Autumn / Winter 2021 collection.
R E :
“What we call the beginning is often the end. And to make an end is to make a beginning. The end is where we start from.”
In this fictional world of reality, Takahiro Miyashita questions the collapse of freedom which seems to have been symbolic of our generation.
Even in this situation of oppression, light and darkness, people continue to pursue new emotions in their consciousness in order to radiate their beauty. When something comes to an end, it actually signifies the reconstruction of a new ‘melody’ . Whatever the circumstances, Takahiro’s passion for designing clothes remains unwavering, infusing the collection, with emotion and vision. This season the collection continues to usher in the evolution of clothes and the revival of emotions.
From a bird’s eye view, beginnings and endings can end up taking on an evolutionary dimension. In this, one can realize a mirrored and repressed part of their own personality begins to emerge. Welcome to your doppelgänger.
The Beatles musical comedy ‘Help!’ was a message of inspiration when Takahiro began designing this season. In examining the collection, the jackets, shirts and tops reveal two straps. Beautifully crafted trousers and shorts, are accompanied with three straps. When worn together, the straps symbolize a musical stave, awaiting notes to be arranged freely and beautifully. The aesthetic is like a Baroque opera transposed into New Wave. The garments amplify Takahiro’s established ‘lyrics’ . However, given the real world is not so free, the straps also serve as literal reminders of restraints. This is further underscored by exquisitely constructed, yet unusable sleeves that instead create a trick of the eye on what is essentially, a hybrid of a jacket and cape.
Words that describe the cries of Takahiro’s own heart as he pushes against the oppression of creative freedom are presented in Morse Code on both garments and utilitarian accessories via laser and print. Takahiro’s take on the space suit within the collection features detailing that suggest both ‘the end’ AND ‘beginning’ of an never-ending expedition, attainable only by those willing to set foot in a realm where no one else has before.
Beginning, or Ending. Doppelgänger or True Self. Freedom or Oppression.
Titled RE:, the collection is presented in a filmic context, which explores the spectrum between each. It is accompanied with an original score created by Eiji Sugiura and Takahiro. Similarities can be found in David Fincher’s ‘Fight Club’, one of the films that played in Takahiro’ s mind during the making of this film. John Cassavetes films were also an important source of inspiration, and in particularly the image of Gena Rowlands in ‘A Woman Under the Influence’ or ‘Love Streams’.
The film Takahiro created is a story of a fragile woman who can shatter like glass, facing loneliness, dueling personalities and who is looking for freedom in a suppressed world. The image of a black dahlia appears mysteriously, reminding us of the woman depicted in the James Ellroy’ s novel, like a tribute to the American noir fiction.
There probably will never be an absolute viewpoint of values that everyone can agree on. However, Takahiro’s crescendo in response to the real world remains as sincere and as genuine as ever before. Especially to his belief to ‘keep creating’ , striving to ‘spin a melody that no one has ever experienced before’ . The collection is a pure and simple wish for the ‘REbirth’ not just of cool, but of everything… To revive the emotions of people who are holding out for a future of freedom, free of boundaries.
“What we call the beginning is often the end. And to make an end is to make a beginning. The end is where we start from.”
Excerpt from ‘Little Gidding’ by T.S. Eliott