The opening of the 24SS season of NICE NESS starts with this photo exhibition. Photographer Yuto Kudo captures the city of Varanasi, India, its clothes, and its people.

Debuted in the Spring/Summer 2018 season 〈NICENESSThe concept is "Just good is good. The concept is "Just good is good," and the clothes are impressive because they strongly reflect the tastes of the designer, Yuichi Go.

. And the way of making them is indispensable to express the brand's worldview. From the selection of materials to the finishing touches of the details, the production process itself has captivated many fashion experts, with a desire to preserve the techniques and culture of the brand for future generations.

On the occasion of the launch of the 24SS collection, a photo exhibition will be held.

The theme of the 24SS collection is "Golden Eternity," inspired by the Beat poets who caused a stir in the American literary scene from the late 1940s to the mid-1960s. The Beat, by the way, refers to the young people of that era who disliked being a cog in the wheel of society and sought freedom.

The philosophy of combining Eastern thought and Western culture brought by Gary Snyder, one of the Beat poets, was used as a guideline in the creation of this project and the craftsmanship with Indian artisans.

Production was based in Varanasi, a sacred place for Hinduism and Buddhism in India, and the visual shooting was also conducted there. The shoot was conducted in Varanasi, a sacred Hindu and Buddhist site in India, and the visuals were shot in the same location.

Let me show you some of the pictures of such visuals.

The photo exhibition will be held at "ELIGHT Inc. Showroom" from Friday, April 19 (by appointment only). Please come and experience the culture that supports the "nice-ness" worldview.

Finally, the photographer who shot the visuals for this campaign, photographerYuto KudoA few words from the "Mere Old Man". . He was one of the people who were fascinated by India.

Linga and Causes
"The movie Kids by Larry Clark, which I saw in a skate store when I was an impressionable student, was one of the things that inspired me to pursue a career in photography. I was surrounded by high school classmates who were also studying photography, and being a natural, I thought there might be other interesting things to do, so I became interested in Indian philosophy. I went to an open campus of an Indian philosophy department at one of the universities, but I was beaten down, and that was my first break with India.
When I was in college for photography, the year I turned 20, I decided to take my first solo trip abroad. Of course, the destination was India. I was elated, and while doing some research on travel websites, I found a great deal on tickets to New York City, partly because it was the year after the 9/11 terrorist attacks. I was young and bought a ticket to New York without hesitation. That was the second time I parted ways with India.
In my 30s, I was independent, had a family, and somewhere along the way I thought I would no longer be associated with India. Yet on Instagram, Paulo was still riding his skateboard and tapping his tabla, and in the fall of '23, Mr. Yamada of Silver magazine gave me a key chain of Shiva as a souvenir from India, which, in retrospect, was like a premonition. . It was in this context that I received the offer for this photo shoot.
The original schedule that I was supposed to go to the shoot was shifted for various reasons, and when I went to Kyoto for another shoot, I drew the seven divinities of good fortune fortune and Daikokuten, which is based on Lord Shiva, came up. Since the destination was Varanasi, and furthermore, the rescheduled dates were to include Maha Shivaratri, a festival in honor of Lord Shiva, I thought this was a cause and effect.
After Corona dawned, I went every year to take pictures at the Kanamara Festival held at the Kanayama Shrine in Kawasaki City, which is known as the pinnacle of strange festivals in Japan. There, a portable shrine of the male genitalia is carried. In India, the symbol of the male organ, Linga, which is an incarnation of Shiva, is an object of worship. I'm sure I was always called by Shiva and his incarnation, Shivalinga."
Yuto Kudo