2024-04-02 11:36:04
since Maison MIHARA YASUHIRO Since its establishment,Yasuhiro MiharaHas always been considered a representative figure of deconstructed fashion. Its most famous shoe design fully utilizes the concept of “Fusion”. The PUMA by MIHARA YASUHIRO series he launched at the beginning of the new millennium may best evoke the memories of fashion enthusiasts. These unconventional Hybrid Sneakers combine sneakers with fashion shoes, which is of epoch-making significance.
Lonleaf/Hypebeast
Today, MMY is still a frequent co-brander, but Mihara Yasuhiro also revealed to us that he feels that the chemical reaction brought regarding by “joint brands” is getting less and less. For him now, cooperation with other brands is like dessert following a meal. People are relaxed, but they don’t think anything new can be born from it. Coinciding with Maison MIHARA YASUHIRO’s first Pop-Up in China, Hypebeast once once more invited Yasuhiro Mihara to share his Essentials essentials with us following 10 years.
OMEGA Seamaster Ploprof 600
Lonleaf/Hypebeast
Mihara Yasuhiro: I like the design of OMEGA in the 1970s. To be honest, I have no interest in watches, but because I was tired of using my mobile phone to tell the time, I gradually started to rely on watches.
Rings & Bracelet
Lonleaf/Hypebeast
Mihara Yasuhiro: For me, rings are a symbol of various memories. I won’t go into details here, but these rings are very important to me and I never take them off except for surfing. In fact, I wore this studded bracelet more than 20 years ago but forgot regarding it in a drawer for a long time. After rediscovering it last year, I started wearing it once more.
MOSCOT Glasses
Lonleaf/Hypebeast
Mihara Yasuhiro: Recently, I have become presbyopic, and my vision becomes blurry starting in the evening, so I carry these glasses with me everywhere.
Notebook
Lonleaf/Hypebeast
Mihara Yasuhiro: I always carry a notebook with me. Feeling uneasy without it. Although having an iPhone is actually enough now, I still record design inspiration in a notebook.
Maison MIHARA YASUHIRO Wallet
Lonleaf/Hypebeast
Mihara Yasuhiro: The wallet I designed myself is very convenient to use. Although a bit small, it is fully functional.
Interview With
Mihara Yasuhiro
Lonleaf/Hypebeast
HB: What are the different feelings when you come to China once more following such a long time?
Mihara Yasuhiro: I have always felt that Shanghai is a city that is ever-changing and a blend of old and new. Although I have only been here for one night, I have already visited many places. This trip brought me closer to the city than before. I felt at many moments during this trip that there were more small worlds in China that I wanted to explore in depth.
HB: Your Original Sole series has already revamped many classic shoe styles. Which shoe styles will you be more interested in revamping next?
Mihara Yasuhiro: The sneakers I like are all from the 1990s. I have always used my own unique way of expression to re-present the shoe styles that had a profound impact on me when I was a child. Because I really have so many favorite styles of shoes, I can’t seem to pinpoint one specific shoe type.
Lonleaf/Hypebeast
HB: Does the emergence of emerging shoemaking technologies such as 3D printing have an impact on your shoe design?
Mihara Yasuhiro: I have always been very interested in 3D printing technology, but it does not seem to have a great impact on my own design. In the design process, I will combine 3D printing technology, but in the form of play and exploration.
I come from the paper-and-pencil creation era, and my creative mode is very different from today’s digital designers. I prefer to explore the opposite direction, I often transform my work into 3D designs rather than translating 3D digital designs into physical objects. Although there are indeed 2 or 3 outstanding 3D designers that I admire, what really interests me is the interaction and communication between individuals. While there are AI tools emerging for design purposes, I feel like their scaling possibilities don’t quite align with my style.
In the past, co-branding was to broaden the scope of creation and create new markets through co-branding. But now the co-branding itself seems to have become a market.
HB: Maison MIHARA YASUHIRO’s collaborations are very common. Are there any artists you would like to collaborate with right now?
Mihara Yasuhiro: Compared with before, I feel that the chemical reaction brought regarding by the joint name has become less. Not just the MMY brand, I saw the same with many other brands. In the past, when completely different individuals co-branded, different values would collide and create a new thing. But those moments are becoming rarer and rarer these days. Recently, I prefer to copy my own designs in the past, similar to the previous collaboration with Puma. It feels more interesting to use the current design to collaborate.
In the past, co-branding was to broaden the scope of creation and create new markets through co-branding. But now the co-branding itself seems to have become a market. In fact, it is a very relaxing thing for me to work with different companies. The current collaborations are like desserts to me, but I don’t think anything new can come from them. So these days, I prefer to talk to my past self.
HB: Among your past works, which one impressed you the most?
Mihara Yasuhiro: I have been in the industry for nearly 30 years and have experienced many different eras. For example, in 2000, due to the opportunity of cooperation with Puma, different things were produced. At that time, even the word “joint brand” was not very famous. I also felt that that project was a collaboration that changed the times, so it left a deep impression on me.
Lonleaf/Hypebeast
HB: Looking back on your design career over the past thirty years, how has your creative mentality changed?
Mihara Yasuhiro: I feel that there is no big change. I am also surprised by this. Sometimes I think regarding it from the perspective of summarizing the past. There were some designs that were not completed well when I was young, and I want to do them once more now. In the past, if a design was not realized in one season, I would not continue it in the next season. So the previous designs all had a One Season feel. But now that I have seen so many other designers’ collections, in retrospect, I feel that I should continue to explore the unrealized designs in each season in the next season.
At first I liked the design of leather shoes, and then I started designing sneakers. At that time, there were designers who only designed men’s shoes, or designers who only designed women’s shoes, but I was really designing both men’s and women’s shoes, and then I also collaborated with Puma. Looking back, I found that I might really get bored easily. That’s why I try so many different designs. Now, I really enjoy designing sneakers. Starting from the concept of sneakers to various sneaker technologies, I feel that there are more different ways to express the design of sneakers. Of course, I will continue to design leather shoes recently.
After the bubble economy burst, children who were tired of the adult world were the protagonists who created the Harajuku world.
HB: When you debuted, Harajuku culture was at its most flourishing. What do you think influenced you the most?
Mihara Yasuhiro: To the world, “Ura Harajuku” is a very famous culture. But actually, it didn’t have much influence at the time. Including myself, NIGO, Jun Takahashi, and many other designers all debuted at the same time. I think it was not because of the existence of Harajuku culture, but because at that time everyone seemed to suddenly mutate and began to act as brands and independent designers. For example, in London, designers of the same generation as Alexander McQueen also appeared. In Japan, many designers such as Shinichiro Arakawa who were not classified as Harajuku culture also debuted at the same time. So I am not someone who came out of the Harajuku world. Instead, I feel that this culture was a symbol of Japanese young people at that time, an icon-like existence.
Street culture, including music and urban culture, is not unique to Harajuku. Designers who debuted at the same time all have this cultural background. In fact, this is also due to the bursting of Japan’s bubble economy. I think people at that time began to no longer believe in the adult world, especially our generation, who would not consider working for a certain company, but would want to create their own future. This is where I started. At that time, people who transcended the social framework and stepped out of the established track were mostly very creative designers, which also symbolized a kind of resistance to adults and the world. Therefore, it is not so much the influence of Ura-Harajuku culture, but rather the birth of the Ura-Harajuku movement from that cultural background. After the bubble economy burst, children who were tired of the adult world were the protagonists who created the Harajuku world.
Lonleaf/Hypebeast
HB: Why is this the first time to hold Pop-Up in China?
Mihara Yasuhiro: A very pure answer. In fact, I just want to get closer to the people here. Before this, I might only meet Chinese tourists in Japan. I always thought they were very friendly, but it seemed that I had no chance to actively make local Chinese friends. Every time I meet people working in the fashion business, whether in Tokyo or Paris, I passively meet them. This time, we hope to establish the brand’s local community through China’s first offline event, and actively communicate and interact with it in depth.
HB: Besides being a designer, what other careers would you like to try?
Mihara Yasuhiro: Because I have been working as a designer, I honestly can’t imagine what other jobs are like, but recently I have become very interested in the career of a tram driver. Because I usually ride many different train lines in Japan, I often observe the daily routine operations of drivers, discover their subtle adjustments, and feel that there is a profound and professional world behind this profession, so I recently I find this career very desirable.
HB: What does a day in your life look like?
Mihara Yasuhiro: I almost live the same life every day. I wake up at the same time every day and eat the same breakfast. Sometimes people in our industry will pursue a life with a lot of excitement, but I have actually been pursuing “weak stimulation” since I was a child. Although it is completely unstimulating and a bit boring, I just want to keep it a little exciting and don’t want to overdo anything. For example, I go surfing every Sunday. This can be regarded as a “low stimulation” lifestyle for me.
Normally, I usually go to the company at 9:30 and start working. Normally I don’t eat lunch because it makes me sleepy. I usually work until 7:30 pm, but of course I sometimes work overtime. If I didn’t work overtime, I would have the same dinner, natto + eggs. Of course, sometimes I eat with friends, or I try to make pasta by myself. But I really eat natto + egg + noodles almost every day, and this is also the menu for breakfast.
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