It’s not usually that you simply hear screams of horror at a trend presentation—even on the most hideous of collections. However Mikio Sakabe is nice at getting a response.
This season the designer held a presentation in a 90-year-old Japanese home that’s presupposed to be haunted, and is used as an escape room for horror followers. Every of the dimly lit rooms—10 in whole—contained one or two fashions, their faces obscured by hair and carrying Sakabe’s jarringly cutesy garments. Some curled up on the ground shivering in worry or sat dealing with the wall; others banged a wall sporadically, or hid inside closets earlier than instantly springing out (eliciting these aforementioned screams). Hidden in a crimson glowing alcove in a single room was a person threateningly wielding a crowbar, his murderous grimace broadcast on a fuzzy tv.
Sakabe is a giant horror fan, and had been desirous about methods to forge a connection between Japanese horror and trend. “Whilst an grownup, getting into a spot like that—a barely eerie room—can simply transport you into that distinctive world, which I discover fascinating,” he stated. “I really feel that horror is the simplest technique to enter a fantasy world.”
The small print have been onerous to make out within the dimly lit windowless rooms, but it surely wasn’t actually in regards to the garments; Sakabe understands that individuals don’t purchase into clothes themselves as a lot because the universe that surrounds them. “Not too long ago, I’ve been focusing extra on conveying a way of the world I create, moderately than simply displaying the garments. Individuals who need to see the garments can come to the showroom; I believe experiencing this distinctive world first will go away a extra lasting impression,” he stated. “If it was too vibrant, the garments could be seen, however the ambiance could be utterly misplaced.”
The designer can afford to lean into his wackier impulses. His footwear model, Grounds, is the industrial driver of his enterprise—the bubble-soled sneakers are a standard sight on streets from Tokyo to Shanghai. Plus, Sakabe has a cult fanbase for a purpose. The twisted blouses, holey knits, super-shouldered blazers, and deconstructed sailor collar schoolgirl uniforms right here have been interesting, wearable, and unusual sufficient to simply discover their manner into the lives of those that take pleasure in them. Just like the horror movies Sakabe likes a lot, his garments supply a portal to a different world.
