Anrealage

Description

A rising star of Japanese fashion, Kunihiko Morinaga and his label Anrealage look to radically transform how we wear and think about clothes. Bringing futuristic swagger to the Paris women's collections, his light-activated, high-tech fabrics and and provocative form-making presages a new language for clothing. One of the most innovative designers in contemporary fashion, Tokyo-based Anrealage is the brainchild of Kunihiko Morinaga. The Anrealage approach to design puts tech-savvy, high-concept theory into practice. Renowned for employing deconstructive elements to create unique silhouettes, the label has been acclaimed for it seminal introduction of photochromatic textiles into garments that react and change colours in response to light, as well as other material innovations. The transformative qualities built into Morinaga's clothing and accessories suggest infinite possibilities inherent in any one item, portending a future that is as luxurious as it is sustainable. With single pieces taking the place of several articles of clothing, the Anrealage worldview promotes a reduction of the waste associated with the fashion industry. A master of provocation, Morinaga has always been preoccupied in integrating humanity with rapidly evolving technologies, even as he cultivates a healthy skepticism of modern society's excesses. The visual narrative itself provides an instructive look at the process of design from the Morinaga's own point of view - illustrating that he is at once comfortable with developing technologies and respectful of traditional approaches, some of which was on display in a 2020 collaboration with Fendi.

Born in 1980, Kunihiko Morinaga is the designer of Anrealage. He is the recipient of Japan's top fashion award, the Mainichi Grand Prize, and was shortlisted for the 2019 LVMH Prize.

"No designer wants to be compared to another, but when such a comparison becomes the highest form of praise, it may be warranted. And so, if there is an heir apparent to the mind-bending, cerebral work of Hussein Chalayan, that designer is Kunihiko Morinaga of the Japanese brand Anrealage. In one of the texts that accompanies the first English language monograph on the brand, published by Rizzoli, the critic Yuko Hasegawa acknowledges as much (though dutifully pointing out that Morinaga occupies a different space in the rather thin pantheon of conceptual fashion)." -STYLEZEITGEIST MAGAZINE "We're looking at another amazing drop from Rizzoli - this time, highlighting Kunihiko Morinaga and their Tokyo-based brand ANREALAGE. Starting in 2003, they've always been ahead of the game. Whether it's reactive, color changing materials, extreme silhouettes or deconstructed elements, you're always in for a treat." -NICKSAYSGO.COM In this book, you will visit light, shape, color, and perspective, to name a few. Describing the pages of this book is almost impossible. You have to see them and study them. I am amazed at the many textures used here and the imagination that went into each piece of art, apparel, and costumes. . . There is life in action on each page, created with personality and extreme thought. Fabric, buttons, beads, metal, and form are in each creation, and I can honestly say there is something for everyone." -SPLENDID SASS