Theatre Products is a brand with a unique world view that seriously pursues creations that are unmatched by any other brand without being affected solely by trends and novelty, with its concept of “with clothing, the world becomes a theatre.” They will be celebrating the tenth anniversary of the brand next year.
We asked the designers, Akira Takeuchi and Tayuka Nakanishi about the origins of their clothes-making that has struck a chord with numerous fans primarily in Tokyo.
The theme of your latest collection is “CAMOUFLAGE.” I heard that the work of the artist Edouard Vuillard, who was popular at the beginning of the 20th century, was the source of inspiration?
Nakanishi：I always like Edouard Vuillard’s paintings. When I took a new look at Vuillard’s paintings, I thought that this was the world that we wanted to express, and thought that we would be able to express the paintings with a sense of fullness. Apparently, Vuillard frequently used scenes from daily life and scenes with people as material for his art. He uses various colors and detailed patterns, and I thought that was interesting. That led to our theme of camouflage.
Takeuchi：Space forms when a person enters it; people exist within spaces. When I thought about how to express this, camouflage was the word that fit best.
Were you conscious of the time period in which Vuillard lived?
Nakanishi：We didn’t consider that too much in our work. One of our keywords in the process of making our collection was “languor,” and we expressed this through silhouettes, fullness, and use of color, but this may have just happened to match the mood of the time.
Do you divide work among yourselves in the design process?
Takeuchi：No, we don’t divide the roles. It depends on the time and may differ depending on the collection.
Nakanishi：We each throw out some ideas, and then stick them together. So if one of us proposes something that the other person doesn’t care, it may be completely ignored. However, this process is what is important, and by throwing out your vague ideas to the other person and receiving feedback, we are able to obtain a sense of directionality. We believe that our clothes are only complete when a person wears them, so we make the clothes while imagining what a person will do while wearing the clothes, and where he or she will go, etc. However, if we are caught up in daily life all the time, our vision becomes too narrow. I feel like the dialogue that we have in the process of making clothes enables us to create clothes that can be worn while still having a strong message.
I heard that you are going to record the pattern of the runway with a 3D camera and create a video product?
Nakanishi：I’ve always been interested in 3D, but I thought that it was particularly suitable to express our current theme. The recording will be done with help from Panasonic. It is not yet complete, but we are looking forward to what the completed video will look like.
Takeuchi：It shows our persistence by using 3D image, in terms of enjoying the 3D. The video can be seen from December 10 to 27 at the “PASS THE BATON GALLERY” of Omotesando Hills. All the fixtures, such as the ladder used in the show, belong to “PASS THE BATON”, so the set that was actually used in the show can be exhibited and purchased. The completed video product is scheduled to be announced next year.
