Anrealage SS24 at Paris Fashion Week

Anrealage SS24 / Spring Summer 2024 at Paris Fashion Week entitled “INVISIBLE”

The ending would fade as Colors.

The beginning would bloom as Colorless.

The time is the light,

Spreading and Disappearing.

When the colors begin, the transparent is the shadow.

When the colors end, the transparent is the light.

“Existence” and “Nonexistence” can be here at the same time.

Building on his exploration of Umwelt (German for ‘environment’ or ‘surround-world’), and special fabrics that change color using photochromic technology, Kunihiko Morinaga for Anrealage SS24 / Spring Summer 2024 gives birth to color starting from an INVISIBLE clear and colorless PVC* base.

ACT I

Harnessing the brand’s trademarked ANVISUAL photochromic technology, a series of transparent “empty” garments made of photochromic PVC transforms under ultraviolet lights into bright multicolored silhouettes, their immaterial quilted volumes filled with AIR, like giant couture bubble wrap. Tracing the contours of the translucent INVISIBLE silhouettes are graphic taped seams made of denim, cotton and Ultrasuede® in contrasting colors.

Appearing through the PVC garments, bodysuits erupt in an all-over pattern of miniature AZ monogram logos, like the chromatophore cells of a chameleon’s skin. The bodysuits are made of Fairtrade cotton∞ developed with Toyota Tsusho Inc.

Finishing looks is a series of INVISIBLE PVC accessories, including inflatable earrings, bracelets, balaclavas, and gauntlet-style gloves, with footwear ranging from PVC boots to a series of immaculate white 3D-printed flats for Anrealage SS24.

A line of futuristic Sixties-inspired shield sunglasses was designed in collaboration with X8, the new eyewear label founded by Won Lee, former CEO and creative director of Gentle Monster USA.

ACT II

Returning to the Umwelt concept, Kunihiko Morinaga controls the lighting environment to demonstrate that color as perceived by the human eye is not absolute, and shifts according to the environment, depending on the weather and physical and chemical elements, just like the mesmerizing colors of the sky.

By modulating the show lights using a hyperspectral color control technology developed by NTT, colors transition, offer-ing an exercise in “metamerism” ̶ in which the perception of similar colors changes depending on different light sources.

Colors radiate across the surfaces of garments, pulsating softly and highlighting striped motifs. Like the skin of cephalopod, surfaces reflect changes in mood, morphing from discreet and vulnerable to explosions of strong, expressive color and sudden shifts in tone.

Technological innovation and handcraft align to thrilling effect, from sculptural looks in hand-embroidered swirling strips of photochromic PVC to simple tailored pantsuits and a dress and jacket twin set with a matching balaclava made of doily-style patchworks of photochromic PVC squares edged with photochromic knitted seams. The looks light up like polychromatic kaleidoscopes, adapting to the different light sources before fading back to their initial state; in the shadows they return to their INVISIBLE shells.

THE CYCLE OF LIFE

A poetic yet alien universe embodying the philosophical parable of “Existence” and “Nonexistence” that coexists in everything.

The cycle of life comes full circle: colors disappear, mirroring the ultimate fate of all living organisms at the mercy of time, revealing the existence of the INVISIBLE and the colorless, only to bloom anew someday.

*This season Anrealage developed an exclusive environmentally-friendly photochromic PVC made from next- generation phthalate-free plasticizers that are safe to wear Anrealage Spring Summer 2024 collection.