The seed of the Spring-Summer 2022 collection took root two years ago when designer Kunihiko Morinaga was asked to create the virtual stage costume for a concert scene in “BELLE” (2021), the soon-to-be-released animated feature film by Oscar-nominated Japanese director Mamoru Hosoda.
For this season’s presentation, the duo have reconnected on a new short movie about a fashion show held in the land of “U”, a computer-generated universe based on a luminous, futuristic, Japanese megalopolis. A magical multidimensional space where Anrealage clothes travel through two realms, with virtual runway looks materializing in the real world.
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The film was presented in livestream on October 2nd in Paris-time on the Paris Fashion Week Online platform, followed by a making-of film of the movie. It will simultaneously be screened on the NTT-owned platform DOOR, where visitors will be able to enter the Anrealage VR venue as an avatar to watch the show and view the pieces up close in 3D.
One by one, a series of 18 digitally designed, faceted silhouettes explode into fragments and recrystallize in their real-world incarnations, seemingly stepping out of the screen, from 2D to 3D.
Moving between the physical and virtual worlds, the live models and avatars, the eye wanders through layers of screens, with the digital visuals of “U” also projected on the wall of a white room in which a physical runway show is taking place, symbolizing the duality of two universes as they interlock.
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In an age dominated by screens, an anime character is captured watching the show on his smartphone, as whirring real-time figures in the corner of the screen clock up the number of people following the event (in the millions).
The polygonal silhouettes are constructed from triangles of fabrics made from vintage garments or hi-tech reflective materials, mixing signature patchwork constructions and innovative bonding techniques. Matching platform sandals embellished with the same motifs were designed in collaboration with United Nude, with dried flower-studded resin jewelry by ANEVER and geodesic dome helmets completing the looks.
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Reclaimed denim in different washes, second-hand chinos, military clothes and vintage trench coats in a multitude of shades as well as digital floral prints are cut in myriads of triangular shapes then bonded on cotton or lining fabric, building sculptural, seamless, graphic shapes. This painstaking process involves up to 500 hand-applied triangles on the bigger pieces.
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Powering the collection’s romantic sci-fi mood, glow-in-the-dark fabrics highlight the angular structures of the dresses opening the show while the reflective looks of the finale flash colors, like digital stars in the night sky. Closing the show on a high note, the fairy-tale costume worn by Belle, the film’s heroine, is recreated as a long patchwork dress in an aurora borealis-colored reflective material, accessorized with crystal-bead jewelry and a whimsical, feathery headpiece made from fresh flowers in its physical version.
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From October 12th on the DOOR VR online showroom, the collection’s digital silhouettes - made using unique and irreplaceable digital data issued from blockchain technology - will be auctioned as NFTs, exploring the new possibilities and experiential dimensions in the virtual fashion world through a cinematic lens.
