On the 5th of July, 2023, the luminary in the world of fashion, YUIMA NAKAZATO, unveiled his 14th autumn/winter collection, MAGMA. Staged in the heart of the fashion universe, Paris, this runway show captivated the audiences at Haute Couture Week, creating ripples of awe and admiration among fashion critics and enthusiasts alike.
Nakazato, also the Creative Director, designed the collection after being moved by his 2022 visit to Kenya. The vivid memories of mountains of garbage, spontaneous flames, the nauseating odors, and the garish colors of the plastic waste, rather than overwhelming him, spurred a creative process that could only be attributed to the genius of his caliber.
The sight of « Aka-Fuji, » a masterpiece by Hokusai, invoked thoughts of dormant magma within the mountains. The correlation of the red color and the unspoken horror it can unleash brought about a profound transformation in Nakazato’s perception of the scenery he had encountered in Kenya. In an audacious move, he printed a photo from Kenya on fabric, converting the disturbing landscape into an abstract art piece. The image, graded in red, elicited a unique aesthetic appeal, endowing an entirely new meaning and value to it.
The colour red, usually symbolic of warning or crisis, in Nakazato’s vision, became a testament to his belief in change and his conviction that there’s a way to transform the future.
One hundred and fifty kilograms of used clothing from Africa were repurposed to create the collection. Without clear labels, the origin of these clothes remained a mystery, which typically makes them challenging to recycle. However, with the help of Seiko Epson’s Dry Fiber Technology, Nakazato brought these garments back to life, reincarnating them as part of his exquisite haute couture collection.
A striking aspect of MAGMA was the visual narrative Nakazato weaved through his choice of graphics and color palettes. Inspired by the conflicting beauty and harshness he witnessed in Africa, Nakazato employed Seiko Epson’s digital textile printing technology to imprint his impressions onto the fabric. The scenes were reminiscent of the terrain he had encountered in Kenya: from the vivid plastics on trash heaps to the traditional costumes of tribespeople in Northern Kenya.
One of the collection’s highlights involved the use of nano-sized natural pigments, obtained from stones gathered from East Africa’s largest desert. These pigments were used in the dyeing of synthetic Brewed Protein™ materials, developed by Spiber Inc., which featured in the collection. The resultant blend, redolent of the dry, hot African air, manifested in the gorgeous, reddish-brown landscape of the desert dyed into the fabric.
Nakazato’s admiration for the simplicity of the tribespeople’s lives led to his reinterpretation of the Japanese kimono’s styling technique, aiming to challenge fashion’s conventional approach to size and gender.
The creation of this collection will be featured in a documentary film by director Kousai Sekine, scheduled for release later this summer. It promises to explore the future of the fashion industry and present a backstage view of the creative journey that led to MAGMA.
Moving forward, YUIMA NAKAZATO is committed to addressing important social issues and seeking new questions and solutions through the transformative power of clothing. With this innovative collection, he has once again proven his ability to blend technology and craftsmanship, pushing the boundaries of fashion, one garment at a time.