Starting with the Spring/Summer 2017 season, MIHARA YASUHIRO moved his collection to London. One week after his collection was presented on June 17th, the UK's Brexit referendum took place. Is it too easy to connect designer Yasuhiro Mihara's decision to present his collections in London with the UK's departure from the EU? This interview doesn't just delve into the collection he recently presented. He candidly shares his inner thoughts, which he wasn't able to share in London. It offers a glimpse into his vision for the future of fashion. --This was your first collection since moving to London. What were your thoughts and intentions? Before we get into specifics, I need to start by talking about your approach to collections and theme-setting. This time, I began by asking myself, "What do I feel about the current era?" I feel like recently, everything, from politics to economics, has become too businesslike in its way of thinking and values. Furthermore, as Asia, Russia, and China were becoming increasingly capitalist, I felt a sense of crisis that the capitalist economy, which everyone had assumed was absolute, might collapse.

In other words, I wanted to create a collection that traces the history of political, economic, and cultural developments not only in the UK and Europe, but around the world, from modernization to the present.

--The previous exhibition focused on artistic activities of the first half of the 20th century, such as Dada and New Objectivity.

I particularly focused on pre-war art movements. With the arrival of the camera in the late 1800s, those who painted like photographs found themselves in a difficult position. This was a time when painting was being replaced by photography. However, art underwent a powerful transformation in the 19th century, giving rise to the Impressionists and geniuses like Picasso.

Now, roughly 100 years later, I feel we are in a transitional period, close to a "turning point in art." The evolution of technology, the emergence of the internet, and the rise of social media. It's hard to fully understand because we're in the midst of all this right now, but I feel that a variety of arts and cultures are undergoing change as a result.



--Many items in this collection had a DIY, handmade feel, such as hand-painted pieces, raw-heel denim, and horseshoe necklaces.

After the show, many people may have assumed the theme was American youth culture. But actually, this collection started with a photo book called "Rebel Youth." It's a photo book by photographer Karlheinz Weinberger that follows young people in Switzerland and Germany in the 1950s. It captures the process by which young people in Europe after World War II became Americanized, influenced by figures like Elvis Presley and James Dean.

What was interesting is that these kids didn't just copy America of the time, but expressed it in their own way. They made their own DIY creations using recycled items like old signs, horseshoes, and flags. That's why they're so "unnatural."

--What does this "unnaturalness" mean?

What I really wanted to express with this collection is a "distorted anxiety." It was the Americanized European culture of the time, the rebellious spirit unique to young people, and the beauty of imperfect emotions. In short, this was a phenomenon that occurred in Japan as well. Yukio Mishima's seppuku could be seen as a warning against a society and era in which unique Japanese culture and values were being lost as American culture entered the country. --In other words, were you looking at the world today through the eyes of the rebellious spirit of young people? Young people always have a desire to rebel against the world in some way. They try to live their lives without thinking about things like global affairs and economic instability. I sympathized with this attitude, and I thought that presenting it in a collection could be a kind of "antithesis." It was a way of questioning a society and fashion that had become overly commercial. I couldn't say that to the journalists there, though (laughs). Instead of saying "antithesis," I just mentioned the photographer's name. But I'm sure those with good intuition would have figured it out.

However, I think it's important to look at the collection looks and feel that they're interesting more intuitively, rather than just thinking about the message they convey. There are many metaphors hidden within, but I think it's better to feel them more physically.

Continued in the second half: "Mihara Yasuhiro's vision of the future beyond 'genderless'."