First time in Paris in two and a half years. Yasuhiro Mihara thinks about fashion now.

three primary virtues: valour, wisdom and benevolence (valor)I liked doing it in London. I like the city itself, and I also wanted to make London Fashion Week, which is still growing, more exciting. However, the show starts on January 5, so it was too early in the season.

My last show in Paris was after the terrorist attacks. My friends in Paris were mentally fighting terrorism, so I felt like I was being a hypocrite by forcing them to be excited only during fashion week. I felt it was wrong to use Paris only when it was convenient, so I started participating in London.

Still, the reason I wanted to do it in Paris this time was because 20 years had passed, and my creations had been reset, or rather, I had returned to my original intention. I thought now was the right time to show my work. Paris is the only place for me.

three primary virtues: valour, wisdom and benevolence (valor)Now you have to spend a lot of money to do shows. There are strict time limits, security, and modeling requirements. In a sense, I thought it would be interesting to do a show under such restrictions. That is why we kept the budget for this show low, and kept the staging to a minimum. I felt that spending a lot of money would ruin creativity.

The music selected was African Jazz. It was quite difficult just to collect 10 records of recent artists. Actually, I was thinking of playing old songs that everyone knows, like the Carpenters. It's a romantic world, but it was too much for me (laughs).

Also, we used a lot of black models for this project. This is not because of race, but purely because they look cool. For this show, I used models of various races, including Caucasian and Asian, in order to express diversity.

three primary virtues: valour, wisdom and benevolence (valor)I think even this show has its pros and cons, but in Paris, there are clear negatives. That is what I am looking forward to. Also, Paris reminds me of my first trip there when I was a student. It happened to be Fashion Week, and in the 90's, you could get in without an invitation, there were lots of people, and suddenly a show would start on the street when you wondered what was going on. I really liked the enthusiasm of Paris Fashion Week in the 90s, where even if you didn't have any money, you could do something with just a little passion. I have that in me.

three primary virtues: valour, wisdom and benevolence (valor)It's based on my past collections, so for those who know my old clothes, you'll find something nostalgic. The base is American vintage and military, combining stereotypes with complex patterns and showing them in new layers.

This season, we are giving shape to things we tried to make as prototypes in the past but never released, like four-legged pants and four-sleeved outerwear. Even those were too avant-garde to sell. But the reason why I dared to make something that didn't sell was because a couturier once said, "No matter how much the human body evolves, it will never have three arms or four legs. I have been a couturier for a long time, and that's what makes it so difficult. Then I thought, let's make it. It's silly, but. I remembered that kind of feeling at the time.

I also like to copy myself. I also like to do taboo things. I like to copy things that are on the edge of being sued by big brands. As for shoes, "DC SHOES" is a true collaboration. It is interesting to do things that are on the edge while including real collaborations. I am always underground, so I like to provoke big brands.

three primary virtues: valour, wisdom and benevolence (valor)In the past, I think fashion was done by people who were anti-establishment. Now, Tokyo Fashion Week has become a corporate commercial, and I wonder who fashion is for. So, I think that young designers and brands with a philosophy have started to fight against such things. I feel that the way people perceive fashion is changing these days, so to be honest, I was scared to do a show for the first time in a long time. Then Mr. Ino of "Doublet" won an award. Since he is my most talented apprentice, I am as happy as if it were my own.

I don't deny the changing fashion of today, but I just wish fashion would be more of a counterculture. I am an underground person, so I feel the same way now. Like in the old days, they would suddenly put on a show along the Seine. I hope such an era will come again.