Yusuke Takahashi isn’t one for abstract creations — at least not when it comes to his fashions.
The brand’s moniker is an acronym of “Clothes for Contemporary Living” and his focus remains “updating clothing to face the reality of society,” as he put it during a preview at the brand’s Paris showroom.
Even when the art of Jean Arp and Sophie Taeuber-Arp comes in conversation, the results remain rooted in reality.
A fact that feels inescapable in summer months is rising temperatures. It’s even made the brand’s staple curvaceous Pottery design “begin to feel a little heavy” during recent heatwaves, he said.
Takahashi therefore looked to glass, with artists such as Japan’s Moriko Mori in mind.
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Before anyone points out it can be as weighty a material as ceramics, it’s the transparency he was after. Yarns were chosen to telegraph light and lightness, turning the bottom part of a skirt transparent or used for strategically placed layering. There were also some with a dry hand, feeling lovely on the skin.
Among the standouts were the two-layer opening dress that played on the transparency of its yarn for a hazy color gradient effect; a blazer with a gently curving basque; loose trousers with paperbag waistlines, and long dresses with long shimmery tufts, slipped into keyhole openings.
It was a breezy, delicate continuation of the work Takahashi has been delivering since the brand’s launch in 2020. Given the company is planning two more stores in Tokyo plus a larger knitting factory near the city, this plays into the idea that attractive, real clothes are a winning idea.