Paris Haute Couture: Yuima Nakazato's Home Brew

In Paris, an elegantly subversive design by Yuima Nakazato, showing that sustainable fashion doesn't have to be dull. Cover picture and main photograph (above) by Elli Ioannou for DAM

One of the highlights of Paris Haute Couture Week is Yuima Nakazato's experimental collections. The designer brings a new approach to fashion, challenging the way we think of dress and creating revolutionary new fabrics from unusual sources, including this Autumn/Winter 2019-2020 season's brewed protein, writes Jeanne-Marie Cilento. Additional reporting and photographs by Elli Ioannou

Yuima Nakazato's AW1920 couture collection at
Paris' Descartes University.

JAPANESE couturier Yuima Nakazato is one of the rare avant-garde fashion designers who don't just myopically experiment with style but have a radical manifesto and vision for what we will be wearing in the future. His collections are intellectual and full of new ideas that see fashion as central to art and life, not just the quotidian reality of having to dress every day.

The young couturier wants to change the nature of the materials used to create fashion and democratise haute couture so it is still highly individual yet available to everybody. Instead of seeing haute couture as so rarefied it is always under threat of extinction, due to the enormous skill and cost to produce each collection, Nakazato sees it as the future of fashion.

Although some of his ideas may seem outlandish, they stimulate a new way of thinking about the way we dress and how our clothes are made.

Nakazato strives to look at the big picture, he says he wants to realise "a new vision for humanity" through clothes. His designs are made from plant-derived sustainable materials, representing an important step away from current widespread reliance on petroleum-based resources.

Yuima Nakazato is one of the rare avant-garde designers who don't just experiment with style but have a radical manifesto for the future

For the new collection, entitled Birth, Nakazato has experimented with a new textile created from a substance called 'brewed protein', a sustainable fibre made by a fermentation process developed by Japanese biotech start-up Spiber. The fabrics in the collection use this cutting edge technology combined with an unexpected artisanal method ~ hand-knitting.


Backstage the designer adjusts
a model before the show

The textiles are created by digitally fabricating the specially-designed protein. Nakazato is creating a variety of different materials from this substance. He believes innovations in materials and technology are the direction in which haute couture should be moving.

For this Autumn/Winter 2019-20 collection, the designer created long, swinging shift dresses, separates with the riveted design developed in previous seasons, and athletic outerwear. The snap-closing he has created means clothes can be adaptable not only to the wearer's size and form but to their mood.

"Eventually, each and every garment will be unique and different,"  Nakazato explains. He has been exploring this concept through the prism of haute couture since 2016, when he began showing in Paris.

This season, the palette is a subtle mix of creams and browns with dashes of red. This was meant as a metaphor for the range of human skin colours but also with red as the underlying hue representing the blood that runs through us all. Because the brewed protein used to make the materials is made from amino acids it almost feels like the fabric is a natural part of the body, not a separate piece of clothing.

The fibre that makes up the fabric can be used as a thread and was made into crocheted capes and tops for the collection. As a blend with cotton it can make a more traditional textile or be used as a leather substitute for shoes.

His designs are made from plant-derived sustainable materials, representing an important step away from petroleum-based resources



 The colour palette of the show symbolises
the hues of the human body

As its production doesn't rely on petroleum, brewed protein is biodegradable and could offer a sustainable solution for the fashion industry. Ecologically-minded apparel manufacturers are moving away from micro plastics and animal-derived materials. Protein-based polymer materials are energy efficient, environmentally friendly and economic to produce.

Protein biopolymers are part of the building blocks of life, formed from different types of amino acids. Brewed protein refers to structural proteins which have been designed or selected from an almost limitless pool of possible amino acid combinations, and then produced via a microbial fermentation process. This proprietary technology, created by Spiber, allows for the creation of a hugely diverse range of such proteins, each with different features.

Before the show, as guests under the
beautiful windows of the
Descartes University

Nakazato has developed his new clothing production system during earlier collections, one not constrained by using a traditional needle and thread. Instead, Nakazato uses specially-designed clasps to connect fabric pieces. Called Type-1, it allows the wearer to quickly assemble, customise, and repair their own clothes.

The Paris Descartes University was used as the location for Yuima Nakazato's  latest collection, with its cool, grey 18th century arcades and classical busts. The designer says he wanted the "gentle natural light that pours into the entrance," providing the backdrop that he had visualised as it was "perfectly suited to discussions regarding the future of mankind and clothing."

A sculpture called "Goldrain" was part of the show, showering down find gold particles, and based on the concept of the regeneration of the Earth. This rain of gold, along with the basin below, have an otherworldly beauty. Contemporary Japanese artist, Eugene Kangawa, has been developing the installation since 2018. The gold fragments are so fine they are affected by small movements of air or light.

Nakazato strives to look at the big picture, he says he wants to realise 'a new vision for humanity' through fashion



The golden basin of the Goldrain art installation
by Eugene Kangawa

Goldrain and Nakazato's new show share a common exploration of rebirth and hope and the new protein material he is using, has a white gold colour like the particles. The installation also symbolises the process for creating this new material, which is born through the mixture of particles and liquid. This is the same production process as making the brewed protein, where a powder is combined with water to generate a material.

The shimmering, miniscule specks of Goldrain veil the surface of water and turn it into a glistening expanse. The falling fragments in this installation are meant to evoke rain and a sense of the birth of land, sea, and life, symbolising Nakazato's 'Birth' collection and its vision of a new type of haute couture for the people.

Tap on photographs for fullscreen slideshow

A sculpture called "Goldrain" was the poetic backdrop to the show, showering down find gold particles, and based on the concept of the regeneration of the Earth.

Yuima Nakazato is one of the rare avant-garde fashion designers who don't just experiment with style but have a radical manifesto and vision for what we will be wearing in the future.



The fabrics in the collection use cutting edge technology combined with an unexpected artisanal method ~ hand-knitting.




Nakazato has developed his new clothing production system during earlier collections, called Type-1, it allows the wearer to quickly assemble, customise, and repair their clothes.



This season, the palette is a subtle mix of creams and browns with dashes of red. This was meant as a metaphor for not only the range of skin colours of the human race but also red as the underlying hue as it represents the blood that runs through us all.



Not constrained by using a traditional needle and thread, Nakazato uses specially-designed clasps to connect fabric pieces.



The young couturier wants to change the nature of the materials used to create fashion and democratise haute couture so it is still highly individual yet available to everybody.



For the new collection, entitled Birth, Nakazato has experimented with a new textile created from a substance called "brewed protein," a sustainable fibre made by a fermentation process.

Rather than seeing haute couture as so rarefied it is always under threat of extinction, due to the enormous skill and cost to produce each collection, Nakazato sees it as the future of fashion.  

 

Paris Fashion Week: Issey Miyake's Walk in the Park

Dancers and Zalindé, an all-female Afro-Brazilian percussion troupe, performing at the Issey Miyake show in Paris. Main photograph and cover picture by Elli Ioannou for DAM

 

Issey Miyake's new Spring/Summer 2020 Homme Plissé show opened in Paris with a jubilant band of dancers, gymnasts and musicians and ended in a party with the guests joining in at the historic Place des Vosges, Jeanne-Marie Cilento writes. Additional reporting and photographs by Elli Ioannou

Guests arrive before the Issey Miyake show,
 seated around a statue of Louis XIII
in the Place des Vosges

ON a cool, grey summers day in Paris, under the leafy Linden trees of a beautiful 17th century square, dancers swooped and leaped wearing the pleated, flowing creations of Japanese fashion house, Issey Miyake.

Choreographed by American director and dancer Daniel Ezralow, the show was called 'A Walk in the Park' and was held in the Place des Vosges.

Opened in 1612, it is the oldest planned square in Paris, situated in the fashionable Marais, and was once home to luminaries from Victor Hugo and Theophile Gaultier to Cardinal Richelieu and Marguerite Louise d'Orléans. Cardinal Richelieu had an equestrian bronze statue of Louis XIII erected in the centre of the gardens in 1619. Issey Miyake had always wanted to do a fashion show in the Place des Vosges and had been waiting for the official permissions to do it. When those came through, he decided the Homme Plissé collection was the best to be launched amid the trees and gravel paths of the square.

The designer says Homme Plissé Issey Miyake is "made for people of all ages and origins and for any occasion. It sets out to brighten up everyday life as it inspires people to express their originality in a creative way."

 

Choreographer Daniel Ezralow designed the Homme Plissé show to have four acts: first, the sound of birds calling while the dancers walk about meditatively; then the splashing of rain with the models running and carrying umbrellas in different formations; followed by an Irish jig with footballs being kicked around and then the finale enlivened with the arrival of Zalindé, an all-female Afro-Brazilian percussion troupe.

The dancers gathered around a picturesque maypole with colourful ribbons. The lively music and drumming encouraged everyone to dance including the guests who got up from their seats to join in, before Zalindé lead the show back along the street.

Under the leafy Linden trees, dancers swooped and leaped wearing the pleated, flowing creations of Japanese designer Issey Miyake

Dancers wearing flowing kimono-shaped
jackets and carrying umbrellas

 

The designer's themes of music and dance highlighted the collection's bright colours, vivid check patterns and Issey Miayke's signature pleats. Fluid, kimono-shaped, long coats in yellow, blue and red were covered in dynamic, painterly designs and worn over loose-fitting, buttoned shirts and capacious pants.

Ezralow choreographed the show to express the brilliant colour and ease of movement of the Homme Plissé collection.

The director has worked with Issey Miyake on shows and projects for many years, from helping him launch collections in the Eighties to directing women’s presentations in the Nineties.

The show's themes of music and dance highlighted the collection's vivid, painterly colours, check patterns and signature pleats

Models play soccer during
the show

They also worked on the ‘Flying Bodies, Soaring Souls’ show in 2013, which featured the male rhythmic gymnastics team from Aomori University.

In January this year, Ezralow created the 'Playground' presentation at the Centre Pompidou in Paris to present "L'Homme Plissé.

This new collection uses Issey Miyake’s pleating process, one that he began experimenting with in 1988, after having launched his innovative fashion house more than
a decade earlier.

Over the years, Miyake expanded into other avant-garde diffusion lines using various, in-house designers he has nurtured but with all of the designs still overseen by him. The theme of Homme Plissé is a sporty aesthetic built around new iterations of the designer’s pleating technique, using new textiles that are wrinkle-proof and quick-drying and will not stick to the skin.

The athletic aesthetic of  Homme Plissé is enhanced by a colourful palette, voluminous fluidity and Miyake's architectural sense of form

Zalindé lead the way along the street
after the show

The clothes are designed to be light and easy to move in, low-maintenance and great for travelling. The pleats are added after sewing, giving a three-dimensional structure to the designs that mix whimsical form with functionality.

This high tech approach to fabrication results in a unique folding process that allows the textiles to be breathable and very comfortable. The athletic aesthetic of the collection is enhanced by the colourful palette, voluminous fluidity and Issey Miyake's
architectural sense of form
and texture ~ all exhibited beautifully in this exuberant show in a Parisian park.

 

Tap on photographs for fullscreen slideshow

On a cool, grey summers day in Paris, under the leafy Linden trees of a beautiful 17th century square, dancers swooped and leapt wearing the pleated, flowing creations of Issey Miyake.

Choreographed by American director and dancer Daniel Ezralow, the show was called 'A Walk in the Park' and was held in the Place des Vosges.

Opened in 1612, it is the oldest planned square in Paris, situated in the fashionable Marais, and was once home to luminaries from Victor Hugo to Cardinal Richelieu.

Issey Miyake had always wanted to do a fashion show in the Place des Vosges and had been waiting for the official permissions to do it.

Daniel Ezralow designed the show to have four acts: first, the dancers walking about meditatively; then the splashing of rain with the models running followed by an Irish jig with footballs being kicked around.

The dancers gathered around a picturesque maypole with colourful ribbons.

The collection uses Issey Miyake’s pleating process, one that he began experimenting with in the early 1980s, after having launched his innovative fashion house a decade earlier.

The collection uses Issey Miyake’s pleating process, one that he began experimenting with in the early 1980s, after having launched his innovative fashion house a decade earlier.

The clothes are designed to be light and easy to move in, low-maintenance and great for travelling.



The lively music and drumming encouraged everyone to dance including the guests who got up from their seats to join in, before Zalindé lead the show back along the street.

Issey Miyake's high tech approach to fabrication results in a unique pleating process that allows the textiles to be breathable and very comfortable.

The designer's themes of music and dance highlighted the collection's bright, tie-dyed colours, vivid check patterns and Issey Miayke's signature pleats.

Fluid, kimono-shaped, long coats in yellow, blue and red were covered in dynamic, painterly designs and worn over loose-fitting, buttoned shirts and capacious pants.

The pleats are added after sewing, giving a three-dimensional structure to the designs that mix whimsical form with functionality.

The athletic aesthetic of the collection is enhanced by the colourful palette, voluminous fluidity and Issey Miyake'sarchitectural sense of form and texture. 

Walter Van Beirendonck's Alien Invasion in Paris

Walter Van Beirendonck's new SS20 collection in Paris inspired by alien avatar's clothing repurposed for humans.
Main Photograph and cover picture by Elli Ioannou for DAM

Belgian fashion designer Walter Van Beirendonck's avant-garde new Spring/Summer 2020 menswear collection is inspired by humans wearing the vintage clothes of alien avatars and made manifest in a grungy garage in Paris, writes Jeanne-Marie Cilento. Additional reporting and photography by Elli Ioannou

Neon plastic ruffs added a dash
of drama to sporty & suited creations

SHOWN in an atmopsheric, post-apocalyptic space in Paris' artistic Belleville neighbourhood, Walter Van Beirendonck's brilliantly-hued new collection provided a vivid foil to the industrial grunge of the locale.

Since his very first shows, the Belgian designer has been inspired by literature, music, art and nature. But this Spring-Summer 2020, the creations were inspired by Van Beirendonck's vision of the vintage clothes of aliens from outer space being worn by humans. "I call it 'Alien Vintage', a fantasy where all of these pieces were originally worn by extra-terrestials and can now be repurposed to comfort and fortify humanity on the verge of a breakdown," says Van Beirendonck. "Maybe we ~ the privileged ones organising and attending the shows ~ will need to seek refuge."

Since Van Beirendonck first established his own label, his work has always had an experimental edge missing from many other designers' collections


Backstage at Walter Van Beirendonck's
show in Belville

Walter van Beirendonck is one of the most avant-garde designers on the Paris menswear official schedule. His collections are vibrant and graphic with innovative tailoring and surprising colour combinations. Since Van Beirendonck first established his own label in 1983, his work has always had an experimental edge missing from other designers' menswear collections.

"I want to create what is 100% of now," he explained about his latest work, in the show notes."So many "new" collections refer to what came before or are built from pieces sourced from vintage stores,
almost as one-on-one copies.
'Witblitz' was definitely conceived
as this moment in time."

Underpinning the collection's out-there inspiration was a sporty aesthetic in bright, primary colours with an elastic sense of movement combined with the designer's virtuoso tailoring. The athletic ethos was offset by ruffs of dramatic transparent plastic, silky shirts, long coats with voluminous sleeves and suit jackets worn with matching shorts, finished at just above the knee. The retro hair styles and painted faces suggested the aliens had passed through a Seventies phase and seen a Kiss concert at some point of their time on earth.

"I call it Alien Vintage, a fantasy where all of these pieces were originally worn by extra-terrestials and are now re purposed to fortify humanity"

Van Beirendonck describes the process of working on a new collection as wandering around an "ever expanding universe."  For this collection, he says he imagined visiting a friend and outer-space avatar: "As we caught up, I pictured being introduced to a small part of the alien folk, a community with a such a limitless of forms and looks."

Voluminous sleeves and long coats worn
with suited shorts and athletic leggings

Walter Van Beirendonck graduated in 1980 from the Royal Arts Academy in Antwerp, establishing his own brand three years later.

His first real breakthrough was at a British Designer Show in London in 1987 as part of "The Antwerp Six" ~ Dirk Van Saene, Dries Van Noten, Dirk Bikkembergs, Ann Demeulemeester and Marina Yee.

But Van Beirendonck has since worked on a wide range of projects from costumes for theatre, ballet and film to curating expositions,designing objects and illustrating books and creating clothes for pop groups, including U2's Pop Mart and Erasure tours.

"Every piece of clothing carries its own identity print inside, displaying the names, shapes and characteristics of my otherworldly muses"



The Belgian designer's maverick sense
of creativity took full expression
in his SS20 show

All of this experience in a wide range of mediums means Van Beirendonck brings a maverick sense of creativity to each of his fashion collections and his way of bringing them to life.

"When I started the actual process of drawing and creating this collection, I really wanted to work with experiments of shape," he says about the new collection. "I took pictures of some of the toy-figurines I have been collecting since forever, cut them out and tailored looks to all of the specific forms. Some of these beings have four arms, a gigantic head or O-shaped extremities. Every piece of clothing carries its own identity print inside, displaying the names, shapes and characteristics of my otherworldly muses."

His collections are vibrant and graphic with innovative tailoring and surprising colour combinations

Fashion designer Walter Van Beirendonck
at the finale of his show in Paris 

Some of the pieces have phrases and words on them that were inspired by South African words, for example Witblitz means "white lightening." This is emblazoned on shirts that the designer included in the collection.

"I put South African words on the designs because of their off-centre sounds," explained the designer. "I chose phrases with a multi-layered meaning.

"Some of them refer to the crises we are dealing with at the moment such as the limitation of freedom of choice and the rejection of refugees."

Tap on images for fullscreen slideshow of highlights from the collection

Shown in an atmospheric, post-apocalyptic space in Paris' Belleville, Walter Van Beirendonck's brilliantly-hued new collection provided a vivid foil to the industrial grunge of the locale. 

Since his very first shows, the Belgian designer has been inspired by literature, music, art and nature.

But this season, the creations were inspired by Van Beirendonck's zany vision of vintage clothes of aliens from outer space being worn by humans.

"I call it 'Alien Vintage', a fantasy where all of these pieces were originally worn by extra-terrestials and can now be repurposed to comfort and fortify humanity on the verge of a breakdown," says Van Beirendonck.

Walter Van Beirendonck is one of the most avant-garde designers on the Paris menswear official schedule.

The designer's collections are vibrant and graphic with innovative tailoring and surprising colour combinations.

Since Van Beirendonck first established his own label in 1983, his work has always had an experimental edge missing from other designers' menswear collections.

"I want to create what is 100% of now,"  the designer explained about his latest work. "So many "new" collections refer to what came before or are built from pieces sourced from vintage stores, almost as one-on-one copies."  

Underpinning the collection's out-there inspiration was a sporty aesthetic in bright, primary colours with an elastic sense of movement.

Retro hair styles and painted faces suggested the aliens had passed through a Seventies phase and seen a Kiss concert at some point of their time on earth. 

"When I started the actual process of drawing and creating this collection, I really wanted to work with experiments of shape," the designer says about the new collection.

Backstage after the show as models are photographed.

  "I took pictures of some of the toy-figurines I have been collecting since forever, cut them out and tailored looks to all of the specific forms," says Van Beirendonck, pictured at his show in Paris.

An enthusiastic crowd applauded Walter Van Beirendonck after his SS20 collection was shown at Paris Fashion Week Men.