The elaborate staging is designed to make the space look natural and moody.
-How did you create the show? Was it difficult to convey such subtle nuances on the runway?
Asakawa: The overall feeling of the show was to portray a natural mood with a slight nuance or mood, which is hard to put into words. I discussed every detail with the director, Mr. Kagoya, and other staff members, including the way to convey words, music, lighting, and so on.
Asakawa: We chose a venue with good natural light, so we adjusted the angle of the lights many times to take advantage of that. When we changed the number of speakers from 6 to 8 to 10, the way the sound was transmitted was slightly different. The speed at which the model walks and the position from which she stands also make a difference, so we worked out the details in detail.
I used a fan to spin seemingly imperceptible smoke for about 10 seconds to create a misty balance of light, or to express mood and color as if fine particles were enveloping the space. I tried to create a space and sound that was soft but strong enough to be felt in a minimalist way, and I added these elements by carefully calculating and adding them.
-The gradation of gray was beautiful and impressive in the natural light.
Asakawa: In the photo book that inspired the idea, there is a portrait of a girl who looks wonderful in beige and gray woven together by natural light. I wanted to propose this mood for this season, so I created a flow from gray to taupe, beige, brown, navy, and the brand's basic black, while using gray as the main color. Then we moved on to black, the brand's basic color.
-The styling by Shotaro Yamaguchi was also good, enhancing Stein's casual strength.
Asakawa: Shoutarou-san is sincere and stoic in his approach to expression. We get along well, and we usually talk about the importance of mood. For this show as well, we spent a lot of time discussing how we could create a new mood that would be unique to the brand.
Asakawa: I think layering colors creates depth and gradation, and makes the whole look more minimalistic. We worked together on the details when coordinating for the show.
-After the show, you presented it in the form of an installation.
Asakawa: For the installation, we had discussions right up to the last minute on how to make the clothes look better, combining the opinions of the press, designers, and overseas viewpoints.
Asakawa: We worked out the orientation of the models, the number of people in the room at one time, which looks were beautiful and in what order, and other details to convey "our unique mood".
