Self-Defense
From encounter to creation and attachment
~Nostalgia evolves into newness, functional clothing born from overlapping techniques~

Over the past few years, I've been confronting 'Japan' itself, respecting its elements while pursuing patterns and details I'd never seen before, and what I've arrived at is the existence of 'China'.

My connection to China is quite significant; in my younger days, I even helped with clothing production due to a certain event. I've touched on this in more detail in " Stories about China ," so please check it out if you're interested.

But the strongest connection is definitely kung fu movies. I have fond memories of watching intently as a child, my eyes shining with excitement at the raw action performed by the stars of kung fu movies, and then becoming engrossed in trying to imitate them.

During those early years, my mother was always by my brother and me as a seamstress. One day, as winter approached, in between her usual work, my mother was hand-sewing a patchwork Santa Claus, stitch by stitch. When my brother received it as a gift, to me at the time it looked like a stuffed animal that had been made with great care and skill.

I was reminded of this ordinary everyday life when a patchwork Santa Claus made by my mother came out of the storage room.

It was made decades ago, and although it's faded and worn, I just can't bring myself to throw it away; I want to keep it forever. "I want to keep anything that was made with care, no matter how much time passes." I suppose that's just human nature.

Each of those old memories reunited in my mind, and the combination of my fashion knowledge, established techniques and methods throughout history, the possibilities of fabrics, and a touch of playfulness, imagination, and creativity resulted in the new collection I've presented today.

I believe that if we can create a truly unique garment, meticulously crafted with great care and thought, it won't be easily "consumed" but will be cherished and worn for a long time. I think that kind of thinking is what's needed in fashion today.

that's why,
Somehow nostalgic, yet new, these clothes will capture the hearts of their owners. We want to create comfortable clothing that will protect you as you go about your daily life.
This is the concept behind yoshiokubo's 2023/2024 Fall/Winter collection, "Self Defense."

Please take a look at the video to see the world view. (Kubo Yoshio)



Click here for a list of images.