TAKASHI MORI | Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week TOKYO

MOLFIC pursues a “new universality” that fits the modern lifestyle, actively developing materials centered on synthetic fibers. The sharp and minimalistic collection designed in monotone colors has brought a breath of fresh air into a Tokyo’s fashion scene, in which the casual style is now mainstream. We interviewed the brand’s designer, Takashi Mori, a designer not influenced by seasonal trends and whose designs are pursuing a a consistent story over a long period of time.

An embossed motif knitwear

What is the theme for your 2010-11 Autumn/Winter collection?

Mori: I do not have a clear-cut theme for each season. Rather than announcing a different theme every six months, I’m looking for a new universality. But of course, things that interest me now are naturally reflected in my collection. For this collection, these were images of airports and runways. I was interested in the image of runways dividing, with each journey branching out in a network. I used the resulting hexagon pattern as an embossed motif in my work.

You always actively work on the development of materials. Was there anything you focused on in particular for this collection?

Mori: I did a lot of research on the expression of knitwear embossing . The material is 100% polyester, and we made the yarn ourselves. We spool knit the material using hollow yarn, intentionally making the material thicker in order to bring out the embossing effectively while also making the material much lighter than it looks. I am also developing a mobile suit which can be packed and carried around in three types of materials, including jersey and wool-blend. I consider this one of my life’s works.

Why did you choose to make mobile suits your life’s work?

Mori: With the evolution of the Internet, we have access to an ever-increasing amount of information and everything is becoming faster. I want the clothes we wear to evolve along with this trend. For instance, I go on business trips a few times each year, but when I take a suit with shoulder pads on my trips, I need a garment bag to keep the suit looking nice. If I was able to pack the suit into the size of a laptop and carry it around in my backpack, My hands would be free to do other things. I chose mobile suits as my life’s work because I want to make clothes that can improve lifestyle.

	"Mobile suits" A mens size jacket is folded into 22cm square compact size!!

So this leads to your notion of a “new universality.”

Mori: That’s right. I am particular about the materials I use for the same reason. Not in the sense that I need to use rare and expensive materials, but by pursuing light and soft materials, I hope to make clothes that can liberate people from various stress factors. For instance, I make shirts out of jersey material, but rather than make the shirt casual because of its material, I want the shirt to be looking sharp and minimalistic, and enhance its quick-drying ability so that if you wash it at night on a business trip, the shirt would be dry in the morning.. Fashion has the power to enrich people mentally, but I think that it can also make people happy in the physical sense, too.