Helmut Lang spearheaded a silent revolution in fashion. Those who wore and continue to wear his garments are accomplices, and his influence has persisted long after his departure from the industry, felt just as intensely in the mass market as in the avant-garde. Known for a meticulous attention to detail, innovative applications of textiles, and an understated elegance that permeates all of his work, Lang created a certain magic that will never be replicated. [Helmut Lang showed his first collection in 1986](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jwM0VHLQaE8) and found early success, but his reign over the fashion world would not commence until the mid-1990s. His run from 1990 until his [departure from his eponymous brand in 2005](https://www.anothermag.com/fashion-beauty/12852/from-the-archive-a-rare-interview-with-helmut-lang-susannah-frankel) has few equals. It was a time of extraordinary output for Lang, each collection building on the previous, all executed to an awe-inspiring standard that few designers have touched since, let alone sustained. 

When the competition can’t do you one better, their best hope is to imitate. And imitate they did. [From department stores to Donna Karan](https://www.theatlantic.com/entertainment/archive/2015/08/all-eyes-on-helmut-lang/401366/#:~:text=%E2%80%9CWithout%20Helmut%20Lang%20there%20would%20be%20no%20C%C3%A9line%2C%20no%20Raf%2C%E2%80%9D%20Bernard%20Wilhelm%2C%20a%20German%20fashion%20designer%2C%20told%20i%2DD.%20%E2%80%9CI%E2%80%99ve%20heard%20from%20people%20working%20at%20different%20fashion%20houses%20that%20there%20is%20always%20a%20Helmut%20Lang%20piece%20hanging%20and%20it%E2%80%99s%20right%20there%20to%20be%20copied.%E2%80%9D), the Lang look was repackaged and  bastardized by every designer with a pulse. While those pairs of paint-splattered denim and “premium basic” t-shirts can be viewed as a cheap copy of what Lang did first, they are also a clear testament to his status at the forefront of fashion for more than a decade.

Much has already been written about Helmut Lang’s subversive ideals and avant-garde innovations, so I will not be adding to that course of thought. I will instead focus on how Lang’s basic garments democratized beautiful design, were the purest distillation of his anti-fashion sentiments, and represented his own approach to daily dressing. The M(inimalist) and S(ubversive) words will be avoided whenever possible, as I cannot think of any 2 descriptions more beaten to death than these in the coverage of Helmut Lang’s work. Many designers start off with simple intentions. Beyond aspirations of being remembered or changing history, a common reason to start making your own clothes is that the things you want to wear simply don’t exist yet. While most designers quickly abandon this ideal, Helmut Lang never forgot how he started.

[As a child, Lang was raised in Vienna and his conservative parents forced him to wear his father’s suits to school](https://archives.newyorker.com/newyorker/2000-09-18/flipbook/114/). Unsurprisingly, that didn’t win him much favor amongst his peers. So Lang taught himself how to sew, starting to design clothes that were far more agreeable than those high-strung, terribly oversized 2-piece suits. In late 1960s Vienna, casual American clothes were highly desirable, but difficult to obtain. As it tends to do, the ever-mutating myth of America captured the imagination of kids across the country. Once predicated on cowboys and James Dean, it had recently morphed to hippies, beatniks, and rock’n’roll, with denim being a throughline across subcultures. From an early age, Helmut Lang’s fixation was set. His first loves were T-shirts and jeans, and he never let go.

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20 years after he started, Lang still cited being deprived of expressing himself as a key motivator for his design practice. However, once he got his freedom, his mode of expression ended up being the complete opposite of what most people would define as a liberating wardrobe. A cotton T-shirt, jeans, and black derbies, day in and day out. And what were his brand’s marquee basics? Cotton T-shirts and jeans. Lang had extra motivation to master these items because he was wearing them almost every day. His childhood experiences surface in the character of his clothes, insecurities transmuted into near-perfection. These basic garments reflect a distinct sense of sympathy for the wearer, a bond further deepened by a shared investment in the quality of his designs. He knew all too well how it feels to be uninspired by the options available to you, and he offered people simple, effective solutions to that problem.

Later in his career, [the overwhelming commercial and cultural success of Helmut Lang Jeans](https://www.nytimes.com/2005/05/26/style/decline-and-fall-of-helmut-lang.html#:~:text=Another%20reason%20for,on%20the%20jeans.%22), Lang’s sub-label that sold you-can-guess-what, vindicated the exhaustive work he had done to perfect the quintessential basic pant. Perhaps mass-producing flattering, sophisticated denim for men and women was his way of making sure nobody had to go through the embarrassment he endured decades ago. Even in his lower Manhattan penthouses, Lang always kept some of that young boy from Vienna around, making him a designer who was uniquely attuned to the needs of real people.

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There’s a great deal of discussion around the idea that Helmut Lang was anti-fashion. And it’s accurate, to a point. He was anti-consumption, anti-publicity, anti-many of the trappings of being a modern fashion designer. Yet he was certainly not anti-expression. He believed in a definition of fashion that could offer consumers value without getting them trapped in the perpetually-unsatisfying “one more grail” mentality. Among many of his fascinating ironies, he was a fashion designer who made clothes specifically designed to stop his customers from buying more. 

While promoting long-lasting clothing is a current trend, with many companies adopting pseudo-greenwashed “buy better, wear longer” campaigns, Lang was one of the first to approach the concept with an earnest philosophy. 

The fact that his anti-consumption views were never outwardly stated proved he cared far more about the end result for his customers than the messaging of his decisions. To use a tired figure of speech, Helmut Lang was able to maintain a quiet public presence because his clothes did all of the talking for him. Lang’s less-but-better ideal was realized through two key characteristics of his garments: they were made to be dressed up or down, and they were made with quality materials and construction. While much of this versatility is hard to quantify, it partly stems from Lang’s military-inspired approach to sartorial dressing. As he combined these two influences, he also kept simplicity at the forefront, which allowed his formal pieces to be casually worn and his basic items to be seamlessly integrated into dressier looks.

Helmut Lang’s clothes last for ages because he always designed with a utilitarian slant, never choosing to forgo function for the sake of fashion. Lang’s frequent military inspiration manifests itself in the form of durable fabric, cuts designed for movement, and beautifully discreet anatomical stitching that would make Poell blush. And in terms of versatility, his clothes are fitting the niche of 4 different garments at once. Most designs would get stretched thin by trying to do so much, but Lang’s work finds refuge in its restraint. It’s the clothing equivalent of a poker face, never revealing an intended setting. The power to determine where and how to wear it is in the wearer’s hands. One more thing: his work will never go out of style, so the only obsolescence you have to worry about is the clothes falling apart from continuous wear. 

“In a sense, Helmut Lang has solved the problem of what to wear too well for his own good: when you’ve got a couple of his uniforms, you don’t need to buy any more clothes.” - The New Yorker, 2000

Helmut Lang pieces from 1986-2005, via printings.jp 

From the elegant cuts to the accessible nature of much of his work, Lang was able to transform the typically mundane concept of daily dressing into a concise, poignant form of fashion. It’s exceedingly rare to find a designer who has unwavering appeal on both tips of the proverbial fashion iceberg, but Helmut Lang was able to pull it off because he was always independent from the trappings of the fashion industry. His unspoiled, entirely personal calculus of value is one of his greatest strengths.

Helmut Lang Spring 1998 Menswear Collection

Funnily enough, those who were introduced to fashion through Helmut Lang had the rest of fashion ruined for them, because nothing else was ever as good. Maybe that was his goal. He made many individuals, including myself, re-examine their relationships to fashion and reframe them in a fulfilling lens. My personal experience went as follows: His clothes lull you into a sense of absolute contentment, then you zoom out and say “Why don’t I feel this way when I wear anything else?” That kicks off a process of questioning that eventually takes you to the root of what fashion should be: unfussy, enjoyable, and timeless. Once you see that roadmap, you can go out and apply it to other aspects of life. This may sound hyperbolic, but for me, that message spread to my thoughts around design, then to my approach to writing, then to how I structure my day-to-day commitments. Helmut Lang cared about his customers far beyond the point of sale, and like everything else he did, he showed it instead of saying it.

Helmut Lang pieces from 1986-2005, via printings.jp

All designers should certainly put their own stamp on their work, but in my opinion, a degree of compromise separates the good from the great. Making expressive and unique clothing that others can still adapt to their lives is an exceedingly difficult task. So I guess it’s hard to fault designers who choose to commandeer their relationship with consumers when the alternative is making white-bread mall clothes that contribute little more than emissions to the world.

However, designer-dominant fashion is far from an ideal scenario. In these cases, there is little negotiation between the wearer and creator, and the creator feels no need to make concessions to the wearer: it is entirely a one-way dialogue. Unfortunately, the consumer usually doesn’t mind being spoken for, which neglects much of the potential gratification one can get from personal style. Many designers unintentionally lead their customers astray with fashion that clearly outlines a narrative, because consumers get used to that practice and their capacity to take an individual approach to fashion atrophies. 

While fashion can be a fulfilling pursuit in the proper context, we must carefully negotiate our relationship to clothing to prevent it from becoming superficial or destructive. There are two extremes to be avoided. One: the trap of trying to come off as more cultured and avant-garde than everybody else, and spending thousands of dollars on nonfunctional clothes that are so strange they alienate you from anyone except those who are as far down the rabbit hole as you are. Beyond a certain point, it becomes a sunk cost, and because you and all of your friends see fashion as a core tenet of your personality, you continue compulsively purchasing for the sake of continuity. Might be desirable to some, but I’ll pass. Two: “caring” about clothes by buying bland fast fashion and doing the bare minimum to make yourself presentable. Neither of these scenarios can be classified as expression. One is consumption with the lofty facade of self-discovery, and the other is plain old consumption.

 There’s a limit to what you can get out of curating. At a certain point, you have to start creating something to move forward. Let good taste be a hobby, but never let it be an obsession, because the enjoyment that comes from collecting things eventually turns into a thoughtless distraction. 

When you combine existing elements, they still fundamentally belong to whoever made them in the first place. Form something unique, and it can never be taken away from you.

Helmut Lang made clothes that augment your personality. He worked in the background to improve the lives of the people who wore his work, always sure to conceal his own voice so the wearer can imbue the garments with personal meaning.

His clothes are a launching pad for whatever you are. They give you a shot of confidence, and they can slip into the background or foreground depending on the situation. They are constantly engaged in an open discussion with the wearer and the outside world, they adapt to your needs, they are a meticulously engineered tool. And they are purposefully designed to do just enough, but never too much. 

“You cannot put a personality together with clothes. It only reaches up to the neck. And then it ends.” - Helmut Lang, 1995

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A common reason to start making your own clothes is that the things you want to wear simply don’t exist yet.

Redefining Fashion: Decoding Helmut Lang's Universal Appeal

Recently, ARCHIVE.pdf spoke with Antwerp-based designer Kié Einzelgänger about her second collaboration with [Wildside Yohji Yamamoto](https://wildside-online.com/shop/r/r5006/), which was released in April 2023. Kié designs elegant, complex clothing informed by her fascination with the Interbellum (inter-war) culture that lasted from 1918-1939, and her second project with Wildside is a continuation of this premise. In this collection, Kié reprised the structure of [her first Wildside collaboration](https://lucentement.com/blogs/journal/kie-einzelganger-for-wildside), again choosing to experiment with the concept of three semi-formal shirting options. 

The key idea behind Kié Einzelgänger x Wildside Volume 2 is the concept of unintentional oppositeness, which is a phenomenon where we act differently to others without there being any conscious intent behind our rebellion. This concept surfaces in the design of all three pieces: they all feature understated stitching details and quirks in construction that only reveal themselves upon closer examination. There is clearly far more than meets the eye when it comes to Kié Einzelgänger’s work, so we spoke about the inspirations, imagery, and other key behind-the-scenes details from her second Wildside collection. Read the full text of our interview below:

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**Hello Kié, to begin this interview, can you tell us the story of your second Wildside collection? What were your intentions when starting the second installment of this project, what were some key moments in the production process, and how do you want people to interact with these garments? Also, do you believe your successful collaboration between a Japanese and Belgian brand will inspire other brands to do the same?**

The materials were kindly provided by YY. The traditional Cotton broadcloth and the warm black Rayon. It was a satisfying limitation to start the design process exclusively with these fabrics. All three shirts in the collection have an interesting reversed detail: by including discreet seams and other elements on the exterior surface of the shirts, they appear as if they were turned inside-out. This makes the garments versatile enough to be worn as either a jacket or shirt.

The cotton broadcloth shirt with 4 hidden and inside pockets is designed to be worn buttoned or unbuttoned. The cuffs can be flipped over and used as a French Cuff as the shorter length for women. 

The rayon layered shirt has a reversed detail of the voluminous drape that is extended from the shirt's hem, almost looking like a Möbius strip, and the design is sculpted to appear differently from all angles.

The rayon open collar shirt has a reversed hem, reversed facing, reversed pleats, reversed straps and reversed french seams. The pattern was drafted from scratch with the reference of a painting from Rudolf Schlichter, *Portrait of Margot (1924)*. This shirt has the most classic detailed sources from the Interbellum period.

It is carefully made in Japan, and designed in Belgium. This type of production combination is certainly rare in this 21st century. I do believe that merging the influence of different environments during the production process brings unseen results.

**Could you define the concept of "Unintentionally being opposite", and discuss how it informed your design choices for this second Wildside collection? How did you integrate the idea of unintentionally being opposite into the editorial images surrounding the collection, and when you were planning the editorial, did you have other ideas in mind you also wanted to highlight?**

Every time I initiate the creative direction for a photoshoot, I write 2-3 pages of scenarios for the entire team to understand what this photoshoot is all about. The below image is an example of one of these scenarios. The starting point was my own definition of "Wildside". I have been considering this definition since the beginning of my work with Wildside Yohji Yamamoto in July 2022. Ever since my childhood, I have found myself being unintentionally opposite to things in my life, whether they are situations, topics, or groups of people. The Einzelgänger moments where you find yourself going in the opposite direction from something else without knowing became the main theme of this second collection. 

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This photoshoot was mainly about "the non-innocent side of children'', and it was largely inspired by my childhood diary entries. I was severely bullied during this time, and one of the goals for the photoshoot was to capture the feeling of desperation found in my old writings through the lens of black comedy. I sourced the visual reference from the milk scene of Stanley Kubrick’s film *A Clockwork Orange*, and our photoshoot was started from the portrait of model Rocky Tuzava drinking a glass of milk.

It would be ideal for my customers to feel this spirit of unintentional oppositeness when they are dressed in these reversed designs, as they are discreetly diverging from the normal clothing around them. Experiencing an Einzelgänger spirit that way…

**I noticed that the first and second Wildside collections follow a similar premise: Three versatile shirts constructed with Yohji Yamamoto’s fabric. What was your intention when you decided to make this creative choice? In what ways do you believe the repetition of motifs can lead to the creation of deep meaning over time?**

The selection of three consistent designs was indeed a suggestion from YY, and it suited my speed of creation perfectly at the time. Having a suggested fabric selection in the beginning also enabled me to dive into constructing the silhouettes right away. And yes, it was my intention to produce a collection that is cohesive with my first Wildside collaboration, because I wanted clients to feel familiar with the products. In the future, I will do my best to maintain the consistency, so that there will continue to be an affinity between the garments and their wearer. Just like encountering a friend that you have known for a long time.

**How did you choose the models for your second Wildside editorial? Were you personally involved in the casting process, do you have a personal relationship with the models, and have you worked with them in the past? Also, what was your reasoning for keeping the editorial to just 2 models?**

Yes, for every kind of photoshoot or fitting, I prefer to build friendships with my models beforehand for a few weeks rather than casting directly from the agency. Our mutual familiarity becomes evident in the visual production, and working together is much more enjoyable. In November 2022, I met Rocky Tuzava at a bar in Antwerp and I ended up casting her for this editorial. My personal relationship with her is interesting. We share the common experiences of having a terrible adolescence due to frequent bullying, and we cannot reside in our country of birth for many personal reasons. 

This photoshoot was perfect for us because the main theme was to express the “non-innocence of children” and we know this image by heart. We were informally planning this photoshoot by sharing our traumas for hours and hours in Antwerp’s cafes and bars. I didn’t imply much meaning by having 2 models, but I would definitely include male images in my upcoming catalog.

**Who was the photographer for this editorial? Have you collaborated with them before? Did you share creative responsibilities with them to decide the direction of the shoot, or was it largely up to their judgement?**

When I started planning the editorial, I assumed that a member of my team would handle the photography. I wrote the shoot’s scenario for my usual team in Antwerp, and then I heard that my acquaintance named [Shin Yatagai](https://www.instagram.com/shin.yatagai/) had become a photographer. 

Shin and I used to know each other many years ago in Japan, and he happened to be in Paris for a few months. I was also visiting Paris during that time, and we had a conversation where I told him that he should visit Antwerp, and I also offered him the role of photographer for the editorial. At that point, we discovered a mutual interest in initiating a project with creative freedom. We decided to work together, sharing our perspectives to utilize my existing scenario to its fullest potential.

**I was also wondering if you could provide some information about the locations selected for the editorial shoot. Do they have significance to the project beyond their appearance (for instance, if one of the settings is a historical site that has an ideological connection to your work)? Are they all located in Antwerp, or elsewhere?**

Yes, they are all located in Antwerp. I finished my MFA, Master's Degree in Visual Arts at the Royal Academy of Fine Arts Antwerp in 2022, and I always wanted to create something that incorporated the campus’s buildings to commemorate my personal history. [The building is a centuries-old monastery known as the Temple, and it was converted into a museum by architect Pierre Bruno Bourla in the mid-1800s](https://magazine.antwerpen.be/open-monumentendag-2021/koninklijke-academie-voor-schone-kunsten). The Academy’s faculty generously allowed me to use the entire building for the shoot. 

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The Temple’s beautiful high ceilings and walls acted as an ideal backdrop for the editorial. As my references are from the Interbellum period, it is ideal for my shoot locations to have walls that are at least 100 years old. I believe that this history reveals itself in the photos and transfers a unique feeling to my designs. For my next catalog, I have already found another wall in the Botanical Garden in Antwerp, which will surely bring an intriguing dimension to the production.

**When you mentioned Rudolf Schlicter’s *Portrait of Margot* as inspiration for one of the shirts, I became curious about your process for finding inspiration. Do you find references more spontaneously when researching for enjoyment, or do you purposefully look for sources when you are getting ready to design a collection? Do you catalog your research in an organized way so you can come back to it later?**

I love how my designs are a reflection of my own journeys and personal diaries. Therefore, I wouldn’t say that my investigations are always purposeful. It’s a bit of both approaches: I often find things accidentally, but those discoveries are still guided by my intuition. 

I was in Paris almost every month for my research. Last year, at Centre Pompidou, the exhibition [“Allemagne / Années 1920 / Nouvelle Objectivité / August Sander”](https://www.centrepompidou.fr/en/program/calendar/event/dEOe6u0) was a true inspiration for me because most of the time, my research is strictly focused on France’s 1920s references and culture. This exhibition covered Germany in the 1920s through paintings, photos, and writings. 

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At the exhibit, I encountered this painting* Portrait of Margot (1924)*, and I fell in love with the shirt design. Below is a scanned file by me. I drafted the shirt right away when I came back to Antwerp, and I used this base for the final version featured in the Wildside Vol. 2 collection. And yes, I archive my entire research both in my journal and on my website. You can find my “Scanned by Kié Einzelgänger” blogs [here](https://www.kieeinzelganger.com/scanned-by-ki-einzelgnger). 

**Based on your body of work as a designer, it seems that you strongly believe in clothing being comfortable and versatile enough to move around and live in. Why do you think the wearability of your garments is so important? Also, which characteristics of your garments are you trying to highlight when you conceptualize your editorial content? Do you think it's more important to offer the customer an aspirational image around your designs, show them a realistic preview of how the garments behave in different settings, or accomplish both of these objectives at the same time?**

I have profoundly admired the effortless wearability of YY’s philosophy. Anyhow, I don’t like to embellish myself too much in general, and I will never be interested in flashy fashion that catches temporary attention. I learned how vain that style is through several incidents in my teenage years when I used to dress that way. 

What I am perpetually interested in is how a silent piece of clothing can instantly change somebody’s ambiance in a subtle way. Therefore, I often recreate certain designs in hopes of perfecting my long-standing ideas.

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There are many hidden intentions behind my designs and imagery. Applying real historical details from the Interbellum Period to a piece of clothing magically evokes an image of the past, almost like a costume design for films. To ensure that I can successfully mimic these historical features in a modern way, I conduct extensive research before incorporating them into my garments.

It is fascinating how the length of seam stitches, shape and placement of pockets, choice of materials and other design choices can visually change the Era. I hope these details will stimulate people’s nostalgia even if they didn’t exist in this period, and every editorial that I create has prioritized this goal. 

I think it’s both. I want to present both realistic and functional value and bring people back in time. [To Les Années](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ann%C3%A9es_folles) folles in a 21st century version. And yes, “wearable” will continue to be a defining characteristic of my work in the future.

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ARCHIVE.pdf spoke with Antwerp-based designer Kié Einzelgänger about her second collaboration with Wildside Yohji Yamamoto.

Wildside Volume 2: An Exclusive Conversation with Kié Einzelgänger

After an extensive and rewarding dialogue, ARCHIVE.pdf is excited to release the first portion of our interview with Japanese artist [Suzume Uchida](https://suzumeu.tokyo/). In her relatively short painting career, Suzume Uchida has drawn international acclaim for her unflinching, autobiographical approach to painting. Her work pierces the psyche with a distinctively human sense of intimacy, making it both thought-provoking and moving. She is also renowned for her ongoing collaboration with Yohji Yamamoto, which has seamlessly adapted her paintings to a new medium. 

Our conversation with Suzume-san ranges from her background and artistic approach to her thoughts about fashion and attitudes towards collaboration. Due to the quantity and quality of responses we received, we have decided to publish this interview in 2 parts. Read the full text of our interview below:

**Hello Suzume-san, we hope that you are doing well. For the first question, we’d like to begin with a discussion around your background. At what age did you take up painting, and when did you decide to pursue art as a career? Was art always your principal passion, or did you have other intense interests when you were younger that tapered off as you grew older? Also, what influence did your family life have on your development as an artist?**

I have loved to draw and paint since I was a child. I think my first encounter with art was Pierre-Auguste Renoir's 'Portrait of Mademoiselle Legrand' when I was eight years old, and Van Gogh's blue self-portrait, which I saw at the Musée d’Orsay when I was thirteen. When I was in junior high and high school, I published my illustrations on the internet and interacted with professional illustrators. Finally, when I was fifteen, I decided that I wanted to do something related to drawing as my career.

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When I finished junior high school, I talked to my parents about my desire to go to art college, but they were very opposed. I continued to persuade them and managed to get them to let me go to an art preparatory school. However, when the lecturers gave me critiques of my paintings, I felt rejected and cried after every lecture. I gave up painting at the age of 17, thinking that I would never be able to make a career out of it because I was such a weak person.

Later, I studied design at university. I chose to study design as opposed to painting because for me, painting is like a direct manifestation of my own mind – whenever my art is ridiculed, it hurts me on a personal level. On the other hand, design involves many elements such as planning, ideas and rhetoric. So, with design, even if things go wrong at work, I wouldn't feel as if I was being attacked directly from the heart. Then, I got a job in advertising, but because I was inexperienced, I couldn't live up to the demands of the position. My health was also deteriorating, so I chose to quit the job.

When I was lying in bed thinking about what I wanted to do with my life in the future, I happened to find a painting by a wonderful artist on my phone. When I went to see his exhibition, I was impressed by the artist who was roughly the same age as me and was desperately trying to pursue the path of painting that I had given up on. After seeing this exhibit, I was motivated to collect more art and try modelling for painters, and it made me realize that I wanted to give painting another chance. Then, I painted one or two pieces that led me to where I am now.

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I am grateful for the family I grew up in, but I also wish it had been better. I think the fact that I didn't get much praise made the hole in my heart bigger and bigger. However, it is precisely this hole in my heart that led me to choose art as my career. 

**How did you find your personal painting style, and how do you continue to evolve that style in the present day? What drew you towards realism over abstraction, and have you spent time experimenting with other methods in the past? As an artist, do you think being consistent in your aesthetic values is a valuable limitation of scope, or can it lead to a lack of inspiration if pushed to an extreme?**

I just draw and try to express my ideas, and repeat the process. At the moment I mainly work with pencil and oil, but I have experimented with different materials such as watercolour, pastel, Japanese ink and sumi ink. I think this trial-and-error process will continue for the rest of my life as I try to find the best expression that suits me, both in terms of technique and materials.

I feel that the reason I stuck to realistic expression was because I had an urgent feeling that I had to document my experiences. For example, in the work depicting the dead pigeon, I chose a realistic technique and sharply drew the details because I felt a sense of responsibility to preserve the memory of my pet, as I was the only one who could leave it behind in the picture. But as the days with the dead pigeon became more distant, my brushstrokes became softer and blurred. Perhaps it is the invisible things that are most important. For now, what comes back to me is not the image of my pigeon as it died, but the image of it as it flapped its wings in good health. 

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These tender memories now surround me, which is probably why my brushstrokes changed from being fine and sharp to being soft, fuzzy and blurry. Although it would still be called realism, changes in brushstrokes alone may give the work a very different impression. It seems that the changes in my own feelings have a direct effect on my paintings. I also recently completed an abstract blue work that looks like the sky and the sea. I think this painting is the result of an overflow of unspoken and invisible thoughts. 

I believe that when life changes, painting changes too. It is wonderful to stick to one thing, but I believe that as long as you are consistently devoting time to your art, any changes that occur are natural.

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What are your thoughts on the concept of collaboration between the art world and fashion world? When you discuss this topic with other artists, do you find that they are generally receptive to the idea or are they hesitant to consider working with fashion designers? 

A painting that is displayed on a canvas does not move. But if a painting is applied to clothing, the cloth will sway in the wind, causing the design to change. It is as if the appearance of the painting is that of a wavering soul. I am happy that my paintings seem to have a new life. I am also grateful for the opportunity to let many people know about my art through [my ongoing work with Yohji Yamamoto](https://wildside-online.com/shop/r/r6004/).

Our collaboration started in 2017. From then until now, we have been devoting considerable time to this project. During this time, many people, both artists and gallery owners, have been very receptive. Many people who were not previously interested in art and painting have started to come to my gallery exhibitions. I think it would be good if artists and galleries explored more opportunities outside of their ecosystem, because a creative collaboration can lead to great outcomes. 

The success of our project would have been impossible without the customers that wear and appreciate our clothing. Their continued support has built a great sense of community around the work, and it is a sign that our collaboration feels genuine in the eyes of the public.

**In your opinion, what are some good principles for both the artist and designer to follow to ensure that a collaboration is successful and mutually fulfilling? And to add on to the previous question, how do you personally define success in a collaboration between an artist and a fashion brand?**

For a meaningful partnership, I think it is important that designers and artists can have a heart-to-heart conversation. If they are reserved, the work will be half-hearted. It's important to respect each other and have honest conversations about what you want to do and what you don't want to do.

When it comes to successful collaborations, people tend to focus on sales and sell-outs. But I like to take a longer-term view and consider more than just the immediate results. Is the work really good? Does it have a greatness that will last and be appreciated by future generations? These are important questions to think about. If the work is great, the collector will take good care of it for decades. Success may be defined by whether the work remains relevant after our death.

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Why do you choose to incorporate elements of Japanese history and your identity as a Japanese woman into your art? What is the significance of the past to your artistic practice, and how do you think the past interacts with the present and future through art?

I incorporate Japanese history and female identity into my work because they are real to me. I don't consciously try to include them, they are naturally reflected in my work. This is because I am a documentary artist. I value the honesty of my own original experiences in my work, without any pretense. Because I believe that real experiences are what move people's hearts.


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As long as people are people, I believe my work will move someone's heart, even 100 or 200 years from now. It might even save them. I think that the “real things” in this world will remain the same, past, present or future, and they will always have the power to touch people's hearts. Genuine works of art should be loved beyond time, and I want to keep striving to make work that feels universal. I think it is my mission to continue to search for the real and to preserve it in my paintings.

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Suzume Uchida unveils the dark allure of monsters, demons, and the raw emotions behind her art.

Monsters & Demons: An Interview with Suzume Uchida, Part 1

Suzume Uchida’s startlingly original artwork is an antidote to emotionlessness. With every painting she creates, her stated goal is to connect with the viewer, giving them the inspiration to express hidden feelings. This motivation is the fuel for her artistic practice, and it provides a robust backing to her art, pairing execution with concept to form [a highly compelling body of work](https://suzumeu.tokyo/).

Earlier this week, ARCHIVE.pdf released the first part of our interview with Suzume-san, and we had an in-depth discussion about who she is as an artist and person. After receiving the responses to the first part of this interview, our team felt that there was much more to discuss, so we created a second round of questions designed to build upon the themes introduced in the first portion. 

In the second installment of the interview, we opted to take a more rapid-fire approach with relatively brief questions, delving further into specific aspects of topics from the first interview. For the sake of understanding, it is highly recommended to read the first part before the second. Read the full text of our conversation below.

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**When researching your artwork, I noticed that self-portraits frequently appear in your paintings. What are some of the main reasons why you frequently choose yourself as a subject?**

For me, I am the closest to myself. I believe that authentic work can only come from authentic experience. Self-portraits are common in my work because my own experiences tend to feel realistic. Also, when I first started painting, the easiest thing for me to observe was my own body. However, I have recently begun to paint more than just self-portraits, it feels like my world is expanding.

**For you, has painting self-portraits led to personal growth? Do you find that you learn new things about yourself by displaying deep feelings in front of a large audience through your art?**

Drawing self-portraits is a process of growth and discovery. For me, creating these works is a way of reconnecting with my old self. Drawing allows me to have a dialogue with who I was in the past, and it enables me to see what really made me sad back then. This leads to an understanding of genuine human feelings. In painting I am able to sublimate old memories that I could not let go of. The feedback I get from people who see my self-portraits is often very personal and rooted in inner thoughts that I would not normally discuss with others. I believe that by revealing my inner self I can open the hearts of others and encourage them to do the same.

**How does feedback from others influence your work? How do you generally react to compliments, and how do you generally react to criticism?**

Feedback often encourages me. For example, I have a piece called “The Heart” which is of a pigeon I had that died. At the time I felt guilty about painting the dead pigeon, but I wanted to paint it anyway. One day a viewer said to me: "This is a gift from the pigeon. It thanked you for keeping it until now and it gave you the opportunity to paint a wonderful painting". Those words saved me and I am still able to paint my pigeons.

I learn a lot from criticism. I am grateful to my colleagues and friends who give me concrete suggestions for improvement and share their personal ideas. However, I am not really influenced by anonymous criticism on the internet. This is because it is difficult to exchange in-depth opinions without knowing the identity of the other person.

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Can you tell the story of your collaboration with Yohji Yamamoto? How did it first emerge and what is the current dynamic between you and the brand? Do you feel like the relationship you currently have is similar to when the collaboration started, or has it evolved in certain respects?

In the spring of 2017, I suddenly received an email asking if I was interested in working with Yohji Yamamoto POUR HOMME. At the time, Yohji Yamamoto's studio had a proposal to print women's faces on clothes, and they were looking for illustrators and painters who could draw women with a realistic touch. Out of all the candidates, Mr. Yamamoto chose me. I was very lucky. I was quite surprised when they used clothes with my drawings on the runway for [that season's collection](https://www.vogue.com/fashion-shows/spring-2018-menswear/yohji-yamamoto#review), and my art was even featured on the final look.

I think our relationship is far deeper now than it was at the beginning. In our previous collaborations, most of the works were drawn in response to requests from Mr. Yamamoto. However, with my latest work, [“Praying Hands”](https://wildside-online.com/shop/r/r6004/), we were able to realise a collaboration based on my own personality. I think the trust and mutual understanding we have developed over the years has led to these new works.

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**When you undertake the act of painting, do you follow a routine or include variations on your approach? Could you describe what a typical day of working on a project looks like for you?**

I don't have a set routine. I spend my time according to how I feel. For me, the most important thing in painting is "What do I want to express? What is most important to me when I paint? What is most important to me at the moment? What do I want to leave behind or tell the world? What do I want to remember?" I ask myself these questions again and again. Or I cherish the thoughts that come impulsively to me, using them to guide me towards inspiration. 

After this kind of thinking I will finally start to paint. There are days when I can paint all day if I decide what I want to paint, and there are days when I feel depressed and can't hold the brush.

**How do you feel about the major role an artist’s image plays in the perception of their art, especially in modern times? Do you see marketing yourself as a distraction or a necessary process for an artist to be successful? Over the course of your career, how have you been able to find a balance between managing your image and making the best possible work?**

If the image that appears on the surface is deliberately created by others, I find it false and boring. But artists who make interesting work are often interesting people when you meet them and talk to them. So if the image is naturally formed by the artist, it can be a clue to understanding their work.

Personally, I have never been conscious of image-making. I just focus on putting effort into my artwork. Even though I don’t obsess over my public perception, I have been lucky enough to collaborate with fashion brands and have more opportunities to appear in the media. It is a chance for a lot of people to get to know me.

With the advent of social networking, image building has become more of a focus. That's why, if you're interested in an artist who's still alive, you should try to visit one of their shows and speak to them. That way you can see the true image of the artist, not the image that has been created.

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**Have the business pressures of being a professional artist ever deterred you from continuing on your path? Does the pressure to make work that sells occasionally weigh down your creative process?**

It has been nine years since I started painting and exhibiting in galleries, but in the beginning there was a lot of pressure. My first solo exhibition sold out, which made me nervous for future exhibitions because I worried about being unable to sustain that success.

Ultimately, business doesn’t concern me because I paint for my own salvation. If the work I paint to save myself can save someone else's heart, then I feel it was worth being born into this world. Every time I paint, I have to face myself like that, so I don't consider the commercial appeal when creating art, and I probably couldn't.

**Why do you think personal style is (or is not) important? What is your relationship to the clothes you wear, and how is your style connected to your identity as an artist?**

I think it's wonderful when people wear clothes they like without being influenced by their surroundings. I appreciate this same sense of individuality in people who create art. I like people who unapologetically do what they love, and I aspire to be more like them. Fashion style can be one of the clues to understanding a person because it is highly visible. But in the end, I think the work is everything, so artists should not worry too much about fashion. It’s best for them to dress and live the way they want to.

I started wearing Yohji Yamamoto’s designs after working with him. I feel a tremendous sharpness in Yohji Yamamoto's clothes, like a Japanese sword. When I wear them, I feel confident, so I end up wearing them at exhibitions. When I wear soulful clothes, I also feel that I have to work hard with passion. For me, fashion is something that cheers me up and encourages me.

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Suzume Uchida delves deeper into the grotesque beauty of fear, vulnerability, and the spirits that haunt her art.

Monsters & Demons: An Interview with Suzume Uchida, Part 2

Kié Einzelgänger is simultaneously looking forwards and backwards. Through her focus on the interbellum arts of the 20th century, founder Kié Lee pieces together hazy memories of a shattered past to craft the future. Lee’s interest in fashion has evolved alongside her passion for interbellum culture. For her, connections that were originally drawn on aesthetic lines have grown into lasting ideological bonds. She sees fashion as more than a simple mode of expression: It is an act of performance, a living historical document, and a means of constructing a narrative.

Throughout her life, Kié Lee has embodied the namesake of her brand. Due to the perpetual movement in her childhood and early career, the one constant she had was her individuality. Lee was born in Basel, Switzerland, and moved to Seoul during her teenage years. After developing an interest in fashion at age 19, she went to New York City to study at Parsons, and would remain there for 3 years after graduating. During that time, she established the Kié Einzelgänger brand and presented multiple runway collections in New York and Paris. In 2019, Lee decided to put down roots in Antwerp, moving her base of operations to Belgium for the foreseeable future. Even though she appears to have settled down, the vitality of her work and her dedication to a singular path is stronger than ever. 

One of Lee’s most admirable traits as a designer is her ability to strike a balance between seemingly opposing forces. Whether she is mixing spontaneity and rationality in her creative approach or finding a middle ground between profits and integrity, Lee demonstrates the importance of adhering to one’s ideals in the face of disorder. Every concept is tested by the demands of reality, and no endeavor can turn out exactly as imagined. However, ideology cannot be abandoned, because without a guiding light for us to aspire to, we spiral into meaninglessness. Through her sustainable success, Lee has proved that compromises can be made without sacrificing your original values. 

In her upcoming projects, Kié Lee continues to demonstrate her commitment to the ideas she holds dear, incorporating the diverse fields of literature and psychology into her clothing. Recently, Lee was generous enough to share her insights on fashion and describe her personal journey to ARCHIVE.pdf. We discussed her artistic influences, her brand’s recent collaboration with Wildside Yohji Yamamoto, her design process, and much more.

**Hello Kié, how are you? We wanted to kick off this interview with a question about your upbringing. Did you have an “a-ha” moment in your childhood when you knew you wanted to be a fashion designer, or was it something you were always interested in?**

In fact, I was never interested in embellishing myself until I turned 19 probably resulting from childhood trauma. I immigrated from Switzerland to Korea to spend my adolescence before I left for New York, and that was the time when I was severely bullied for my chubbier appearance than other children in Seoul. With this experience, I wasn’t captivated by fashion until I managed to transform my silhouette acceptable during my teenage years.

Simply, finding the “clothing that fits me” was always my interest, and I doubtlessly know that this anger from the humiliation brought me to dive into the subject of fashion with a focus on aesthetics. I still barely shop each year and instead, I desperately seek and invent clothing that suits me. But at some point, I was finding myself purely cherishing that feeling, that moment you find yourself in clothing that suits you 100 percent. This would be that “a-ha” moment for me that pushed me to this profession called fashion design.

**I noticed that you have spent significant time in 3 major fashion centers: New York, Japan, and Belgium. Could you compare and contrast the design culture, creative environment, business attitudes, and approach to consumption and production in these countries? Also, do you prefer one of these cities over the other 2 or do you feel your work is strengthened by incorporating aspects of what you have learned from all 3?*8

That reminds me of a past conversation with my father about this cycle, that in general, creations seem to be created in Europe, greatly commercialized in America, and contextualized & re-interpreted in Asia, which ends up influencing Europe and America again. I do not mean to say everything is like this of course, but we talked about this engrossing cycle based on certain histories and things that are happening around us. I never planned to live on 3 different continents, but my 20s were inevitably spent that way due to my desperate reasons. Many years later, now I realize that I tend to have a less biased but a bit more neutral attitude toward everything. These experiences obviously bring confusion most of the time and I never feel I belong somewhere in a positive way. I presume I will remain like this for a while. New York City furnished a realistic experience for me in this tough business. I unknowingly obtained experiences on the administrative side to understand where I am standing and ultimately faced accepting my near wild future, while Japan woke me up to appreciate the smallest details of craftsmanship and to cherish every day’s moment in the present. Now in Belgium, and also in France, I guess I am finally learning about the past, especially through scrutinizing the periods that allured me for a long time as my original source of research. Indeed, these 3 continents taught me about the past, the present, and the future… and yes, I will always crave these 3 aspects altogether.

**Outside of fashion, what has inspired and informed your work as a designer? (Personal experiences, music, movies, art, or others)**

I could list the names of directors endlessly because I am still discovering more and more every single day. I am generally a fanatic researcher in the Interbellum (inter-war) period’s visual arts between the 1920s -1940s, not by the intentional approach, but mostly by my intuition. I am naturally attracted to this era from my childhood, and I do my best to promote this aesthetic to the 21st century. The visual arts and writings by Man Ray, Marcel Duchamp, Andre Bréton, Pablo Picasso…on and on …and also plenty of arts that are re-innated in Asia based on these cultures originally inspired me, and in addition to this background, I am a complete fan of comedies only based on absurdities, and was quite into films shot by Jean Luc Godard, Buster Keaton, Stanley Kubrick for a while as well. It was a true pleasure to discover that these directors were naturally influenced by the same interbellum arts I had been researching. Due to this common inspiration, their work has felt familiar to me from the moment I first laid eyes on it. I have also developed a compulsive habit of guessing which artistic references are being brought up in certain scenes. I believe this powerful era of Interbellum, and the late 20th century works that are inspired by the interbellum arts are a rich enough source for me to dig into for the rest of my life.

I can go on and on and on….

Oh, and I have to say, I am a mad freak for chess now.

**Tell us about your process when you are designing a collection. Do you focus on cultivating a random element, do you prefer to meticulously plan, or is it a mix of both approaches?**

I was enthralled by the idea of “Automatism” that was theorized by André Breton which itself was rooted in Sigmund Freud’s “Free association” technique, aka observing people's unconscious minds. I believe these random thoughts that are not controlled by logic could bring revolutionary thinking, and I try to document them in my journals by hand every day... and these diaries are always the starting point of my creation. 

However, there is obviously a point I need to be exceptionally rational with plans. Designing the collections means this entire process from sourcing, sketching, draping and patternmaking, prototyping, fitting, fixing, re-prototyping, producing, casting, photo shooting, editing, promoting, communicating, selling, and delivering for every single clothing that is made, whether it’s a failed or succeeded. And unfortunately, I make failures most of the time, and I must re-do the entire process to reach what I meant to make. Therefore, the extreme plan and the sense of perfectionism are very much necessary. I always need to swim between the unreal and real, but after all, it is more important that I focus on meticulous plans to actually handle and transfer the random elements into a design.

**What is it like running your company while designing at the same time? How big is your team and what do your day-to-day operations look like? Would you ever give up the intimacy and connection to your product that you get from having a small team or is it worth the added responsibilities to remain independent?**

I unceasingly suffer between business administrations & creations. This year, I decided to divide my monthly calendar into 4 sections. Devoting one week to socializing with people, another week to locking myself and hand-work in the atelier, then another week for sales management and promotion with lots of photoshoots, and finally the last week to documenting and archiving, reflecting on what I actually did each month. This is the only way to keep on track and run these opposite tendencies. 

At this moment, I do have an atelier in Belgium, and I work with design offices, factories, suppliers, and agencies based in both Belgium and Japan under certain agreements. With the import process and the timeline being settled, I am comfortable working this way. I honestly cannot foresee how big my company will get in the next couple of years but I am certainly planning to formulate in-house production as I feel I am quite ready to do so. I commenced this business in 2016 when I was 25, and now is probably a great time to consider doing so.

**From your experience, what are some pieces of wisdom that you had to figure out on your own but wish someone had shared with you? Has your education been mainly learning through experience, formal training, or mixture of both?**

I would say my education was unquestionably the least important part of my journey. It certainly paved the road and expedited things however, as I was exposed to broader environments along with the pre-made criteria but that was about it. Through the education I got in New York, I did fetch  professionalism to convince people in a bit more unilateral way and through the education in Europe, I learned how to expose my failures and accept the feedback from the audiences in a more reflexive way. It was a great mixture of both (European and American attitudes) and helped me learn how to communicate better in general. 

However, my most important lessons were taught outside of formal schooling. 

I was lucky to encounter mentors for life on my journey, at the right time, who took my perspectives seriously with a true interest despite the generational & experience gaps between us. 

I still have them as mentors and I do not hesitate to reach them out, fairly often, when I have honest concerns or doubts. What’s beautiful is that they have concerns and doubts as well. These concerns and doubts can sometimes be solved by sharing. As you mentioned, education still did play the role of formal training, but my most important lessons were indeed from my mentors. The real indirect lessons just by observing how they lived and aged together... But at the same time, we do not depend on each other.

Everything must be figured out on our own at the end. As a Einzelgänger.

**We would like to know how your collaboration with Wildside Yohji Yamamoto came to fruition. Did you reach out to Yohji first or did they contact you to start talks on the collaboration, and what did those initial discussions look like?**

It all started with mutual respect and a perdurable relationship. It just came naturally into a conversation in Paris. It was a good timing as the company was willing to coordinate something to support younger designers, and I sincerely admire this spirit.



**Do you believe that fashion is best suited as a uniform that connects you to a community of like-minded individuals (Rick Owens is a great example of this type of designer in my opinion) or as a way for each person to express themselves in a unique way? Which philosophy do you ascribe to when you are designing clothing?**

In my opinion, stating “fashion” as the way of expressing one-self is too limited. We all know that this is a common description of fashion, but my idea is a bit far from it. I believe everyone’s true-self is under the water and unveils when we are alone. We all have multiple Personas, and the fashion that we say that we wear is just part of us.

And this is what’s interesting. Isn’t it? 

Seeing people ”disguising” their true-self, whether it’s to form a group or “fit into” one by uniformizing themselves, perhaps is still an expression of one part of themselves in a unique way.

People need fashion to attend a certain farce we create together. And this is fascinating to see. Almost “dressing to act”… and here, we see that the clothing plays a noteworthy role to alter the character of oneself. That kind of transformation is what I think that fashion is… to “disguise” and to be part of the farce that we chose to be in. That’s what I have witnessed so far in this industry for the past 10 years…

“Life is the farce which everyone has to perform” Arthur Rimbaud 

**I saw that you cite surrealism as a major influence on your work. Do you try to utilize unconscious methods of creation when you work? And if so, could you describe some of these techniques?**

Yes, I believe in the beauty of “randomness”. This finally led me to start a side-project called “Triplicates 1/3” from 2023 and this came into my mind while taking a shower on a random day, while I was thinking about the idea of Surrealist’s automatism method. Surrealism was mainly about observing and stimulating the un-awaken state of one-self. The movement of Surrealism landed in the 1920’s as the reaction to the horror of WWI, and people started to express the honest side of themselves through the arts observing their unconsciousness. It's certain that we sleep 1/3 of our life and their main focus is to look into the 33.3333% that we are not aware of. Techniques such as “Free association” by Sigmund Freud were the main methods that inspired the visual arts in the 1920’s because he would dig-in to this side of his patient to cure some mental illnesses. I referenced this concept of automatism, and observing one’s mind without constraints of the rational mind, to title my project the “Triplicates 1/3”.

**Do you ascribe to a specific religious and philosophical worldview, or is your personal philosophy a mix of many elements? If so, what are the key tenets of your personal beliefs?**

My philosophy will always evolve from the concept of Einzelgänger, or rather “a person who walks alone”. Both the state of being alone, and the power of individuals. Other references I source aren't something that I fully believe in but I do borrow their perspectives to view things with a different set of glasses. This way I can strengthen and find a proper description of the Einzelgänger spirit at the end.

**I believe that the philosophy of the lost generation is especially relevant to today, except that the absence of major tragedies like World War 1 make our current aimlessness all the more unusual. When starting your brand, did you choose the interbellum focus due to modern events? Also, what do you think has been causing our modern society’s lack of direction?**

No, I didn’t choose the Interbellum focus due to the modern events as it was solely based on my personal aesthetic in the beginning. This aesthetic is my infinite reference from childhood, and only visual elements were considered until I dived in further as I age. I was too young at that time. I dimly remember that I started to approach this period’s histories & philosophies around mid-20s when I had access to the libraries in NY.

As I gained some knowledge by spending enough time with this period’s visual arts, now it’s probably an appropriate time to correlate it to modern events. I do agree with you that the generation I am in is becoming more directionless and disoriented. As the years pass by with crisis after crisis, it will become even more aimless as people will soon be divided into two extreme opposite groups. In this case, having an identity and willingness to bounce back is necessary amid extremely polarized society. The ability to be resilient is challenging for our generation, because there aren’t enough reasons to be. This resilient spirit is needed more than ever. I feel lack of resilience is causing this lack of direction somehow... 

**What is your brand working on right now? Could you share some of your plans for the future with us (as much as you feel comfortable saying)?**

Yes, sure. I already have started on arranging an exhibition of the A/W 2024 seasonal collection in January at 23 rue Michel le Comte, 75003 Paris, France under the theme of Chap.30 “Einzelgänger the Gambler”. The concept of the Gambler is from the novel “the Gambler” by Fyodor Dostoevsky which resembled part of my personal experiences in my late-20s. It is my 6th exhibition, but indeed a first presentation as Kié Einzelgänger® after moving the operations of the company to Europe. I aim to deliver a capsule collection consisting of both men’s and women’s pieces.

Besides this, I started a project called Collection “1/3 Triplicate”. It is based on the idea of omnipotence of our everyday sleep from Manifesto of Surrealism (1924), that we are sleeping 1/3 of our life and that the unconscious state is too important to be neglected. Apart from the real world and the rotating seasonal collection, I thought it would be interesting to create random pieces in my own free time to document my state at those moments. Along with this concept of 1/3, I will only make 3 pieces per design and intentionally “expire” them. Just like every night’s dreams we cannot remember and the instant photos that can’t be re-taken.

Also, as the new year began, there is another propaganda project called “I am Einzelgänger”. It is a series of portraits of my clients in my clothing, with a short caption in which they discuss “why they consider themself an Einzelgänger”. Anyone who wears my clothing can participate. This series of photos will be released along my exhibition “the Gambler”.

Sean Holley

Writers

Redefining Fashion: Decoding Helmut Lang's Universal Appeal

Wildside Volume 2: An Exclusive Conversation with Kié Einzelgänger

Monsters & Demons: An Interview with Suzume Uchida, Part 1

Monsters & Demons: An Interview with Suzume Uchida, Part 2

Paving Your Own Path: An Interview with Kié Einzelgänger

Interviewers

Wildside Volume 2: An Exclusive Conversation with Kié Einzelgänger

Monsters & Demons: An Interview with Suzume Uchida, Part 1

Monsters & Demons: An Interview with Suzume Uchida, Part 2

Paving Your Own Path: An Interview with Kié Einzelgänger