The Native American Hopi people criticize excessive industrialization and accelerating capitalism, and predict that the destruction of humanity is imminent unless we return to nature worship and spiritualism. Or the feature-length animated film "PAPRIKA" directed by Kon Satoshi, based on a novel by Tsutsui Yasutaka, which depicts the chaos in which the boundaries between dreams and reality melt away due to technological development, and the real world is swallowed up by dreams. Nagano Takeshi, designer of SEVESKIG and (un)decided, was inspired by two stories in which the world collapses due to technology when creating his 2023-24 Fall/Winter collection. Keywords that were supposed to be philosophical or fictional themes have changed into real-world concerns since the news of "war" that has been coming in real time since last year, and Nagano says that the theme was decided naturally as he thought about peace every day.
The original fabric, woven from flat nylon yarn, was developed with the image of storage bags for corn, a sacred crop to the Hopi people.
Apocalyptic keywords that appear in the legend, such as "Fourth World" and "New World Order," were input into AI to generate illustrations, which were then printed on Gobelin tapestry. In addition, motifs that play important roles in the legend, such as the Orion constellation and coyotes, were expressed through embroidery and printing.
The traditional patterned blankets were reconstructed in collaboration with Imabari Towel. Also, inspired by the clothing of the spirits they worship, Kachina, the fringes and lace-ups are used extensively. This is the second collaboration with director Satoshi Kon, following the 2023 Spring/Summer collection's "Perfect Blue".
The scene where Tokita, a robot character from "Paprika", melts at the boundary between dream and reality is expressed with fringe. We also tried to create a crossover between the Hopi tribe and the worldview of "Paprika".
In addition, the T-shirts printed with scenes and setting images all have AR and 3DVFX data built in, allowing videos to be played on smartphones, and the fashion show features AR that allows the various characters that color the chaos in the film to appear on the runway. Through the smartphone app screen, a real-life fashion show intersects with a dream parade, creating a truly "Paprika"-like experience.
Simple dichotomies such as reality and fiction, virtual and physical, no longer hold true.
Nagano's attitude of absorbing rapidly evolving technology into his own creative world while being skeptical and critical of it is testament to the ambivalent feelings he has towards modern society.
