’Why not try getting quietly angry?’
That idea really resonated with me.“静かに怒ってみませんか？”
そのひとことがスーっと僕のなかに入ってきました。
JOHN LAWRENCE SULLIVAN (JLS) moved the location of its runway shows from Tokyo to Paris in the A/W 2010-11 season, subsequently relocating to London, so this season marked the first time in 11 years that the brand presented in the Japanese capital. With the theme “PROTECT”, the collection focused on the protective elements of menswear and designer Arashi Yanagawa’s palpable passion wowed the audience of industry insiders and loyal fans. We spoke to Yanagawa about his reasons for shifting the location of his show, as well as the surprise collaboration with Takahiro Miyashita, the designer behind TAKAHIROMIYASHITATheSoloist.
2010-11秋冬のランウェイショーを最後に東京から海外に進出。その後、パリからロンドンへと発表拠点を移しコレクションを発信している「JOHN LAWRENCE SULLIVAN (以下JLS)」。11年ぶりに東京で開催したランウェイショーは、「PROTECT/プロテクト」をテーマにメンズウエアが持つ”防”の側面にフィーチャーしてコレクションを構築。デザイナー柳川荒士のエモーショナルな熱量をびしびしと感じさせるコレクションを披露し、会場に集まった関係者やファンを圧倒しました。今回は、ランウェイショー開催の経緯からショーへのこだわり、そしてビックサプライズとなったTAKAHIROMIYASHITATheSoloist.デザイナーの宮下貴裕氏とのコラボ話を語ってもらった。
What were your reasons for showing in Tokyo after an 11-year hiatus?まず、11年ぶりとなった東京でのショーを振り返っていまの心境をおしえてください。
We showed in Paris and London for a long time, but I had long felt that I wanted the young generation of Tokyo to be able to see my shows live, so I feel that I have achieved that goal.
How do you feel about having so many young people in the audience?たしかにショー会場では若い世代の人たちが目立っていた印象でした。
I feel that this is the point where the customers of JLS have shifted by one generation. The people who saw the shows that we held at the Tokyo Collections are now in their 30s and early 40s, but the way we live has changed and so have attitudes towards fashion. What I’m aiming for as the way a brand should be is for it to remain a brand supported by young people who have a high level of interest in fashion. I don’t want JLS to become a brand that gets older with design, and along with its fans. That’s something that I share with the whole team, so that’s reflected in the collections that we create and that’s why they resonate with the new generation.
While many people feel that they want to wear their favorite brand forever, there certainly can be difficulties with that when one gets older. The consistency of JLS seems to be one of its attractive qualities. Is there a difference between the way you expressed yourself in the beginning and how you do so now?好きなブランドをずっと着続けていたいという気持ちは誰しもが持っていますが、年齢と共にむずかしくなる部分も正直ありますね。でも、そういうブレない姿勢がJLSの魅力のひとつだと思います。デビュー当時と現在では表現方法に違いはありますか。
When I first started, I didn’t really have much skill as a designer, so I made collections based on my own personal taste and the things I liked. When I think back to those days, it feels that the focus was quite narrow, but I guess it fitted the zeitgeist well back then. After making a lot of mistakes, little by little I was able to broaden the scope of my expression. These days, thanks to condensing what I learned through a lot of different experiences, I’m able to make things that are a lot more profound. I think that the younger generation appreciates this deeper approach to making clothes. There has been a change in the things we sell, too, as the stronger collection pieces are popular at the beginning of the season. As there has been a change in generations, customers seek more aggressive pieces, and I’m able to express the things I want to express as a brand more strongly
What made you want to show in Tokyo this season?今季東京でショーをしようと思った経緯をおしえてください。
First and I wanted the people who support the brand and Japanese people who are interested in fashion to be able to experience the energy that you get from seeing a live fashion show. Also, I wanted to leverage the things I’ve learned from showing in Paris and London to put on a show that captures how I feel about how a JLS fashion show should be.
When you mention the "energy" that comes from staging a live show, it's difficult to express that through photographs, but there was definitely a feeling of passion boiling over.“ライブならではのエネルギー”は、写真ではなかなか伝えきれませんが、ショーではふつふつと湧き上がるような熱量を感じました。
I was able to express the attitude of JLS in a very direct way this time. It hasn’t changed since the beginning, but it’s best summarized by the words “Strongly Beautiful”, and that reflects the contrasting important elements of ‘strong and beautiful’, ‘extreme and elegance’ that the brand is based on. Just like ‘simple’ and ‘obvious’ are different, I want the brand to understand the differences, and not be just about appearances, so that is what I wanted to communicate through the show
You also mentioned the phrase "Strongly Beautiful" in an interview with this magazine around a decade ago, and that left a very strong impression. What has changed?“強く美しく”というフレーズは約10年前におこなったインタビューでも話していましたね、とても印象に残っています。
At that time, I just wanted to make beautiful and simple clothes. Back then I was working with a stylist named Masumi Sakamoto and he took that desire on board and helped me to add depth to the collections. In order to keep stepping up my game, we moved the show to Paris, but I felt that something was missing. Then I realized that beauty alone was not enough. Thanks to that experience, I see the beauty element as something akin to an after-taste that lingers after the show has ended.
Do you feel that you were able to achieve that "after-taste" following this season's show?その“あとをひく美しさ”というのは先日のショーで表現しきれましたか？
I don’t think it was perfect, but I feel that I’m getting closer to what I want to achieve step by step.
完璧にできたかは自分では分かりませんが、一歩づつやりたいことに近づけているのは実感しています。
The theme of this season's show was "PROTECT" and your interpretation of that concept was incorporated into the collection. What led you to choose that theme?今回のコレクションでは「PROTECT」をテーマに柳川さんの考える「防」から派生したイメージを服に落とし込みました。そのテーマに至るきっかけとは？
I’m always keeping an eye out for new things within my daily life that I can use in my work, but there hasn’t really been a change in the things that I like. This time I went back over monographs of the artists I like and I got into fetishism again. Among the details of the works in that genre, I saw a protective element and from the military gear that often serves as the basis for menswear garments, I decided to focus on the idea of protection.
In this season's collection it seemed noteworthy that we didn't see items in the bold colors that characterize the strength of the JLS brand. What was your intention behind this?コレクションではJLSの強さの象徴でもある赤や緑などはっきりとした色使いのアイテムが登場しなかったことが印象的でした。見せ方でこだわった点は？
Actually I considered using pinks and yellows, but there was no need to use them in this season’s collection. One of my aims was to show menswear on female models for a genderless look. Also, what was a big difference from previous collections was the way I tried to evoke an emotional response in the viewer. I used different colors and details on items in the same silhouette. I was conscious of retaining a sense of continuity from beginning to end, like the beautiful melody of a piece of music, and I think that resulted in a collection that draws in the viewer.
The fact that you enlisted Takahiro Miyashita to do the styling for the show was a big surprise宮下さんによるスタイリングもコレクションのサプライズのひとつでした。
I spoke with him about the core concept of the collection many times. He fully understood the strength of the JLS brand that I want to forge, and during one of the talks we had, he said to me “Arashi, why don’t you try getting quietly angry?”. At first, I was a bit anxious about it, but then I got into it and decided that was the direction I would go in. In terms of the styling, I feel that it was really beautiful from start to finish, and I reckon there is a hidden strength in there that we were able to express. While we communicated the identity of the JLS brand, the characteristics of Miyashita are evident throughout. I feel like he showed me new ways to express strength.
What is your connection to Miyashita?宮下さんとの関係性も気になります。
A few years back I was contacted by a mutual friend, who said he had somebody he wanted to introduce me to, and that turned out to be Miyashita. I had only heard about him through the grapevine up until then, but we got along well and started to meet up on a regular basis.
You certainly have the fact that you are designers with a strong viewpoint in common. If one imagines a conversation between you it might get confrontational. Was that not the case?主張の強いデザイナー同士というのは通じるところも多いのかもしれませんね。会話を想像するだけでも若干はらはらしますが…
Neither of us is the straightforward type, but somehow we’re on the same wavelength. He’s an amazing designer and he has a deep understanding of clothing and design, so he’s someone I respect. He always gives me a very frank opinion of my work, so it’s easy to talk to him.
How did this friendship develop into him styling your collection?その出会いが今回のスタイリングにどう繋がっていくんでしょう？
I mentioned to him that the stylist that I’ve been working with for the past few seasons in London wasn’t able to come to Japan due to the current pandemic. There were a few potential candidates, but the team and I couldn’t decide so it looked like I was just going to have to do it myself. I told Miyashita about the situation and he said “Shall I do it?”. We were both drunk at the time, so I called him the next day and asked him if he was still up for it and he said yes, and that’s how it happened.
What stood out to you about working with him?印象的だったことを教えてください。
At the beginning of the show the track ‘Avril 14th’ by Aphex Twin plays, and that was very Miyashita’s idea, but I was against it at first because it’s not the sort of thing that we usually do at JLS shows, but seeing as we decided to do work together, I thought it was worth mixing in the best parts of both of our visions, so I changed my mind and ended up really wanting to use it, even though he pitched me a bunch of alternatives afterwards.
冒頭に一曲(Aphex Twin : Avril 14th)が流れるじゃないですか、あれは宮下さんのアイデアだったんですけど、JLSにはない演出だったので初めはすこし迷いました。でも、せっかく一緒にやるんだからお互いのいいところをミックスしてみようと気持ちを切り替えてみたら、あの曲をどうしても流したくなって。宮下さんからほかの曲の提案もありましたが、その時はすでに自分のなかでこの曲に決めていました。
So you fused together your two world views through this show?おたがいの持ち味を活かしあえたんですね。
After the show finished, somebody said to me “It was very JLS and it was very Miyashita”. When I heard them say that, I knew that I have managed to deliver the message that I want to get across. That’s where the meaning behind Miyashita’s suggestion that I get a little bit angry really came together. He’s a man with a very strong sense of responsibility and I really felt his enthusiasm for making something beautiful after he took on the job. It was a very intense time and it was incredibly fun working with him.
