Yuima Nakazato Spring/Summer 2024 at Paris couture Week

Yuima Nakazato Spring/Summer 2024 at Paris couture Fashion Week Entitled UTAKATA

Yuima Nakazato Spring/Summer 2024 collection is officially linked to the opera Idomeneo.

Idomeneo is an opera composed by Mozart in 1781. This new interpretation of the classic tale of human suffering from the disasters of the ancient Greek wars is directed by Belgian choreographer Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui and will be presented with stage design by contemporary artist Chiharu Shiota and costumes by YUIMA NAKAZATO.

The Yuima Nakazato Spring/Summer 2024 runway show is also staged in collaboration with Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui.

Designer’s statement for Yuima Nakazato SS24:

While designing the costumes for this opera, I visited Crete, the Greek island in the Mediterranean Sea where the story of Idomeneo takes place. With a vista of transparent, turquoise blue seas and groves of olive trees spread before me, I imagined the Trojan War as it took place in this beautiful scenery during the Minoan civilization. These reflections led me to reconsider the state of our modern society thousands of years later, which then became the starting point for this collection.

During my research, I was struck by the appearance of armor from this period excavated from ancient ruins. It was so beautiful that I could scarcely believe it had been designed for combat. I found myself wondering why beauty was necessary for a garment intended for use in war.

Seeking answers, I visited the Musée de l’Armée in Paris to investigate the evolution of men’s clothing over the past 5,000 years. I noticed that the decorative elements of battle wear are gradually eliminated as societies grow more Well-mannered and technology continues to develop. As a result, repeated advances in functionality and rationality have culminated in the current style of military wear. Interestingly, these garments have served as prototypes for much of the clothing we wear today.

In the process of creating Yuima Nakazato SS24 collection, I came across the Japanese word utakata, which means “ephemeral”. This word seemed to express the exact opposite of the trend seen in the evolution of men’s clothing, where functionality and durability are increasingly valued and prioritized. What I wanted to convey with Yuima Nakazato SS24 collection was a sort of ephemeral armor—much like a delicate bubble formed on the surface of the water, capable of vanishing in the blink of an eye. This approach also represents a release from or renunciation of battle.

Through the contradictory existence of delicate, fragile armor created by textiles shredded and reclaimed from worn-out uniforms and workwear and decorated with ceramics, glass, and platinum, Yuima Nakazato SS24 collection shows the evolution of clothing that could have been otherwise. It is also an attempt to fuse the delicate and fragile handwork elements of couture with the evolutionary path followed by men’s clothing that has continued since ancient times. The fact that men appear on the stage of haute couture wearing these garments serves to embody our present era through its reexamination of the concept of toxic masculinity.

Lastly, this show was created together with Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui as sort of a non-verbal communication with modern society.