We are all haunted by a ghost, an angel or a demon living inside of us: at times this presence may be a recurring thought, an obsession or fear of something that may happen to us.
Tokyo-born and based artist Suzume Uchida has many spirits residing inside her mind: one may look like a multi-limbed woman, another like a fragile presence with an enigmatic smile and semi-closed eyes. For fashion designer Yohji Yamamoto there are other sorts of metaphorical demons, such as his fear of the climate crisis. The two visions came together in Yamamoto's Spring/Summer 2020 menswear collection, showcased in June in Paris.
Yamamoto expressed his fear to journalists after the show, even though there was a sense of sadness and doom also in his all-black signature looks. The designer commissioned Uchida 7 new works to be used for this collection.
Uchida collaborated indeed with Yamamoto for the first time in his S/S 18 collection: in that case the artist provided some of her ink, watercolour and oil works with spooky chiaroscuoro effects, among the others "Anorexia and Destruction", "Pinky Swear" and "Red Fruit".
The artist summoned up her hidden demons again for the S/S 20 collection and came up with ghost-like presences such as a cursed spider woman hugging a man with his back to the viewer ("Spider Hug") and a frighteningly snake queen ("A Skeleton Man and A Snake Woman"), her skin breaking around her spine, generating poisonous snakes that stare at a skeleton man resting on her lap.
The man is wearing a hat in these images, evoking Yamamoto's own signature hat, so you wonder if these images could also be interpreted as the designer's final vision of an apocalyptic armageddon triggered by climate change.
The mystery is not solved by Yamamoto's cryptic messages printed on the clothes, texts stating "I hold you, you hold me", "hard to arrive, where are you," and the less conceptual, but most effective, "Mother F-ker".
Yet, while the meanings of Uchida's works, suspended between horror, fantasy and Japanese folklore, remain untold, they seem to go well with the clothes.
Uchida's irresistibly sensual, but resistibly creepy monsters (all of them are self-portraits of the artist) hide in the folds of Yamamoto's relaxed and loose genderless suits and coats characterised by silhouettes at times borrowed from workwear; they seem to suddenly materialise from the drapes of black cotton, gabardine and velvet, reminding the wearer that in each of us reside many spirits, ghosts, passions, neuroses and preoccupations, as Uchida suggests in her multiple self-portrait "We Inside Me".
How did this new collaboration come about?
Suzume Uchida: Master Yohji Yamamoto asked me to paint for him something spooky, like a monster, and that was the starting point. He told me: "you may have for real these ghostly spooky figures inside you, Suzume-san." Inspired by his unexpected comments, I eagerly tried to delve into something ghoulish that was sleeping in the depth of my mind. That's why the female images produced this time are different from my self-portraits used in the S/S 18 collection. It was also exciting being commissioned something for a specific collection, it was indeed amazing to know that the pictures were being created exclusively for those menswear designs.
This is the second time you work with this brand, how do you feel about this collaboration with such a historical and iconic Japanese house?
Suzume Uchida: This is actually the third time we work together, we did indeed another collaboration in 2018 only for the Japanese market. I feel very honoured about this collaboration with Yamamoto's brand. They are all top-notch specialists who taught me great lessons. I exchanged opinions with them, so this was a genuine mutual exchange rather than a mere collaboration between a designer and an artist. The more we worked together, the more I became confident about what we were doing.
What did you learn about fashion from your previous collaboration?
Suzume Uchida: As a painter, I am interested in the choice of the materials to paint on, whether it is a piece of flaxen cloth or a wooden panel. So I find it intriguing seeing the various effects my artworks take once they are printed on clothes. For example, the faces of the women portrayed in my artworks seem to change, assuming a smiling or sad expression depending on the drapes and folds on the clothes and I think that's fascinating. So the lessons I learnt pertain to the materials used.
How many works were chosen to be featured in this collection and was it difficult to select them?
Suzume Uchida: For the show, we prepared 8 prints in addition with several pieces that were then not used. The final selection was made by Master Yamamoto after his deep deliberation until just before the show.
For the first Yamamoto collection you employed pieces inspired by your own experiences, can you tell us more about the themes behind the artworks that appear on the new designs?
Suzume Uchida: I think this time there was a combined vision between the spooky spirit living in the depth of my soul and gnawing at my mind and a spooky spirit as conjured up by Yohji Yamamoto's own vision. So there is always a sort of dichotomy behind the images. For example, in a work entitled "Lily Ashura" I painted a woman surrounded by lilies. Now, innumerable lilies express the madness of a woman, but the work is inspired by an anecdote saying that if a woman sleeps surrounded by lilies she will die soon. So this is a double-headed coin, as we are attracted by an image that, to our dismay, will bring sorrow. All the pieces were produced after long talks with Yohji Yamamoto's team members. We always tried to reconcile our mutual ideas and come up with a spirit or ghost that satisfied both our visions.
Your artworks seem to emerge from the black designs like diaphanous ghosts: were you fascinated by supernatural forces to create this mood (I remember that one of your previous works was inspired by a psychic photograph)?
Suzume Uchida: It was actually Master Yohji Yamamoto who suggested the prints should have been realized in a vague ghost-like and scary atmosphere, so I followed that lead. I quite liked the final results we achieved.
Did you come up also with the text on the designs ("I hold you, you hold me" for example on a loosely fitting shirt)?
Suzume Uchida: The text was written by Master Yohji Yamamoto. Sometimes, casual conversations exchanged between us during meetings became texts. One of my favorite texts is the one saying "Still living even if I became insane" on my self-portrait which made me think about the fear of uncontrollable insanity.
Though this is a menswear collection, most of these garments are genderless, how do you feel about them, do you see them more for men or women?
Suzume Uchida: The designs are produced as a menswear collection, but I would be glad to meet a woman wearing them. In fact I would love people wearing these pieces regardless of gender boundaries and constrictions.
Who is the perfect wearer of this Suzume Uchida X Yohji Yamamoto collection?
Suzume Uchida: A man wishing to be eaten by a spooky spirit or a woman nurturing and dominating such a spirit inside her! But remember, Yohji Yamamoto's garments are bold and strong, so you must be well-prepared to wear them.
Which garment do you like best from this collection?
Suzume Uchida: In this collection for the first time they did pants with an all-over pattern that I loved. As they are all patterned, it is rather difficult to recognize the images, but I think this vagueness plays in favour of this design.
Was it emotional seeing your artwork again on the runway in Paris?
Suzume Uchida: I was very much excited. I couldn’t sleep well the previous night from all the mental stress about it!
Do you have any exhibitions coming up in Japan or Europe?
Suzume Uchida: I am going to hold exhibitions of my original paintings which were printed on Yamamoto's designs in Japan. The dates and places will be announced by the end of this year or in spring time next year. As usual, you can keep updated about this on my site, my Facebook page or by following my Twitter and Instagram accounts.
All images in this post courtesy Suzume Uchida
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