In “SWITCH” VOL.41 December 2023 Issue, Yusuke Koishi of KLEINSTEIN and Miki Koishi facilitated a trilogy discussion between Rick Owens, Hiroshi Sugimoto and Ryoji Ikeda. This is the first interview with Rick Owens after his first visit to Japan in 20 years. . The recording was made in a cave at the Enoura Observatory built by Hiroshi Sugimoto and his studio New Materials Research Institute. The shooting was done by Danielle Levitt.

In the October issue of GQ JAPAN, Yusuke Koishi contributed an essay based on the concept of ‘Quiet Wealth, Quiet Language,’ discussing Quiet Luxury. The essay notes that Quiet Luxury is a limited and effective fashion vocabulary in ‘affluent places’ around the world. Read more in the GQ JAPAN October issue on the season’s notable big trend: ‘Quiet Luxury.’ Link to the article.

Yusuke Koishi discussed the macroscopic trends in fashion since 2010, along with Koremasa Uno (movie and music journalist) and POGGY (fashion curator). Koishi primarily delved into the influence of Kanye West and domestic U.S. politics on the fashion industry, and also made references to Pharrell Williams. This conversation is featured in the Pen magazine’s special edition: ‘2023 Autumn/Winter Fashion Special – Clothing Beyond the Ages’ (November 2023 issue). Interview and text by Hiroaki Nagahata. Illustrations by Taiga Yamaura.

In February of this year, 2023, it was announced that Pharrell Williams would be taking over as the menswear artistic director for “Louis Vuitton” following the untimely passing of Virgil Abloh. With the directorship position vacant at the prestigious luxury fashion Maison, many speculated that the streetwear boom that emerged after Virgil’s rise would soon wane. However, now that over two years have passed, it is evident that the movement has only gained momentum, albeit transforming its appearance along the way.

While the fashion industry worldwide suffered the effects of the Covid-19 pandemic, experiencing a sharp decline in sales, the year 2022 marked a remarkable V-shaped recovery, especially for luxury brands. During the pandemic, those who steadily amassed power were individuals and companies with global bases and networks. In a world of limited face-to-face interactions, business transactions depended heavily on credit. The V-shaped recovery of the luxury industry, based on legacy and its credit, was somewhat expected. I previously discussed this in my article titled “FASHION AND PANDEMICS – LIVING IN A WORLD THAT NEVER ENDS” where I stated that global conglomerates would initially face a significant negative impact from the pandemic, but also highlighted the potential for the fastest significant recovery. I also mentioned the possibility that this could lead to major recapitalisations and industry restructuring, including mergers and acquisitions.

According to the financial results announced in January 2023, Louis Vuitton’s sales surpassed €20 billion, reaching an all-time high, and LVMH also achieved its highest-ever market capitalization. Consequently, Bernard Arnault officially emerged as the world’s wealthiest person, making headlines as a cultural icon alongside Elon Musk. Around the same time as this financial announcement, Open AI released ChatGPT Plus and GPT4, which triggered an AI boom. This trend is now beginning to indirectly affect the industry as a whole.

Furthermore, at about the same time, Tiffany, under the umbrella of LVMH, announced a collaboration with Nike, a memory still fresh in our minds. Some may also recall that ordinary individuals were posting sneaker designs created through AI collaborations on social media. As we witness the unfolding of dynamic changes post-COVID, it is worth reflecting on the progression from Virgil Abloh’s absence to the present. In this context, the article “Pharrell Williams: Can the Strongest Consumers Become the Strongest Creators in the Age of A.I.?” raises intriguing questions about the possibilities that lie ahead. This article originally appeared on fashionsnap.com.

Contributed a column on the work of Issey Miyake, who passed away on August 5, 2022, evaluating three innovations: Issey Miyake as an inventor of epoch-making fashion products, Issey Miyake as an enlightener, and Issey Miyake as an extraordinary business owner. “The Innovative Spirit and Panoptic Fashion Design of Issey Miyake”（TOKION）

Special contribution to TOKYO ART BEAT. Collaboration between art and fashion has become increasingly active in recent years. In this article, Yusuke Koishi discusses the history and ideological background behind the intersection of the two fields, from the perspective of the history and “strategic reciprocity” of contemporary art and fashion respectively, under the title “Art and Fashion: A Game of Their Own”.

In this article, especially on attempts by minorities to create in defiance of typecasting, we will reevaluate Virgil Abloh, who died at the age of 41, and his meteoric rise in the mid-2010s, and consider what clues from his and Kanye West’s phenomenon of street-to-Internet expansion should offer for future minority creators. This is a contributed article to FASHIONSNAP.COM. The English version is on our blog: “VIRGIL ABLOH AND KANYE WEST: WALKING THE STREETS EXTENDED TO THE INTERNET”

KLEINSTEIN discussed the following perspectives on BUNGAKUKAI 2021 AUGUST ISSUE. While the West’s structural intellectual domination of the cultural sphere, as depicted from the perspective of fashion, has forced the East to remain an entity that has internalized Orientalism, the question is whether it is possible to transcend this domination and create a new cultural trend from Asia.

Yusuke Koishi contributed to the article “The Next Landscape of Mode as Seen from the Non-Western World” in the CREATING FUTURE section of the March 2021 issue of Harper’s BAZAAR Japan. The Next Landscape of Mode as Seen from the Non-Western World”, a summary of the rise of new fashion scenes from the non-Western world, as well as the Chinese market, pop culture, and social dynamics. In the same section, Alexander Fury and others have contributed the 2021SS collection review.

Yusuke Koishi explores the present and future of society through the lens of fashion in this series on TOKION MAGAZINE. In the second instalment, he elaborates on the ever-growing presence of China. He explains the approach and mindset we need to engage in new, budding cultures.