SHINYAKOZUKA SS25 at Rakuten Fashion Week Tokyo

SHINYAKOZUKA SS25 / Spring Summer 2025 at Rakuten Fashion Week Tokyo

Afterword

The time it takes to contemplate whether to buy a new appliances The time it takes for a sushi chef to become fally qualified The time it takes a newborn baby to vaguely imagine the parabola of his future The time it takes to go from not being able to drink at all to suddenly drinking every night The time it takes for 3650 mornings.

It’s been 10 years since established the brand. As mundane as it may be but I’ve experienced so mich looking left and right. looking up and down, looking back and forward, there have been various experiences.

People often say things such as “People don’t change as they get older” or “You’ve changed compared to the past. However, I believe that “people don’t change from the moment they’re born What changes in their “background. When someone’s strengths and personality fit their background and environment, whether by chance or necessity, they simply appear more beautifully and seem to have changed. This is an illusion. Therefore, I believe that what “changes” or “is changed is a person’s background. With this perspective, I hope I can create a beautiful background for someone else. That’s why I refer to what I create as “всепяту.”

Last year, when I went back home at the end of the year. I looked through some of my school papers from my student days, in my room. At the beginning of my studies. I used to feel completely stack and overwhelmed with an upcoming design presentation. In a moment of frustration. I decided to just go for it and presented a drawing similar to my current style instead of a typical design sketch. Surprisingly, they told me. “This is really good, let’s go with this” From then sa, I started to gain confidence and felt like I had hind a “small opportunity”.

After that. I began to find time to accumulate more drawings. When I showed these to my best friend from my hometown, he encouraged me, “You should create a picture book. So, 1 spent about a week in my room and created a picture book called “Achromatic City” I even bad it bound and distributed it to my family, a few clone friends, and the local children’s center.

This picture book, which I drew in my early twenties, still feels the same when I look at it now. The themes, the things I wrote, and the rhythm of my words haven’t changed at all. It’s almost laughable how consistent they are. When I showed the book to a few people, ther all said. “It’s just so you.”

During the ten years of running the brand, there times when things weren’t going well and I felt the pressure to “change.” However, once I adopted the mindset that it’s the background that changes, I began to feel a sense of certainty, realizing that it may not be the right answer, but it’s definitely not wrong.”

This time. I will focus on a remastered version of a picture book that I drew back then. which is flied with my various first steps, reinterpreted and redrawn by the “present” me. who has a different background from back then.

The reason for redrawing the picture book is not because I want you to see my thoughts from back then. but because I want you to see my current attitude and approach. It’s not meant to be a culmination of everything so far, but rather a first step towards what’s to come.

SHINYAKOZUKA SS25, For ISSUE #6, I initially considered including the word “Initial in the title, as it revolves around the various small beginnings and first steps I’ve taken. However, this felt somewhat superficial. So, I decided to listen more closely to what my drawings, stories, and fashion were trying to convey. I read and looked over them repeatedly. The conclusion I reached the concept of “completing the picture” This doesn’t mean simply finishing a physical drawing, but rather, conveying something deeper. However, I still can’t quite put into wards what that is. While contemplating this, I came across some of my own writing from when I created the picture book in my early twenties. In it. I had written this:

“I thought I might try to express a perspective on something I can’t quite describe, which isn’t related to life or design, through my left hand.”

I felt exactly the same way. Despite saying “unchanged, unchanged all this time. I couldn’t help but laugh at how little has changed. After overthinking complicated matters. I realized it was all very simple. Even if you think you understand, it takes time for everything to come into focus. To succinctly express these feelings, the title became “picturesque or die”

We are taking the first step towards the 20th year since the establishment of the brand.

It’s a cliché, but I had a strong need for approval. There was a period of about five years when I wanted to quit being a designer because I was fed up. I was thinking about things like “doing something only I can do.” as something everyone must think about. Not good at multitasking, Rounded shoulder like a cat, Despite that, with a face like a dog. I like taking walks. I like winter. I like the moon. I like people. I like beer. Even if it’s just a beer in one hand, please look at my collection and picture books, It’ll be a good accompaniment.

I am grateful to my mentors who recommended me to become a designer. I am grateful to my friends who have always been by my side when I was lost in this industry.

Blue is not only a color in Yves Klein or used in fashion, but it is also the color of friendship. I am grateful to my close friends who gave me the opportunity to pursue this path and encouraged me to draw picture books. I will never forget the song we played together on the eve of my move to Tokyo, without considering the inconvenience to our neighbors. It gave me various first steps. I want to paint various scenes. Nothing has changed. And won’t change in the future either. That’s the attitude.

“picturesque or die” ISSUE #6 – Shinyakozuka