付喪神
付喪神とは、道具に宿る神のこと。持ち主にもう一度気づいてもらおうと、動きだし騒ぎ始める、古く、壊れた物の妖怪。本コレクションはそんな付喪神の物語から着想を得ています。
東京、神奈川のあちこちのリサイクルショップやフリーマーケットから集められた物や織物を、衣服やアクセサリーへと作り合わせることで、物たちに魂と用途を蘇らせます。
そして救われた物たちを生まれ変わらせるのは、同じく、忘れ去られたり軽んじられてきた伝統の技。日用品、アクセサリーや織物にわたって利用される、かご細工法に重点を置いています。
また、物たちを衣服として一体化させ、さらに視覚的統一感を出すために応用したのは、仕立てやオートクチュールの技術、釣り用品に用いられるかご細工や結び目の技術、そしてウェットスーツ作りの技術などです。織物を使ったかご細工編みや、まるでダイビング装備のように身体に沿うラインが、作品の中に見られます。
ろくろ首、百々目鬼、二口女、シーサー、化け草履、のっぺらぼうなどの目や舌、曲線などの形にみられるような妖怪全体に健在の美的感覚をもとに、彼らに内在する可変性やセクシュアリティの要素を混ぜ合わせています。
さらにスポーツウェアの要素を組み入れて、作品は機能的で可変的です。ディテールが変形を可能にし、流動的でダイナミックなシルエットは、妖怪たちが集まり騒がしい湘南の海に溶け込んでいくようです。
The Shonan Bay
My first encounter with Japanese culture as a child was through the amazingly poetic animations of Miyazaki Hayao. Landscapes, textures, colors, weather… Everything seemed so different that each movie was a journey to this country, so unreachable for me at the time. The most fascinating stories were probably the ones featuring the Japanese ocean and its characters. As I grew up, I tried to find the beauty of the rocks and sea creatures depicted, making the Normandy coast my favorite landscape in France. I imagined how dragons or magic fish could fight to preserve their earthsea.
When I finally got the chance to study in Japan, years later, one of my first trips from Tokyo was at the Shonan bay. When I arrived at Yogashima and surveyed the coast, everything around me clicked; colors, textures, peoples, I felt immersed in the fantastic world of Yokai. This magical feeling was reinforced when I started surfing on Shonan waves, surrounded by tens of flying fishes, lit by sunrise.
Therefore, I had the desire to create to express this beauty of nature and the need of its protection. Japanese monsters express a duality between a horrific character and a protector of nature. They transform and adapt through centuries, educating many childrens and young adults to preserve their lands and oceans. I first focused my research on the Yokai living in Kanagawa. Kawa tengu (川天狗), Maikubi (舞首), Otobō namazu (音坊鯰), Tengubi (天狗火), Miura Kaidan (三浦怪談), a great number of them are water creatures. Each of their stories, and the way they are represented, inspired me to research more on Japanese Yokai and folk stories in general. It also pushed me to learn traditional oceans related techniques, such as basketry or knot techniques for fishnet making. Finally, the highly technical cuts and materials of surfing and diving wetsuit, studied in different second hand stores across Kanagawa, opened the possibility for me of artistic sportswear garments.
Thanks to this experience of Japanese seaside nature, folk stories, crafts, and sportswear, I would like to introduce you to the Tsukumogami collection, greatly inspired by the Shonan bay and spirit.
