Artist Duchamp said: "My best work is my life."
Many designers/managers have been practicing this phrase for a long time. The unique taste and aesthetics of these people are not only reflected in the clothing designs they create, but also in their daily living environment or work space.
If the creation of works is the outward construction of these designers, then creating creative spaces and home life is their inward exploration.
It's like menswear designer Raf Simons, who travels the world for work, but he has always kept his home in Antwerp, in his words: "Home has all the romantic elements and is my refuge."
Today, we mainly introduce the life and creation space of four managers/designers, from visvim manager Nakamura Century's antique thatched house with a history of 200 years, to NIGO's "living museum" that makes almost all fashion lovers popular, each of whose life and workplace reflect their own taste aesthetics, spiritual language, and even world view.
What's more, during the epidemic, in order to change his creative thinking, UNDERCOVER manager Dun Takahashi led a team member to move to a new studio in Hayama, a suburb of Japan, to accompany the sound of streams and fireflies every day.
Next, let's take a look at these different spaces.
01
Takahashi Shield
"The second studio in nature"
Takahashi Shield is located at the studio headquarters in Riharajuku
If you know a little about Takahashi Shield, it's hard not to notice his studio headquarters in Harajuku, Tokyo, where the ripple-shaped black metal box space is directly below what was once a hidden underground music venue in Tokyo that has now become a place of inspiration for the UNDERCOVER team, where the anarchist logo and the huge "Noise" sign symbolize Takahashi Shield's manifesto.
But today we're not going to talk about this studio in Riharajuku, but about the new workspace that the Takahashi Shield UNDERCOVER PRODUCTION team set up last summer in the suburbs of Hayama, a place that they themselves call "creating the next stage of future Tokyo life."
In Takahashi's own words, "After the age of 50, I want to slow down and do my job well in a relaxed environment." However, it seems to be to achieve freedom, but it is actually a means for the UCP team to rethink work and lifestyle in the face of the spread of the epidemic and the changes in the world, and they seek to make further leaps in their work here.
Surrounded by the energy of nature, there are mountains and waters and seas, warblers and cuckoos visit the window sills in the mornings of spring, cicadas chirp in the summer, and fireflies can be caught in the nearby streams... In such a wonderful natural environment, the wisdom and tension in the interior space of UCP Studio are perfectly balanced and resonated with it.
The pantry seen from the front door exudes a unique atmosphere, as wonderful as a painting in a picture frame. The team members gather here every day for dinner or meetings, and the seats here are the Tendo Mokko chairs designed by Mr. Takahashi himself.
Takahashi Shield focuses on design drawings in his personal workspace. Avant-garde interiors and lighting from designer brands create a comfortable tension in the space, while the corridors showcase Takahashi's own paintings and some of Quirky stuffed toys.
Back in a corner at the entrance, Michael Anastassiades' design fixtures are impressive...
In addition to Takahashi's solo art installations, UCP's studio exhibits installations and paintings by contemporary avant-garde artists. The appearance of these "sharp" elements is actually the "intentional" of the members, in order to avoid letting themselves fall into an overly comfortable and comfortable atmosphere, according to Takahashi's own words, it is a "distorted space".
We all know that UNDERCOVER is famous for its slogan, "We make noise not clothes," and if the "Noise" in Harajuku Studio represents the "noise" that Takahashi needs, then the avant-garde artwork in this second workspace is another form of expression. These "noises" behind the distorted space are always a reminder for the UCP team to keep creating and thinking.
"In a sense, this studio is a church," says UCP photographer Hidemoto. I think he was roughly saying that there is faith and nature worship here, and it exudes a divine power.
02
Nakamura Century
"A tribal home with more than 200 years of history"
Japanese brand visvim has always been loved by loyal fans for its exquisite garment craftsmanship and unique style that combines contemporary and traditional, and all this beauty and style shaping are inspired by the experience of its brand manager Nakamura Century in his travels around the world. Just as much of his inspiration for clothing design comes from ancient Western tribal cultures, so does Nakamura's private residence in Hollywood Hills, Los Angeles, USA, and the suburbs of Tokyo, Japan, so let's focus on his home in Tokyo.
This is a 200-year-old old traditional house with the simplicity of Native American crafts and the simplicity of Japanese Zen, and you can't see Nakamura's ultimate pursuit of simple life and pure faith in nostalgic aesthetics.
"American primitive tribal culture" is reflected in everything from furnishings to vintage collections: a variety of unadorned wooden homes, centuries-old Japanese painting porcelain, Indian Chief motorcycles produced in the 1940s, sculptures of old Indian chieftains on shelves, carp in the living room Mino washi paper (which you can often see in visvim pieces), and pre-war wooden guitars hanging on the walls.
Not only that, but you can also find many indigo dyeing fabric decorations in Nakamura's home, and his wardrobe is also filled with countless collections of old Japanese fabrics. From this point of view, it may not be difficult to understand why visvim can use indigo craftsmanship so vigorously to build a bridge between traditional Japanese techniques and emerging trend design.
As the designer himself puts it: "I'm not a collector in the traditional sense, I think more about the product culture itself than about a particular series, and that's what really appeals to them." Whenever I see these antiques with my own eyes, I don't think they're just old things, or an object. They are actually alive and can talk to me at any time!"
Influenced by his father, an avid outdoor enthusiast, Nakamura began his american journey and studied in Alaska at the age of 20. Because the weather there was cold all year round, the experience of skiing and camping made him more enthusiastic about outdoor culture, which developed into an obsession with Indian culture, and later had a deep influence on visvim's design.
This inspiration inspired by pristine nature can be seen not only in the interior space of Nakamura's home, but also in the architectural structure of the entire residence.
Contrary to the ornate and modern style of many other principal residences, Nakamura has retained the thatched roof and overall wooden structure of the house in order to maintain the "original beauty" of the unity inside and outside. Because these thatched roofs can't withstand the wind and rain, they need to be repaired every few years, and Nakamura is also hands-on, choosing its materials and colors...
Does this living space, which adheres to the tribal aesthetics and is as simple and elegant as Mr. Nakamura, also bring you new inspiration?
03
NIGO
"A museum that is the envy of thousands of trendy people"
If the space of the above two directors is the place where they embody their personal aesthetics and thinking, then the living and creative space of NIGO is a "museum" that integrates into one.
Whether it's a home or a studio, NIGO keeps his creative inspiration and collections on display in every corner. Casa BRUTUS magazine unveiled NIGO's new studio in June 2019 in its special episode "Work is Fun."
The space, designed by NIGO himself, includes a conference room surrounded by French medieval masterpieces, creations from Pierre Jeanneret, Jean Prouve and others, the president's office inspired by Thargoba (the hermitage of Star Wars Yoda), and a storage room that includes archives of Eastern and Western clothing, furniture, wine and other objects.
It is reported that NIGO has more than 10,000 pieces of clothing in this studio, of which more than 3,000 are carefully cared for in clothing bags, and hung on 6 huge warehouse shelves, and the rest are stored in the storage box of HUMAN MADE.
It's not just the staggering number of costumes that need to be tapped into warehouse shelves, but also the NIGO collection of art, furniture, toys, and some vintage collections.
It's no surprise to see a few Goyards and Louis Vuitton's signature on Murakami's autographed custom suits, the extremely rare set of Beatle bobbleheads dolls, the original suit from The Adventures of The Ridiculous Little Bastard, the first LEVI'S denim jacket made more than 100 years ago, vanson leather classic bike leather jackets, Star Wars collections (Yoda, Imperial Stormtroopers, R2-D2), Chanel Bearbrick 1000% is what really makes a lot of hipsters look at it... Of course, it is also indispensable to the Undecover edition of the Takahashi Shield that he sold in Nowhere that year.
Leave NIGO's studio and take a look at where he lives in Tokyo. NIGO's home looks simple at first glance, basically decorated with furniture in log colors, whites and various cool tones of steel, but the content is also like his studio – it is not simple at all.
Located in the hidden space downstairs of the living room, the much-anticipated "museum" reappears, with old tape drives with retro music from the 80s and 90s, aluminum boxes on the shelves with NIGO clothing tools, and countless HUMAN MADE storage boxes, all of which confirm that although the elderly NIGO no longer likes to put all the treasures in the home as he did when he was young, his collection fanaticism is still undiminished.
Similarly, the warehouse shelf wardrobe we see in his studio appears in a smaller version of his residence, a shelf wardrobe that NIGO himself prides himself on containing hundreds of pieces of clothing, mostly worn by NIGO itself, and some of which are simply archival collections, each with its own story.
Looking at some of the colored boxes sealed above the wardrobe, it is not difficult to see a lot of NIGO treasured dolls, albums and game consoles through the boxes, perhaps here is loaded with countless young memories on the NIGO trend road!
04
Jonathan Anderson
"A place to stay that reflects the language of design"
After looking at the creations and living spaces of the three Japanese directors, let's finally talk about a different one, that is, the home of LOEWE and Jonathan Anderson, creative director of J.W. Anderson.
Jonathan Anderson's creative mind is naturally not only reflected in the design of clothing at a young age, but also a complete "living home", and even the living environment perfectly reflects Anderson's taste and aesthetics.
Slightly similar to the Nakamura Century just mentioned, Anderson was deeply influenced by his maternal grandfather since childhood, indulging in a wide variety of porcelain products from all over the world. "If you look at the ceramics, pots and pans, and flower utensils under the side table in my house, I'm like an old maid, always looking for lucie Rie and John Ward's work." Jonathan Anderson has always enjoyed collecting.
In addition to his porcelain collection, his home also has early British textiles, various photographs he loves, including Lionel Wendt, and abstract paintings and sculptures, a special and rare work that spans the past, present and future time and space, but embodies Anderson's unique aesthetic that is different from ordinary people.
Jonathan Anderson has an extraordinary dedication to designing and decorating the house himself, and this Victorian house is full of the British feelings of the big boy.
To the left of his living room entrance, a black-and-white print from William Morris hangs discreetly, a seemingly non-special work that is legendary in history.
In the study, a wooden chair with a veneer backrest of British brand Baillie Scott sits quietly against the wall, and the minimalist design of modernism reflects Anderson's core design language. Looking above the wooden chairs, Vanessa Bell printed fabrics of abstract geometric patterns subtly dot the space in an unobtrusive way.
The image above the fireplace in the living room, of a boy in a beige coat and a black scarf running, is an issue of the J.W. Anderson campaign blockbuster. Directly below it, a black-and-white vase from John Ward echoes it perfectly.
For Jonathan Anderson, life and work are inseparable, and he reads various art albums and magazines at home every day, truly portraying home life as a portrayal of his creative inspiration.
After reading the above designers or managers of the life and creation space, it is not difficult for you to find that everyone has a commonality, that is, they do not only regard these private spaces as places to meet "hobbies", but really integrate "life" and "creation", even if it is a small living space, they personally design decorations and treat them with great care. Perhaps only in this way can we truly make our lives a "work of art" like them!
The pictures in this article are from the Internet, the copyright belongs to the owner, and the text is original to the blogger.
Text Assistant for this issue: J
The author is a contracted author of NetEase News and NetEase "Each Has An Attitude"
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