Does this garment fit me impeccably? And these shoes? Do I fit in the world? Or in this complex society that often talks about inclusivity, but then rejects you when you show it your true divergent self? Will I ever fit in?
We often ponder on new words added to our global dictionaries every year, yet it's evident that the verb "to fit" ranks among the most frequently used in our daily lives. While we're consumed with the idea of "fitting in," to the point that we modify our behavior or attitude to conform, we're equally obsessed with our physical appearance, resorting to altering our bodies to accommodate the clothes or shoes we desire, when ideally, it should be the reverse – our clothing should be tailored to fit our bodies.
The notion of clothes that fit and fitting into clothes was also on Kunihiko Morinaga's mind as he worked on the Autumn/Winter 2024-25 collection for Anrealage.
To address this dilemma, Morinaga revisited Anrealage's S/S 09 collection, which drew inspiration from basic geometric shapes like cubes, spheres, and pyramids, exploring the concept of designing garments over three-dimensional forms and then applying them to the human body to visualize the outcome (View this photo; Morinaga already reused this concept in his capsule collection for Amazon Japan and for his presentation when he was a finalist at Louis Vuitton Moët Hennessy's LVMH Prize).
However, in this latest collection, Morinaga expanded on this concept by incorporating two additional inspirations – the 1970s Japanese manga Doraemon (a childhood favorite of Morinaga) and Reebok sportswear.
Anrealage's connection with Doraemon started last year when the brand debuted unique pieces in a special edition of Japanese interior design magazine Casa BRUTUS commemorating "Fujiko F. Fujio 100: Manga for Adults."
Among them were very kawaii garments, including a yellow and blue faux fur coat with a red belt made of photochromic material that changed color under ultraviolet light (View this photo), symbolizing Doraemon turning blue due to a mouse nibble. Other pieces included T-shirts with photochromic technology revealing new elements in different lighting (View this photo), a dress shaped like Doraemon's pocket (View this photo), serving as a wearable portal to the fourth dimension, and a series of tiny shirts (like the ones donned by Doraemon's friends and resized by Doraemon's Small Light gadget...) stitched together to form a "friendship" patchwork dress (View this photo).
The new collection was set to be unveiled during Anrealage's runway show beneath the Pont Alexandre III in Paris on Tuesday. Unfortunately, a technical glitch transformed the show into a presentation, leaving both fashion media and fans watching from home disappointed.
Titled "Object" and centered on the theme of inanimate objects versus living beings, the collection served as an exploration of the possibility of applying Anrealage's geometric clothing concept to objects such as drones (a thought-provoking notion about potentially dressing drones in the future, though, hopefully, not a reality as mine would likely fall prey to aggressive seagulls even more than it already does...).
At the presentation, Anrealage showcased geometrically shaped garments – shirts, tops, and jackets reimagined as spheres, pyramids, cubes, octahedrons, dodecahedrons, and icosahedrons, drawing inspiration from the attire worn by the iconic characters from Doraemon, created by Fujiko Fujio (Japanese manga artists Hiroshi Fujimoto and Motoo Abiko).
Beloved characters such as Doraemon the robo-cat from the 22nd century, Dorami, Nobita, Suneo, Gian, and Shizuka were reinvented as geometric forms, each adorned in colors reflecting their distinctive clothing.
These geometric figures appeared to float in the dark space, thanks to Doraemon's well-known "Take-copter" gadget (guests were also gifted headbands with the same yellow propeller).
The clothes fitted these figures perfectly, implying that they wouldn't fit anyone in real life. By designing clothes that don't fit any human body, Morinaga highlighted the illusion of "one-size-fits-all" clothing while exposing the flaws, imperfections, and falsehoods of standardized clothing production.
However, clothing designed for objects can still be worn by humans and, though they do not fit perfectly, they still create intriguing dynamics and movements as proved by the models donning the same designs of the floating structures and standing next to them (the runway probably envisioned models walking with their corresponding flying objects...).
Among the most functional and practical designs there were a white and royal blue spherical shirt in Doraemon trademark white and royal blue and a bulbous skirt decorated with a mini Doraemon print.
Sporty quilted looks, created in collaboration with Reebok, paid homage to the Instapump Fury 94 sneaker, even though, when reconfigured in a sphere, one of the Reebok looks evoked a soccer ball rather than sneakers.
Bold striped ensembles and metallic jackets rounded out the collection; the former were particularly striking as they resembled wearable origamis that created intriguing angles and asymmetries on the body. The presentation concluded with a spherical metallic biker jacket, maybe alluding to Doraemon’s robotic nature.
The collection also featured two slightly more commercial objects: one sphere bore the name of the Italian luxury brand Herno, hinting at Morinaga's upcoming debut collection for HERNO® Globe, the sustainable line of the luxury brand HERNO, which he now leads as creative director. Additionally, a zippered rendition of the world featured a design produced by FOREARTH, a groundbreaking water-free concept inkjet printing process developed by Kyocera Corporation.
Fujiko F. Fujio (Hiroshi Fujimoto), renowned for his "sukoshi fushigi" (meaning "a little mysterious" in Japanese) short stories, finds a kindred spirit in Anrealage, known for its enigmatic and unreal designs, always seeking the extraordinary within the ordinary and reminding us that conformity is not a prerequisite for existence.
However, with this latest collection, Anrealage ventured into a commentary on reality by crafting clothes as objects and garments for objects, offering a playful twist on the traditional one-size-fits-all approach.
When worn by humans, regardless of age, gender, or size, these object-inspired clothes exude an unexpected beauty, hinting at a conceptually fun everyday wardrobe that our descendants will wear in 100 years' time. Perhaps, by then, inclusivity will be fully realized.
While these specific pieces may not be available for purchase yet, Anrealage offers a pre-order option on some Doraemon items from the A/W 24 collection, including T-shirts, sweats and a skirt as well.
And if you can't afford anything, don't despair, but indulge in a dorayaki (Doraemon's favorite snack) or grab a bag of Doraemon mini-cakes of the kind you may find in Taiwain, or in shops (or websites) specialising in exotic snacks.
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