We Also Create Clothes for Just One Night

—Thank you for making time for us today despite your busy schedule. We heard you just returned from Saga Prefecture.

MorinagaYes, I did.GagganDo you know the restaurant Gaggan? It's a Bangkok establishment that has held the number one spot for four consecutive years in the annual "Asia's 50 Best Restaurants" ranking, offering a completely new culinary experience that fuses molecular gastronomy with Indian flavors.

They were opening a restaurant in Saga for just one night, so I went. We designed their uniforms.

—Uniforms for a restaurant that operates for only one night?

MorinagaYes, for just one night. It was a very unique and experimental evening, with serving styles that included dishes presented in vessels with knives still inserted. The chef coats we designed were made from a special material that utilizes a seven-color prism effect, creating a design reminiscent of cherry blossoms scattering. Depending on the light source and viewing angle, the cherry blossoms change color from pink to green and various other hues.

—As the brand name ANREALAGE suggests—combining A REAL (everyday), UN REAL (unreal), and AGE (era)—you engage in creative endeavors across various fields.

MorinagaI believe fashion can permeate any field, regardless of its nature. Even without a physical form, we can imbue it with a sense of fashion.

Beyond presenting collections in Paris or selling clothes in stores, we see expanding and crossing boundaries within fashion as one of our potential activities.

—This BE@RBRICK is one such endeavor, isn't it?

MorinagaThat's right. It was over 10 years ago, but Mr. Akashi, the president of MEDICOM TOY, used to visit and purchase items from ANREALAGE when the brand wasn't yet widely recognized. At the time, we only offered women's sizes, but he would alter them to fit his men's size. I also remember him buying patchwork clothing, which is very expensive because each piece is made by assembling a thousand or three thousand fragments.

—Were you familiar with MEDICOM TOY before then?

MorinagaOf course. BE@RBRICK was an item that existed within the landscape of fashion during my formative years in the late 1990s. It transcended boundaries that fashion couldn't cross, involving various musicians, artists, and manga creators. I consider it an extraordinary platform.

—Before we discuss the BE@RBRICK, I'd like to understand your thought process, Mr. Morinaga—what kind of inputs lead to such interesting outputs?

Morinaga(Laughs) I don't actively seek inputs. Rather, I try to discover things within my immediate surroundings that I haven't noticed or found yet.

I enjoy finding undiscovered aspects within familiar information and expressing them through fashion. I've undertaken many projects, but even after all this time, the moment I discover something new is incredibly rewarding. Occasionally, I experience a sudden shift in my perception of the world.

—Things that are easily overlooked in everyday life, perhaps?

MorinagaI want to bring things that occur naturally outside of fashion into the realm of fashion. For example, 'color changes' or 'light reflection.' In daily life, the color of the sky changes, and these aren't extraordinary phenomena. However, when the color of the clothes you're wearing changes with light, it becomes interesting precisely because it's 'clothing.'

Reflective materials are also common in everyday life, such as traffic signs. The interest arises when these phenomena are translated into threads, dyes, or prints. Unlike gadgets, fashion is a fundamentally analog medium, and because it is created by human hands, an 'incident' occurs when something foreign is introduced.

—What is the difference between clothing and BE@RBRICK?

MorinagaThe appeal of BE@RBRICK lies in its format. It's about how to express oneself within the constraints of a specific form. The freedom of expression that emerges from such a highly restrictive medium is what I find fascinating.

—The sole rule is not to disrupt the silhouette.

MorinagaConversely, with clothing, the human form serves as the basis, and we often distort or deliberately deviate from that form. ANREALAGE creates collections based on a theme each season, and these themes act as the rules for that season. Our challenge is to adhere to these rules while simultaneously embodying the everyday and the extraordinary in our garments.

Page02.Thoughts on the Brand's Origins

Thoughts on the Brand's Origins

—What was the theme behind this BE@RBRICK?

MorinagaOur dried flower series involves preserving a piece of nature's reality within the everyday by drying real flowers and encasing them in resin. We discussed with Mr. Akashi the idea of applying this concept directly to BE@RBRICK. Initially, we planned to embed flowers within the ABS resin of the BE@RBRICK, but unfortunately, structural limitations made this impossible.

—What was the reason for wanting to use real flowers?

MorinagaFlowers are a prevalent motif in fashion, most notably in floral prints.

So, I thought it would be interesting to create a floral pattern by replacing printed flowers with real ones—to transform the real element of actual flowers into an unreal floral pattern. This BE@RBRICK is an extension of that concept.

In other words, a mere print wouldn't suffice. Around that time, a new printing technique called water transfer printing was developed.

—This is a technique where a film with a pattern is floated on water, and when an object is submerged from above, the water pressure transfers the detailed pattern even onto curved surfaces.

MorinagaUsing this method, we could create variations in the placement, pattern, and color of each floral motif. So, we decided to give it a try.

—By the way, what was the theme for selecting the flowers used this time?

MorinagaThis design replicates the entrance of ANREALAGE's first store, which we created in Jingumae (opened in 2011, relocated to Minami-Aoyama in July last year). The entire window display there was filled with flowers. We photographed those flowers directly. It includes eight types, such as baby's breath and starflowers.

—So, it embodies a sentiment towards the brand's origins.

Incidentally, ANREALAGE has also collaborated withASICSandOnitsuka Tiger,as well as the Swiss watchmakerRADO.Why do you actively pursue collaborations with other genres?

MorinagaUntil a few years ago, it was the opposite; we didn't collaborate at all.

The fashion world, in a sense, has a high barrier to entry and tends to exclude external influences. However, in this era, relying solely on that approach leads to significant limitations. While we have a mission to develop new technologies, we've come to believe that actively partnering with other genres and crossing boundaries to expand our reach is a valid approach.

Things we cannot create ourselves—For example, watches or BE@RBRICKs. These are things we couldn't produce on our own, but by collaborating, perhaps we can create a watch from a fashion designer's perspective that a watch designer couldn't achieve. And that's something I find personally exciting.

—What prompted this shift in your thinking?

MorinagaIt began with a desire to test the strength of our concepts. We establish a concept for our clothing each season. Many brands today don't set concepts, and I feel there are almost no brands that create distinctly conceptual work. Despite this trend, I am confident in my ability to thoroughly explore how to challenge 'concepts.'

—You are likely already working on themes beyond ANREALAGE's 2018-19 A/W "PRISM." Do your interests within ANREALAGE seem inexhaustible?



MorinagaWhile not infinite, there are clearly things I haven't yet achieved or explored in terms of clothing. These are things that can be expressed with the advancement of technology, and if our pace of expression aligns with that progress, I want to pursue them.

—What are your thoughts on the relationship between fashion and the everyday/extraordinary?

MorinagaParadoxically, I believe the everyday is remarkably resistant to change. Yet, we all have experiences that have altered our daily lives—perhaps from reading a passage in a book or listening to music. I believe clothing can also serve as such a catalyst. Wearing a piece of clothing can instantly switch something on in a person. While it's an analog interface, I consider it a highly effective switch.

I am that type of person myself. A single piece of clothing made by someone else made me think, "Clothing is amazing." That led me to consider making clothes myself, which has profoundly changed my life.

I imagine some of our customers might feel, "Wearing ANREALAGE today helped me get through the day." When I see someone wearing a striking outfit on the street, it lifts my spirits. I want to continue working with the belief in the potential of such clothing.

—Indeed, our daily scenery often changes based on our attire.

MorinagaIn the late 1990s, when I started making clothes, there were many fascinating garments available. However, with the advent of fast fashion, prices collapsed. We must acknowledge the proliferation of identical clothing. Within this context, we consider how many more pieces of 'extraordinary' clothing we can release into the world as we craft each one.

—Thank you. Regarding PARCO's current corporate message,"SPECIAL IN YOU."you described talent as "the ability to take a more circuitous route than others." Along with your collaborators, Ichiro Yamaguchi of Sakanaction and media artist Daito Manabe, I eagerly anticipate the future you will reveal to us.

MorinagaMr. Yamaguchi and Mr. Manabe are from different fields, but we are roughly the same generation. They are both remarkable individuals, so I'm truly glad we aren't in the same genre (laughs).

BE@RBRICK ANREALAGE 100% & 400% / 1000%

Now available at MEDICOM TOY PLUS, select ANREALAGE stores, and other select retailers since May 2018.
Each approximately 70mm (100%) / 280mm (400%) / 700mm (1000%) in height.
100% & 400%: ¥16,200 (incl. tax) / 1000%: ¥54,000 (incl. tax)

*This is a limited edition product. Sales will end once stock is depleted.

© ANREALAGE
BE@RBRICK TM & © 2001-2018 MEDICOM TOY CORPORATION. All rights reserved.

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