four years in Tokyo, and the video was broadcast live on the official schedule of FW21 Paris Men’s Collection.

The clothes of the models walking on the runway are all familiar to us if you look at the items such as knits, jackets, cardigans, and the stadium jumpers mentioned at the beginning. Everyone has seen it once, and there is one outfit that we have worn.

However,  these commonplace clothes stand out in “Kolor” collection. I’ve never seen such a knit before. For example, Look 6 has a traditional style with a shirt on top and a layered pullover-type knit on top.

 If you look at the look, you would soon notice that the appearance of the knit is distorted. The neck is especially eye-catching. Two types of V-neck are arranged on the collar, but the blue V-neck part is cut off in half and folded, so it is positive that expands your imagination as if three types of necklines are mixed. It can be said that it is a design that allows you to feel a multifaceted perspective from one knit.

In this look, a tailored jacket with chalk stripes is lined with two plaid materials on the inside, plus some light gray knit cardigan-like details.

And in this look, the rider’s collar is layered on top of the stadium jumper, and in addition, glossy fabric with a bitter purple or pea-colored color can be seen from under the rider’s black collar, just like the lining of clothes. I got the feeling that it looked fragmented.

Originally, “Kolor” recent collections were characterized by a design in which clothes were mixed in pieces like this. Still, in the FW21 collection, the mysterious feeling of this multifaceted design is improving again.

Abe, a designer of “Kolor,” puts out the word “tailored jacket” and throws it at people, and the moment the image of the tailored jacket is captured from various angles emerges in people’s brains. Some may focus on the jacket’s lapel part, others on the jacket’s body, and perhaps the jacket’s lining.

Only one person in the world, Abe, can peep into people’s brains with a jacket’s image focused on various places from various angles. Abe thought it was interesting from among the innumerable images. The design, which can be said to be a collection of fragmentary images of the above, appeals to me the elegance of the same perspective as the multifaceted paintings drawn by Cézanne.

And it is not limited to one item. The design is expanded to the state where fragment images of multiple items are docked.

Looking at the collection in detail in this way, I also felt that there was a difference between the multifacetedness of Cézanne’s paintings and “Kolor.” As mentioned initially, Cézanne draws multiple apple shapes from various angles, but “Kolor” is designed to capture various parts of the clothes and combine them into one. Creative fun lurks in the difference in angle and place, multiple and one, and such a multifaceted expression method.

I am reminded of the common sense about clothes that it is okay to have different appearances in one piece of clothes. “Kolor” FW21 season showed that much power. I cannot help admiring Abe’s ability to create a conceptual background while using basic items that everyone knows and to create an attractive and fashionable design.

Masayuki Ino reaching an outstanding territory

The Japanese designer I feel most greatness right now is Masayuki Ino of “Doublet.” The “Doublet” designed by Ino is getting more powerful with each collection. I think he has more talent than we think.

Of course, Ino’s qualities have already been proved by winning as the first Asian Grand Prix in 2018 at “LVMH PRIZE,” which is now the world’s best fashion competition. That description seems unsatisfactory to talk about his abilities and talents. I feel that greatness from the current “Doublet.”

Like “Kolor,” “Doublet” also held a runway show in Tokyo, delivered on the official schedule in Paris. Here, I would like to talk directly about the real feeling I got from the “Doublet” FW21 collection.  It may be an emotion that cannot be shared with anyone else. But I want to try to talk.

“What the hell is this …”

While watching the “Doublet” show video, I spontaneously muttered. A feeling of strangeness precedes from the beginning of the show. The walking appearance of the models is awkward and strange. At first, I wondered they walked carefully to not slip on the wet road surface due to rain.

The show venue was a scrap factory, where excavators were crushing cars and lockers right next to the models walking ー It was supposed to be. The original image is betrayed. As the footage progressed, the cars and lockers that were supposed to be crushed began to return to their original state. However, the feeling of strangeness does not end there. It’s so smooth and obviously strange that a perfectly crushed car or locker returns to its perfect shape.

Even at the finale of the show, the feeling of strangeness cannot be wiped out. It’s a common sight to see all the models appearing and walking forward all at once at any show of any brand. There is no change in the way the models walk strangely. When the models reached the tip of the runway puddle road, all the models walked backward, this time with their bodies facing forward. It’s so fast that you can’t think of walking backward, and it’s smooth and flowing. Moreover, they walked without looking back at all, and the curve turned smoothly.

“Can people walk backward so well?”

After the show footage is released, the answers to my questions would be revealed. Ino’s gimmick directed this show video. The finale is at the end of the show. I’m sure many people are aware of that. Ino was taking that recognition in the opposite direction.

The actual show at the site started from the finale, progressed toward the start, and ended. This show video took a picture of the situation and played it in reverse to make it look like it was proceeding as usual.

Why do you take it for granted that time progresses? Time may go backward.

Ino uses human beliefs to break them. In the SS21 collection of the previous season, Ino also showed an unexpected gimmick at the end of the show and footage (for those who haven’t seen him, I won’t go into details here). It breaks the viewer’s beliefs as if a mystery novelist unravels the mystery of the story. Be sure to add humor to it.

It’s not just about show production. The collection too. When I was looking at “Doublet,” it reminded me of the style of the Showa era’s downtown gangs, which style was something I hated.

I was born and raised in the southern part of Kawasaki City, Kanagawa Prefecture. Now, the redevelopment around Kawasaki Station has been successful, commercial facilities and tower condominiums have been built, and the city’s view has become dramatically cleaner. However, for me, Kawasaki is still in the 1980s when I was in elementary school. Factories, customs, yakuza, gangs, and occasional national news crimes; that’s Kawasaki for me. I think that the scenery of Kawasaki that I saw when I was a kid is a reaction to my preference for minimalist clothes. For these reasons, I wasn’t attracted to the fashion I saw in Kawasaki in the 1980s.

However, “Doublet” is surprisingly overlapped with the clothes of the people I saw in Kawasaki at that time. I’m surprised at that. In fashion, which I thought was far from relaxed and elegant, Ino discovered the beauty and put it on the stage of style as his own original world, which can be said to be the only one in the world. And I’m drawn to the collection. I was fascinated by the fashion that I should have hated.

Plush toys were attached to coats, shirts and bags in the FW21 collection. For a moment, I think of Walter Van Beirendonck, but the “Doublet” is in a different context with a different expression than “Walter.”

“Walter” puts elements that would not normally be used in fashion, such as stuffed animals, on clothes with aggressive designs, but Ino is different. He uses stuffed animals for realistic and casual clothes. Clothes lose their realism. The collection of “Doublet” is so powerful that the contradictory expression of a realistic avant-garde comes to mind.

Of course, the change of the times may be related to accepting such a design of “Doublet” in the market. With the advent of Demna Gvasalia, who finds beauty in the ugliness of beauty, has become the mainstream of the times in fashion design. Demna presented a sense of beauty with completely different values ​​from the traditional Parisian elegance nurtured in the 1950s after the war, which covered the world with enthusiasm.

However, Demna’s design also seems sophisticated to me after seeing the “Doublet.” For me, “Doublet” is more ugly. “Doublet” further expanded the horizon opened up by Demna. Ino picks up what was abandoned at the edge of the widened horizon. Because of that feeling, I may feel such a greatness in Ino.

How on earth was Ino able to reach this sensation and make it bloom? What kind of thoughts and feelings did Ino repeat in the process of flowering? What kind of anguish, conflict, and uplifting creativity were there? The secret draws me to read mystery novels.

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