TOKYO — Shunsuke Teranishi by no means got down to create a style model. In actual fact, he refers to Mizen, the label that he designs and runs together with his spouse and enterprise companion Chien-Tsu Teranishi, as a “mission.”
“It’s not nearly design,” he mentioned from the second flooring of Mizen’s flagship boutique in Tokyo’s upscale, fashion-forward district of Aoyama. “The story behind the manufacturing and the work that goes into it are equally essential. We wish to share that with our clients whereas on the identical time supporting the producer companions that we work with. It’s like a gathering of associates.”
The couple’s early journeys within the style trade adopted a path that’s not unusual amongst promising younger Asian designers, however which finally impressed them to hunt a brand new means of creating and promoting clothes. Shunsuke studied structure at Kyoto College earlier than becoming a member of Yohji Yamamoto as a patternmaker. At age 28 he moved to Milan, working beneath Stefano Pilati at Agnona after which for Hermès as a 3D designer, a task that was successfully a mixture of designer and patternmaker.
Textiles and designs by Mizen.
Courtesy of Mizan
“I spent 12 years in Europe. Each style firm was in search of a Japanese patterner, notably ones who got here from Yohji Yamamoto, Comme des Garçons, or Issey Miyake,” he mentioned. “The rationale for that is that in Japan we’re taught to each design and sample, however in Europe these jobs are very separated. Designers have turn out to be like celebrities, whereas the patterners and others are doing all the manufacturing behind the scenes.”
Chien-Tsu, who in Japan and Europe goes by her English title Molly, additionally moved to Milan after graduating from style faculty in her native Taiwan. Upon finishing a grasp’s diploma in style design from Instituto Marangoni, she joined Agnona as Pilati’s private assistant. She later moved from Berlin to Paris to design for Carven and Shiatzy Chen.
The couple not solely met in Europe nevertheless it was additionally throughout this time that they started to satisfy producers of conventional Japanese textiles, who have been desperately — and fruitlessly — attempting to carve out a spot for themselves inside what Shunsuke refers to because the “style pyramid.” Serendipitously, these encounters got here across the identical time that he was turning into disillusioned together with his personal position within the trade.
Textiles and designs by Mizen.
Courtesy of Mizan
“I spotted that me being at Hermès or not made no distinction to the model. I wished to do one thing alone, after which I occurred to satisfy these makers of unbelievable kimono materials, and I spotted that neither of us match into the pyramid of the style trade,” he mentioned. “It was at the moment that I began to consider my very own worth as a Japanese individual and I made a decision that quite than making a model or developments, I wished to create a brand new sense of worth from Japan.”
The normal textiles produced in Japan are extensively thought-about to be among the many highest high quality on the earth, with many taking a number of months to create by hand in processes which might be painstakingly intricate and labor-intensive. European designers are conscious of this, but in addition discover kimono materials tough to work with, owing to the truth that their width is ready at a few quarter of what they’re accustomed to.
“Europeans know that Japanese materials are higher, however they need them to be wider. It is a very design-centric mind-set,” Shunsuke mentioned. “However with Mizen, we take into consideration how we are able to design to assist the craft and the present methods. If we’re ready to try this, it is going to enhance the state of affairs for producers all over the world, not simply in Japan.”
Textiles and designs by Mizen.
Courtesy of Mizan
The Teranishis left Europe and settled in Japan in 2018. They’ve been working with a small group of simply over a dozen rigorously chosen kimono textile makers ever since, initially beneath the label Arlnata, which was rebranded as Mizen in 2022.
“The kimono market is shrinking, so everybody is considering what to do subsequent, however we’re selective about which producers we work with. It needs to be people who find themselves eager about doing one thing new,” Shunsuke mentioned. “European luxurious manufacturers like Armani or Louis Vuitton would possibly collaborate with kimono textile makers, however it is going to solely be for one season. However, we’re solely eager about creating long-term relationships that basically profit the producers.”
The materials that Mizen makes use of in its designs take between three months and a 12 months to supply, that means it’s not all the time potential for the model to churn out two collections a 12 months. As an alternative, the designers say that the model shares extra similarities with the car trade than with different style manufacturers. “We announce new items and collections every time they’re prepared,” Shunsuke mentioned.
Capes are one in every of Mizen’s signature kinds, having now been up to date 5 instances with slight changes, every time utilizing the materials which might be prepared and obtainable on the time. These additionally signify one of many model’s greatest challenges: combining kimono silks with high-quality knits. Because the kimono materials haven’t any give however the knits naturally stretch, puckering would appear to be inevitable. However Shunsuke used his expertise in 3D design to create a sort of piping that binds the 2 along with a very flat seam, whereas additionally including a contrasting design ingredient.
Bomber jackets are one other staple, and have one of many model’s most progressive makes use of of the slender kimono materials. They wrap across the physique, vertically on the entrance and horizontally on the again, creating distinctive seaming that seems intentional, quite than the product of necessity.
Textiles and designs by Mizen.
Courtesy of Mizan
However the widespread thread amongst all of Mizen’s designs is the high-quality materials. Tweed-like textiles woven from light-weight silk ribbons, extremely detailed and handmade batiks, and even materials that incorporate slender strips of hand-cut abalone shell all characteristic closely within the model’s classically elegant but fashionable items for each women and men.
“Mizen represents the intersection of kind and materials,” Shunsuke mentioned.
On every garment’s label isn’t solely Mizen’s personal brand, but in addition the title of the workshop that made the material, one other instance of the Teranishis’ dedication to supporting producers.
Sooner or later, the couple plans to take their idea even additional, opening native shops within the locations the place Mizen textiles are made. They envision that these retailers will promote not solely clothes, but in addition furnishings, jewellery and different regional handicrafts.
“Since we have now the textile ateliers’ names on the tags, our clients know the place they arrive from, however they nonetheless don’t have an opportunity to go to the workshops. We hope these shops will assist to bridge the hole between producers and shoppers,” Molly mentioned.
Textiles and designs by Mizen.
Courtesy of Mizan
