Comme des Garçons launched the women's brand "Noir Kei Ninomiya" in the Spring/Summer 2013 collection. Noir means "black" in French. The brand's fifth designer is 29-year-old Kei Ninomiya. We recently conducted his first media interview with Ninomiya, just before the launch of his second season. We delve into the brand's founding and creative goals. "Kawakubo communicates both abstract and concrete ideas to the pattern makers. By doing our best to meet their requests, we were surprised and discovered new things every season. It was an environment where we had freedom in our craftsmanship and could simply immerse ourselves in making clothes," he says, reflecting on his experience at Comme des Garçons, led by Rei Kawakubo. After graduating from Aoyama Gakuin University, he enrolled at the Royal Academy of Fine Arts in Antwerp. Hoping to start working sooner, he dropped out and joined the brand in September 2008, driven by his desire to create things. He has been a pattern maker for Comme des Garçons for eight seasons. He launched his own brand last October. The brand name was decided during a session with Kawakubo. He describes black as "my favorite color. A strong, beautiful color. It's a single color, but you can create a variety of looks with different materials, techniques, and processing." The first season featured 18 styles, sold exclusively in Japan at the Comme des Garçons Trading Museum in Omotesando, Tokyo. The second season, the 2013-14 Autumn/Winter collection, featured 48 styles, a dramatic increase in the number of items. "I wanted to combine the opposing elements of organic and inorganic," Ninomiya said. The resulting garments, featuring laser-cut cutwork, handmade knitwear, biological motifs created by knitwear layered over metal rings, and lush botanical embroidery as accents, combine warmth and coolness. This was his first attempt at knitwear.
"I wanted to focus on knitting. I imagine crows making nests out of wire and other materials they find on the street, and that's how it all started. I wondered if I could knit together things I had around me. It's interesting to think about how to make something that seems impossible come true," she says eloquently about her designs.
The blouson jacket, featuring a three-dimensional geometric pattern, is also a part of the series that focuses on knitting. "This one has a houndstooth pattern. I wondered if I could express the houndstooth graphic by knitting it in three dimensions. I made full use of the graphic, adjusting the balance between the structure that looks natural as clothing, such as darts, and the appearance of the houndstooth. It naturally created a gradation of large and small houndstooth patterns lined up from the hem to the neck." She also creates dresses and skirts using similar techniques.
"I always want to create something new, something that has never been seen before. I want to offer something special that is exciting, like a jewel, that makes the heart leap. I want to go in a different direction from existing brands. What is important to me now is what is fresh. I will just do my best," he says, showing his strong determination.
At Comme des Garçons, the designer who leads the brand is responsible for branding and setting prices. The same is true for brands that have just started up. Noir has bottoms priced at 20,000 to 50,000 yen, outerwear at 60,000 to 140,000 yen, shirts at 20,000 to 30,000 yen, and cut and sewn items at around 10,000 yen. "The price is also a part of the design. This time, we were able to achieve this price thanks to the efforts of various parties, including the factory. I think it's important to set a fair price, because I want young people to wear it too. Right now, I'm not looking to make amazing clothes to hang in art museums, but rather to present clothes that will make people gasp when they see them and are within their reach. I intend to maintain this price range and quality." Starting this fall/winter, sales will expand to Dover Street Market Ginza, the Comme des Garçons Marunouchi store, the Kyoto store, and the Daimaru Kobe store. Furthermore, a one-week limited store will open at the Isetan Shinjuku store on July 10th. This will be the first time that my products will be sold outside a Comme des Garçons store. "I'm honored to have this great opportunity for so many consumers to see my products. I'm also a little nervous. It's not that sales are good, but I got into this field because I love clothes, and I was attracted to the excitement of seeing, touching, wearing them, so I would be very happy if there were people who share that passion. I would like to attract a different customer base from Comme des Garçons' existing brands and contribute to the company," he said of his aspirations.
Finally, when asked about his plans for SS14, he quietly concluded by saying, "I plan to do something different again, with black as the base."
