On a sloping street at dusk, two women were carrying chairs.
It was last October, in Cinque Terre, Italy.
The two chairs, brought out from their own homes, lined the roadside as if by some quiet accord. A glass of wine for each. Nothing particular was happening. Their houses, walls bearing the traces of generations; their faces, wrinkles deeply browned by the sun. Against the weight of time, the two women’s laughter rose lightly. Even after their glasses were emptied and the women had returned home, one traveller remained, unable to leave that place. He drew in a deep breath.
BED J.W. Ford
Between the two women stood a single lemon tree.
This season, designer Shinpei Yamagishi returns from that scene. A pendulum swings back in proportion to how far it has travelled. What remained was a single question: what exactly does richness mean?
Still resisting fixed forms as ever, he found himself drawn once again toward the state of mind that allows “even an ordinary day to feel like a good day. Still, this is only how I feel now. As for tomorrow, I do not know.”
What the designer found, for instance, was a certain charm. It was a return from the severity the brand has long held itself to — a relaxed sensuality, a sense of ease residing in unpretentious fabrics. Put another way, it was about letting go of tension. Outerwear has been boldly stripped back from the collection. In its place are worn-in-looking cupro shirts, slacks with rib-knitted waists, shorts made for the beach, and summer knits. Tiny komon-like* floral motifs glimpse through sheer bodies carry a touch of innocence, while knits woven with washi paper and multistripes reveal a softness the brand has rarely explored before.
There is something almost Mediterranean in its cheerfulness. Sleeves are casually rolled up, steps seem to lift slightly from the ground, drifting. Sandal-style footwear created with SUICOKE are adorned with crushed sequins that catch the sunlight with a muted glow. Silk yarn, blended with linen, allows washed-in wrinkles to take on a familiar expression.
Even within the collection’s most relaxed mood to date, the pinstriped tailored jacket remains composed. On the little finger sits an endearing pinky ring created with PREEK. A coexistence of precision and ease, tension and release. It is the image of a man BED j.w. FORD has always admired and pursued: effortless and free-spirited. This season, that nonchalance is more visible than ever.
One might say that what emerged in the designer’s inner world was a celebration too modest to call a celebration at all. Something like a holiday gathering with family and friends. A place where the wind passes freely through, where greenery casts shade, decorated by only a few flowers. “What if there were a day with no distance or divisions — where each person’s ‘today’ could be honored equally, the kind of day that makes you want to return again tomorrow?” That was the day he imagined.
The lemon appears on just one shirt. The most lighthearted title in the brand’s history was borrowed from the tree that stood between the two women.
“Even if you ask why it had to be a lemon, I probably could not answer very well. There was also a cat there.”
To remain at ease with what resists explanation may be one response to an age that asks everything to be smooth and easily understood. In place of an explanation, he gently places a single fruit.
With a whisper of optimism, Yamagishi offers an Alternative Elegance.
@bed_j.w._ford
Credits
Designer | Shinpei Yamagishi
Stylist | Mauricio Nardi
Casting | Chouaïb Arif
Hair | Yuji Okuda at ArtList
Make-up | Satoko Watanabe at Streeters
Production | Services Continu
Coordination | Azusa Nozaki
Art Direction | Tatsuya Yamaguchi
Music | Likkle
Runway Pictures | collective_parade
Back Stage Photography | Harry Miller
Film Producer | Yusuke Tamura
Film Director | Nanase Akiyama
Cinematographer | Hiviki Shono
International PR | Alex Malgouyres & Florent Belda
Japan PR | Sakas PR
