This season also contains a sense of nostalgia for things from the past, such as history and culture. Today’s creations are so far removed from the original context of the past that they have become a cut-and-paste of past facts such as history and tradition patched together in order to express something new. In fact, it is now considered a good thing, and no one can suggest what the real thing is anymore. The ambiguity of what is imitation and what is the real thing is an interesting aspect of today’s prevailing outlook. What I am trying to say is, “Does the language of creation have a meaning of authenticity?” I am trying to say, “Does the language of creation have a meaning of genuineness?”

When the corona pandemic began about three years ago and the world was in turmoil, people’s daily habits and spiritual values changed drastically. But before long, that awareness has faded away, and what was supposed to be a full-on effort to go in a different direction is now reverting back to its original time frame. Most people are now going about their daily lives as if nothing happened. Even though it actually happened, somewhere in the back of our minds, we have already taken it as something unrealistic, for better or worse. For example, from a modern perspective even historical events and traditions that have continued for 300 or 400 years are just symbols and information. In other words, you could say that we are living in an era in which all the information we see is perceived as a facsimile of the real thing.

This is really just a personal opinion. When I was in the first grade of high school, I saw sketches by Michelangelo at first. In my second year of high school, I began to study art in earnest in order to enter art school, so I repeated the copying process over and over again. It was a great way to learn how the master used his paint brushes, but the way I looked at his art books I was using also gradually changed, and I began to imagine his emotion and personality from the way he drew his lines. Of course, I have never met him, so it was really just my own selfish imagination. But there are countless cases in the world where techniques and ideas develop from imitation. I feel that imitation is a very human act, and I believe that it has contributed to fashion culture in a small way. Even the act of making clothing is, in historical context, an act of imitation when done by Asian people. Conversely, there are many kimono-style dresses made by Europeans. This kind of mixing and matching has been going on for a long time.

For our generation, the fashion of the ’80s and ’90s were a source of aspiration and passion, and we could feel their value in a very real way. At first glance, it seems as if that value is still valid today, but in reality, the amount and speed of information flows so fast that we don’t have the spare time to feel the vibes or reverberations, or even think about the creation process. Young people, who are most easily influenced by information, have lost interest in real fashion and learn about it only through the most easy-to-parse sources. I think that makes the generation that shared the idea that they could not live without fashion feel sad. That is why I strongly feel the need to reconfirm the meaning of the existence of fashion for individuals, not the flood of information. The uncertainty of the existence of fashion is, so to speak, the meaning of freedom.

My philosophy hasn’t changed since my early twenties; it’s harmony between art and people. To put it simply, I think fashion is also an art form. For example, when people look at art, they start thinking about some kind of problem. Art has the energy to force people to think about something. In the same way, I would be happy if you could feel the humor and creativity from our products and get a lot of inspiration from regular everyday life. I think that is what fashion means to us.

Fashion is not interesting if it is merely purely beautiful. Originally, there was an orthodox path, and a counterculture like ours was established as the antithesis to that. But ironically, in this show, I felt as if we were, in a sense, orthodox. Nowadays, the original context has been messed up. I feel that the problem is that we are in an era in which the orthodox route seems to be missing.

Actually, I am interested in image generation AI. I am especially addicted to AI glitches, which occur quite frequently. I keep searching for these glitches in AI art telling myself what an idiot I am for doing so, but it’s so interesting that I can’t stop looking. I even feel a sense of kinship with AI, because it seems to be just like us humans who keep making mistakes and are constantly contradicting ourselves. In the near future, AI may reign as the new orthodoxy in the field of creation. Or maybe it is already here. But the more AI-led digital design develops, the more interesting human design will become. Fashion shouldn’t just be about good arguments; that’s no fun at all. It’s not fun at all, because human beings are also like glitches in a certain sense.

Personally, nothing will change for me going forward. While the means of expression continues to change, I will continue to pursue the essential parts just as I always have. As a brand, the position of an independent brand like ours has not been properly verbalized yet, so I would like to define it. “Luxury” has been around for a long time, but the perception of the word has changed a lot. “Fast fashion” has only been around for about 10 years, but it has grown into a large market even though it has passed its peak. The term “DC brand” that we used to use seems so strange these days, doesn’t it? The clearer the terminology defines, the stronger the market will be so we want to find a terminology that is properly clear, not vague.

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2023-2024 A/W Collection “Imitation Complex”

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