Fashion designers can sometimes turn into magicians. They create sparkling, captivating pieces that captivate the hearts of countless people. On July 3rd, the first day of the Paris Haute Couture Collection, Yuima Nakazato cast a spell on the audience, transporting them to another world. His show kicked off the 2016-17 Autumn/Winter Haute Couture Collection. While Japanese designers have been making remarkable strides in Paris in recent years, this marks the first time a Japanese designer has participated in the Haute Couture Collection as an official guest designer since Hanae Mori 12 years ago. It also marks his first time showing overseas as a brand. After graduating from the Royal Academy of Fine Arts in Antwerp in 2004, Yuima Nakazato achieved the unprecedented feat of winning the International Talent Support (ITS) student competition two years in a row. He launched his own men's brand in 2009. In recent years, in addition to product creation, Nakazato has grown into a designer trusted by artists both in Japan and abroad, working on costumes for live performances by Lady Gaga and EXILE, the live-action film "Lupin the Third," and Amon Miyazato's stage production "SUPERLOSERZ."

In an interview the day after the show, we asked him about the details of the collection, the events leading up to the show, and his future plans. What emerged was Nakazato's talent, which far exceeds our imagination, and the limitless possibilities of fashion.

--Can you tell us the source of inspiration and theme of this haute couture collection?

I was inspired by Iceland, which I visited last year. It was also used as a filming location for a sci-fi movie, and is a world made entirely of natural elements like rock and ice, with no artificial structures whatsoever. The fantastical landscape was so vast that it felt like I was on another planet, not Earth. Drawing on this valuable experience, the theme was "UNKNOW," and the collection incorporated the changing colors of natural phenomena such as ice, sky, ocean, and aurora borealis.



--The show was also striking, with a futuristic and mysterious space that felt almost extraterrestrial. I felt the brand's strong message in the silence. What was the most important thing you wanted to communicate through the collection?

I wanted to show a future of haute couture that is "created freely from the body." The latest technology, such as 3D printers and cutting plotters from Stratasys (http://www.stratasys.co.jp/), which we have used in our costume production to date, is full of new production possibilities and I believe it holds the future of fashion in its hands, even changing our concept of clothing. Instead of starting with fabric to create patterns, we scan the human body, digitize it, and then use a 3D printer to create the finished garment. This allows orders to be placed online and printed anywhere in the world. Like haute couture, technology will enable the creation of one-of-a-kind, custom-made garments tailored to each individual. I believe this will become even more widespread and will extend to today's ready-to-wear products and the clothes we wear every day.

--Could you tell us more about how you incorporated the latest technology into this collection?

All of the pieces in the collection are formed from connected organic structures made from a film material called "holograms." This special material, created in collaboration with a film manufacturer, took six years to develop, with particular attention paid to its strength and texture. After much trial and error, it has finally evolved into something we are happy with and are now able to present in this collection.

A photo of the aurora taken in Iceland was transferred onto the material, which was then cut finely and precisely using a cutting plotter, and finally the whole thing was folded like origami to create a single organic form.








--"Technology x Tradition, Past x Future, Digital x Real: Combining two opposing elements to create a new dimension" -- YUIMA NAKAZATO 2/2 [INTERVIEW]"