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| Backstage at the Utakata haute couture show by Yuima Nakazato, at the Palais de Tokyo in Paris. Main photograph (above) by Andrea Heinsohn and cover picture by Elli Ioannou for DAM |
In Paris, we take a behind-the-scenes look at Yuima
Nakazato’s preparations for his haute couture show. From the quiet, early
morning streets of Le Marais our team
embarked on a whirlwind journey to capture the essence of the Japanese
designer’s collection at the iconic Palais de Tokyo. The backstage tumult, the
meticulous preparation, and the electrifying moments of the runway were all
part of the spectacle that unfolded, culminating in a post-show flurry of interviews
and celebration. Story by Jeanne-Marie Cilento. Photographs by Elli Ioannou and
Andrea Heinsohn
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The sun rising on a winter morning in Paris, during haute couture week. Photograph: JM Cilento
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A wintry dawn breaks across a pale blue sky in Paris,
streaks of pink turning orange across the mansard roofs. Tall 18th century
windows look over the last of the snow covering the green lawn of an elegant
garden created by André Le Nôtre in Le Marais.
It is a barbarically early hour to get ready to leave for
a fashion show during haute couture week. However, today the DAM magazine team are going to shoot the
backstage preparation of the Japanese couturier Yuima Nakazato.
Stepping from an enclosed courtyard into Rue Beaubourg
opposite the Pompidou Centre, there are few people about except rugged-up
figures in long coats and hats, clutching paper bags of croissants and pain au
chocolat, hurrying home for a café au lait. Walking quickly to the metro and
descending into the warmth of the underground, it is already crowded with
people going to work.
We only have a minute to wait before the train whooshes into the République station and we join the throngs pressed
together inside. Standing up, we have twelve stations to go to reach the Iéna stop and
walk to the Palais de Tokyo, where many fashion shows are held.
Dawn is a barbarically early hour to get ready to leave for a fashion show during haute couture week but we are shooting backstage
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Make-up artist with a model before Yuima Nakazato's evocative show. Photograph: Andréa Heinsohn |
Mending our way through the crowds at the station, we climb the
endless stairs in the Paris Metro and look at all of the exit signs to different streets
to work out which is the quickest to reach Avenue du Président-Wilson. A wide,
elegant boulevard, it leads to the Palais de Tokyo, in the16th arrondissement of Paris.
Walking up to the columned building, the scale and
height are imposing and reflect that it was built in 1937 and originally called
the Palais des Musées d'Art Moderne. Under the canopy of the looming columns
are temporary signs for other fashion designers, pointing in opposite directions of the
huge complex.
We discover the one for Yuima Nakazato and find ourselves in an
anteroom with two assistants who have sheets of listed names of those
allowed “backstage” before and after the show. Our photographers, Elli Ioannou and Andrea Heinsohn, have already
checked in and have started shooting. The show is being held in the Saut du Loup show space below. We gingerly descend down a steep, circular set of steps hearing a buzz of voices and the rush of movement floating up from the rooms underneath.
Built as a modern art gallery in 1937, the Palais de Tokyo has an imposing, columned entrance
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The models are shot in their full look with a red and white background, reflecting the theme of the show. Photograph: Andrea Heinsohn |
We arrive in a big open space with make-up artists, hair
stylists, photographers, dressers and models all in different sections getting
ready.
Yuima Nakazato’s garments are hung with the picture and name of each model and
there are tables of his sculptural ceramic jewellery that are designed
especially for each look.
Another part of this cavernous, high-ceilinged room is set up with a white
background sheet covered in dashes of blood-red, which the models will be photographed against for
the lookbook, after the show.
Yuima Nakazato is
like a wraith, moving between backstage and the show space as he oversees all
of the details. A neat figure in a stylish, charcoal jacket with his black hair
pulled back, he keeps a close eye on all of the varied aspects of the
preparation. He dashes between adjusting his designs on each model and
going out to the runway to watch how the models, music and choreography are working.
A neat figure in a stylish, charcoal jacket, with his black hair pulled back, Nakazato keeps a close eye on all of the varied aspects of the show
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A single, silvery tear (in make-up) glistens on the cheek of a model backstage. Photograph: Elli Ioannou |
The designer has a small camera that he carries with him, slung across
his shoulder to capture his own eye view of the preparations.
He
appears calm, focused and reserved but beneath the tranquil surface he must be feeling nervous about presenting another expressive show, one he has been thinking about and working on for months.
Dynamic CCO Bradly Dunn Klerks leads us through the long,
white curtains separating the backstage from the show room
where the collection will be staged. Low, white benches line the walls and wait ready for the guests who will arrive in two short hours. The floors are
covered in drop sheets to protect them until the show opens. Photographers are
already gathered at one end of the runway, finding the best spots and adjusting their equipment.
As the models come out, Yuima's designs look romantic, otherworldly, the voluminous silhouettes and graceful folds, falling in fluid lines down the body. A monochromatic palette in sombre hues of dark greys, olive and black give the collection a tenebrous atmosphere. Making mysterious arm movements, like pointing upwards as they walk, the models are adjusted by a producer and observed closely by the designer.
The designs look romantic, otherworldly, the voluminous silhouettes and graceful folds, falling in fluid lines down the body
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Tsubasa Hori practices with dancer Pau Aran before the show. Photograph: Andrea Heinsohn |
Musician and composer Tsubasa Hori is a virtuoso of the traditional
Japanese drum,
taiko, along with piano, voice and the
Koto harp.
She practices her piano and vocals as the models walk
the runway under the red lights. Spanish Barcelona-born dancer Pau Aran Gimeno enters the runway and begins to practice his writhing, expressive dance created by Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui.
The award-winning Belgian choreographer is the director of the Geneva Ballet and the performance of Mozart's
Idomeneo with costumes by Yuima Nakazato.
During the haute couture show, Pau Aran Gimeno will wear all white and step into the central pool of red that will then form bloodied steps along the catwalk as he dances along it.
The cameraman with the bulky Steadicam follows every movement. When the circular basin is latter filled with red, it will make a dramatic contrast against the white runway and subtly represent the Japanese flag.
Musician and composer Tsubasa Hori is a virtuoso of the traditional Japanese drum, taiko, along with piano and voice
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The models go through their paces and practice the mysterious hand movements. Photograph: Andrea Heinsohn. |
Show producers with earpieces line the models up behind the diaphanous curtains as they get ready to do a full rehearsal of the show. They
walk in order, fully dressed apart from some of the jewellery and body art, with make up including a glistening tear drop on the cheek.
Perhaps a sorrowful reference to the state of our planet. Yuima Nakazato is committed to creating new ways of making fashion which will have less of an impact on our environment.
Meanwhile, the designer stands quietly at the
side of the runway, observing how his vision and all of its many threads finally starts to come together as a finished tapestry.
The models have a choregraphed piece at the finale of the show created by Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui where they hold their hands pointing to the ceiling or come together to touch like a Renaissance dance.
Backstage, the last touches are being made to make-up and hair as the models are put in order of their entrance. The taped drop sheets are taken up from the floor and the pristine white revealed with the basin of red.
The show space is bathed in red light and there is a palpable
sense of anticipation. The first guests are allowed to enter and begin to take their
seats. A hum of conversation fills the air as journalists and buyers who
see each other at many of the other designers’ shows catch up. There is a sense of camaraderie in sharing the excitement, as Yuima Nakazato is known for his unexpected, original shows with their element of fashion poetry.
As the taped drop sheets are taken up from the floor and pristine white revealed, the show space is bathed in red light and there is a palpable sense of anticipation
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Like a modern Renaissance dance, the models come together at the finale. Photograph: Andrea Heinsohn |
All goes quiet as the music begins and Tsubasa Hori beats her drum and
the first model walks out in a long olive and black tunic, hand raised. The
show is engaging and thrilling with the crescendo of Pau Aran Gimeno's dance in the
pool of red and then along the catwalk. This is followed by the models coming together afterwards, facing each other
in a long row, hands raised and joined.
The applause is rapturous
as Yuima runs out and pulls a brush from his jacket and dips it in the red
pool, signing his name. He makes a deep bow and then runs back down the catwalk to disappear backstage.
It may be a leisurely entrance to fashion shows by guests,
but once they are over there is a race to the exit to get to the next show,
catching the Paris Fashion Week shuttle bus outside ~ which doesn't wait long. Soon the Saut de Loup is empty except for the photographers packing up at one end, a few people lingering to absorb what they have just experienced.
Backstage it is all action as the models are photographed for the lookbook and then change back into their own clothes, Amid
the commotion, Yuima Nakazato begins a long series of interviews with journalists from all
over the world, switching from his creative mind to focusing on answering
questions about his work. You can see his face changing from the introverted concentration of putting on his show to a more expansive expression as he has to talk about what he has just created. There is an air of relief and celebration as the presentation of the collection is over and is a great success.
The show is engaging and thrilling with the crescendo of Pau Aran Gimeno's expressive dance in the pool of red
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Designer Yuima Nakazato is interviewed after his show by France 24. Photograph: JM Cilento |
The DAM team come together and we decide that we
have enough shots and interviews and take our leave of the designer and his team.
Climbing up the stairs and out into the cold, fresh air, we breathe deeply and
look around to see that since we have been at Yuima Nakazato's show, large crowds have gathered outside the main doors to the Palais de Tokyo.
People stand a dozen deep, holding their phones up behind rows of professional photographers and fashionistas.
We look up and see Jennifer Lopez arriving at
the top of the stairs for the next show that is about to begin. She turns slowly to face the crowds, clustered below, on either side of her. She gives a fleeting glimpse of her swishing long, floriate cape and Sixties-style hair, waves as people shout out "JLo!" for her to turn the other way, before disappearing inside to another world of fashion.
The frenetic flock soon disperse, and we start walking back up Avenue du Président-Wilson, stopping to look across Paris
to the Eiffel Tower, a fretworked iron citadel against an azure sky. The models from Yuima Nakazato's show catch us up, wearing their everyday clothes but still with the elaborate make-up and hair. Smoking and laughing they stop for a photograph with us before they head off into the winter gloaming to
their next runway.
Scroll down to see more highlights backstage in Paris from Yuima Nakazato's Utakata haute couture collection
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| Behind-the-scenes in Paris at Yuima Nakazato’s Utakata haute couture show for Spring/Summer 2024 at the Palais de Tokyo. Photograph: Elli Ioannou |
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| Behind-the-scenes in Paris at Yuima Nakazato’s Utakata haute couture show for Spring/Summer 2024 at the Palais de Tokyo. Photograph: Andrea Heinsohn |
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| Behind-the-scenes in Paris at Yuima Nakazato’s Utakata haute couture show for Spring/Summer 2024 at the Palais de Tokyo. Photograph: Andrea Heinsohn |
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| Behind-the-scenes in Paris at Yuima Nakazato’s Utakata haute couture show for Spring/Summer 2024 at the Palais de Tokyo. Photograph: Elli Ioannou |
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| Behind-the-scenes in Paris at Yuima Nakazato’s Utakata haute couture show for Spring/Summer 2024 at the Palais de Tokyo. Photograph: Andrea Heinsohn |
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| Behind-the-scenes in Paris at Yuima Nakazato’s Utakata haute couture show for Spring/Summer 2024 at the Palais de Tokyo. Photograph: Andrea Heinsohn |
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| Behind-the-scenes in Paris at Yuima Nakazato’s Utakata haute couture show for Spring/Summer 2024 at the Palais de Tokyo. Photograph: Elli Ioannou |
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| Behind-the-scenes in Paris at Yuima Nakazato’s Utakata haute couture show for Spring/Summer 2024 at the Palais de Tokyo. Photograph: Andrea Heinsohn |
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| Behind-the-scenes in Paris at Yuima Nakazato’s Utakata haute couture show for Spring/Summer 2024 at the Palais de Tokyo. Photograph: Andrea Heinsohn |
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| Behind-the-scenes in Paris at Yuima Nakazato’s Utakata haute couture show for Spring/Summer 2024 at the Palais de Tokyo. Photograph: Andrea Heinsohn |
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| Behind-the-scenes in Paris at Yuima Nakazato’s Utakata haute couture show for Spring/Summer 2024 at the Palais de Tokyo. Photograph: Andrea Heinsohn |
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| Behind-the-scenes in Paris at Yuima Nakazato’s Utakata haute couture show for Spring/Summer 2024 at the Palais de Tokyo. Photograph: Andrea Heinsohn |
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| Behind-the-scenes in Paris at Yuima Nakazato’s Utakata haute couture show for Spring/Summer 2024 at the Palais de Tokyo. Photograph: Andrea Heinsohn |
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| Behind-the-scenes in Paris at Yuima Nakazato’s Utakata haute couture show for Spring/Summer 2024 at the Palais de Tokyo. Photograph: Andrea Heinsohn |
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| Behind-the-scenes in Paris at Yuima Nakazato’s Utakata haute couture show for Spring/Summer 2024 at the Palais de Tokyo. Photograph: Andrea Heinsohn |
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| Behind-the-scenes in Paris at Yuima Nakazato’s Utakata haute couture show for Spring/Summer 2024 at the Palais de Tokyo. Photograph: Andrea Heinsohn |
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| Behind-the-scenes in Paris at Yuima Nakazato’s Utakata haute couture show for Spring/Summer 2024 at the Palais de Tokyo. Photograph: Andrea Heinsohn |
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| Behind-the-scenes in Paris at Yuima Nakazato’s Utakata haute couture show for Spring/Summer 2024 at the Palais de Tokyo. Photograph: Andrea Heinsohn |
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| Behind-the-scenes in Paris at Yuima Nakazato’s Utakata haute couture show for Spring/Summer 2024 at the Palais de Tokyo. Photograph: Andrea Heinsohn |
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| Behind-the-scenes in Paris at Yuima Nakazato’s Utakata haute couture show for Spring/Summer 2024 at the Palais de Tokyo. Photograph: Andrea Heinsohn |
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| Behind-the-scenes in Paris at Yuima Nakazato’s Utakata haute couture show for Spring/Summer 2024 at the Palais de Tokyo. Photograph: Andrea Heinsohn |
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| Behind-the-scenes in Paris at Yuima Nakazato’s Utakata haute couture show for Spring/Summer 2024 at the Palais de Tokyo. Photograph: Andrea Heinsohn |
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| Behind-the-scenes in Paris at Yuima Nakazato’s Utakata haute couture show for Spring/Summer 2024 at the Palais de Tokyo. Photograph: Andrea Heinsohn |
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| Behind-the-scenes in Paris at Yuima Nakazato’s Utakata haute couture show for Spring/Summer 2024 at the Palais de Tokyo. Photograph: Andrea Heinsohn |
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| Behind-the-scenes in Paris at Yuima Nakazato’s Utakata haute couture show for Spring/Summer 2024 at the Palais de Tokyo. Photograph: Andrea Heinsohn |
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| Behind-the-scenes in Paris at Yuima Nakazato’s Utakata haute couture show for Spring/Summer 2024 at the Palais de Tokyo. Photograph: Andrea Heinsohn |
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| Behind-the-scenes in Paris at Yuima Nakazato’s Utakata haute couture show for Spring/Summer 2024 at the Palais de Tokyo. Photograph: Andrea Heinsohn |
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| Behind-the-scenes in Paris at Yuima Nakazato’s Utakata haute couture show for Spring/Summer 2024 at the Palais de Tokyo. Photograph: Andrea Heinsohn |
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| Behind-the-scenes in Paris at Yuima Nakazato’s Utakata haute couture show for Spring/Summer 2024 at the Palais de Tokyo. Photograph: Andrea Heinsohn |
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| Behind-the-scenes in Paris at Yuima Nakazato’s Utakata haute couture show for Spring/Summer 2024 at the Palais de Tokyo. Photograph: Andrea Heinsohn |
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| Behind-the-scenes in Paris at Yuima Nakazato’s Utakata haute couture show for Spring/Summer 2024 at the Palais de Tokyo. Photograph: Elli Ioannou |
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| Behind-the-scenes in Paris at Yuima Nakazato’s Utakata haute couture show for Spring/Summer 2024 at the Palais de Tokyo. Photograph: Andrea Heinsohn |
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| Behind-the-scenes in Paris at Yuima Nakazato’s Utakata haute couture show for Spring/Summer 2024 at the Palais de Tokyo. Photograph: Andrea Heinsohn |
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| Behind-the-scenes in Paris at Yuima Nakazato’s Utakata haute couture show for Spring/Summer 2024 at the Palais de Tokyo. Photograph: Andrea Heinsohn |
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| Behind-the-scenes in Paris at Yuima Nakazato’s Utakata haute couture show for Spring/Summer 2024 at the Palais de Tokyo. Photograph: Elli Ioannou |
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| Behind-the-scenes in Paris at Yuima Nakazato’s Utakata haute couture show for Spring/Summer 2024 at the Palais de Tokyo. Photograph: Elli Ioannou |
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| Behind-the-scenes in Paris at Yuima Nakazato’s Utakata haute couture show for Spring/Summer 2024 at the Palais de Tokyo. Photograph: Elli Ioannou |
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| Behind-the-scenes in Paris at Yuima Nakazato’s Utakata haute couture show for Spring/Summer 2024 at the Palais de Tokyo. Photograph: Elli Ioannou |
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| Behind-the-scenes in Paris at Yuima Nakazato’s Utakata haute couture show for Spring/Summer 2024 at the Palais de Tokyo. Photograph: Elli Ioannou |
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| Behind-the-scenes in Paris at Yuima Nakazato’s Utakata haute couture show for Spring/Summer 2024 at the Palais de Tokyo. Photograph: Ell Ioannou |
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| Behind-the-scenes in Paris at Yuima Nakazato’s Utakata haute couture show for Spring/Summer 2024 at the Palais de Tokyo. Photograph: Andrea Heinsohn |
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| Behind-the-scenes in Paris at Yuima Nakazato’s Utakata haute couture show for Spring/Summer 2024 at the Palais de Tokyo. Photograph: Andrea Heinsohn |
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| Behind-the-scenes in Paris at Yuima Nakazato’s Utakata haute couture show for Spring/Summer 2024 at the Palais de Tokyo. Photograph: Andrea Heinsohn |
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| Behind-the-scenes in Paris at Yuima Nakazato’s Utakata haute couture show for Spring/Summer 2024 at the Palais de Tokyo. Photograph: Andrea Heinsohn |
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| Behind-the-scenes in Paris at Yuima Nakazato’s Utakata haute couture show for Spring/Summer 2024 at the Palais de Tokyo. Photograph: Andrea Heinsohn |
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| Behind-the-scenes in Paris at Yuima Nakazato’s Utakata haute couture show for Spring/Summer 2024 at the Palais de Tokyo. Photograph: Andrea Heinsohn |
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| Behind-the-scenes in Paris at Yuima Nakazato’s Utakata haute couture show for Spring/Summer 2024 at the Palais de Tokyo. Photograph: Andrea Heinsohn |
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| Behind-the-scenes in Paris at Yuima Nakazato’s Utakata haute couture show for Spring/Summer 2024 at the Palais de Tokyo. Photograph: Elli Ioannou |
