Hello, this is Kubo. I will be holding a show in Shibuya, Tokyo on the evening of Monday, August 29th. I will be showcasing my Spring/Summer 2023 collection, and this time it will be a show as part of "by R," a designer support project of "Rakuten Fashion Week TOKYO."
"TOGA" and "Beautiful People" have been selected in the past, so I was wondering "Why don't they listen to me?", so I'm honestly happy about this offer. Since it's a special occasion, I'm going to make it a dynamic show that will be a memorable one for me. I've made a ton of clothes this time, so please look forward to it.
There's a reason why I wanted to make a dynamic show. Lately, even a professional like me has been finding it difficult to distinguish between good and bad clothes, and they've started to seem very flat... Maybe it's because there's too much information on social media and the like, but I feel like I'll get lost in the crowd unless I present something fundamentally new.
When I think about this and look back at my collections, I often feel that I did it half-heartedly. I thought I had worked really hard at making clothes at the time, exploring the possibilities of clothing, but looking at the current trends, I realized that it still wasn't enough. I realized this when I made some clothes a while ago that had a certain atmosphere. I felt that if I didn't go all out like that, it wouldn't be interesting for me.
I've been making clothes with these feelings for the past year or two, but one time I was so moved that it gave me goosebumps when I saw the Valentino show held in the Spanish Steps in Rome in July. I thought, "This is what I'm aiming for," so I re-wound myself and worked on this collection.
Although I'm doing it this time, it has made me think deeply about the state of fashion shows in the future. I don't think fashion shows themselves will disappear, so I won't deny their existence. In fact, I have looked up to senior designers and worked hard, thinking, "I'll do it too someday."
However, the world has changed dramatically, and the industrial structure is different from before, so I'm starting to have some doubts about continuing with the same format. I've always wanted to make clothes differently, so I can't stand this situation. Even if I hold a show and draw people, it doesn't necessarily translate directly into sales. I feel like it's not just about the products, every year.
It's a strange analogy, but I've come to feel that unless something like milk gets poured on someone during a show (!) happens, more people won't pay attention to fashion. It's not about showing a certain worldview or anything like that. Most brands other than the top fashion houses only have a few thousand people watching, even when they stream their runway shows on YouTube. That's a few thousand people out of 7 billion people.
It's not like "Black Swan," but perhaps we are on the cusp of some major upheaval. We are on the threshold of a complete transformation of the fashion industry. No one could have imagined that Lehman Brothers, the prestigious financial institution and pinnacle of the establishment, would collapse, yet it did. As an aside, I really like the TV drama "Lehman Brothers: The Last Four Days," which I find very entertaining.
If that's the case, shouldn't I take the initiative and find a different way of doing things before that happens? That's what I think about every day. I have some topics to talk about other than the show, but I'll save that for next time. It should be a kind of opening ceremony that will announce the position of my brand going forward. Please look forward to it.
[Please also check this out]
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"TOGA" and "Beautiful People" have been selected in the past, so I was wondering "Why don't they listen to me?", so I'm honestly happy about this offer. Since it's a special occasion, I'm going to make it a dynamic show that will be a memorable one for me. I've made a ton of clothes this time, so please look forward to it.
There's a reason why I wanted to make a dynamic show. Lately, even a professional like me has been finding it difficult to distinguish between good and bad clothes, and they've started to seem very flat... Maybe it's because there's too much information on social media and the like, but I feel like I'll get lost in the crowd unless I present something fundamentally new.
When I think about this and look back at my collections, I often feel that I did it half-heartedly. I thought I had worked really hard at making clothes at the time, exploring the possibilities of clothing, but looking at the current trends, I realized that it still wasn't enough. I realized this when I made some clothes a while ago that had a certain atmosphere. I felt that if I didn't go all out like that, it wouldn't be interesting for me.
I've been making clothes with these feelings for the past year or two, but one time I was so moved that it gave me goosebumps when I saw the Valentino show held in the Spanish Steps in Rome in July. I thought, "This is what I'm aiming for," so I re-wound myself and worked on this collection.
Although I'm doing it this time, it has made me think deeply about the state of fashion shows in the future. I don't think fashion shows themselves will disappear, so I won't deny their existence. In fact, I have looked up to senior designers and worked hard, thinking, "I'll do it too someday."
However, the world has changed dramatically, and the industrial structure is different from before, so I'm starting to have some doubts about continuing with the same format. I've always wanted to make clothes differently, so I can't stand this situation. Even if I hold a show and draw people, it doesn't necessarily translate directly into sales. I feel like it's not just about the products, every year.
It's a strange analogy, but I've come to feel that unless something like milk gets poured on someone during a show (!) happens, more people won't pay attention to fashion. It's not about showing a certain worldview or anything like that. Most brands other than the top fashion houses only have a few thousand people watching, even when they stream their runway shows on YouTube. That's a few thousand people out of 7 billion people.
It's not like "Black Swan," but perhaps we are on the cusp of some major upheaval. We are on the threshold of a complete transformation of the fashion industry. No one could have imagined that Lehman Brothers, the prestigious financial institution and pinnacle of the establishment, would collapse, yet it did. As an aside, I really like the TV drama "Lehman Brothers: The Last Four Days," which I find very entertaining.
If that's the case, shouldn't I take the initiative and find a different way of doing things before that happens? That's what I think about every day. I have some topics to talk about other than the show, but I'll save that for next time. It should be a kind of opening ceremony that will announce the position of my brand going forward. Please look forward to it.
[Please also check this out]
"Rakuten Fashion Week TOKYO" yoshiokubo
yoshiokubo Designer Yoshio Kubo Interview Vol.1
Rakuten Fashion "yoshiokubo"