Graphpaper's Spring & Summer collection theme is "ALTERATION." A word that signifies shift and transformation, carrying with it an expectation toward the kind of individuality and beauty that emerges beyond human control. Like ceramics lifted from the kiln, revealing a surface no one could have predicted. Why did Takayuki Minami turn his focus toward spontaneous outcomes that may even surpass the creator's imagination?


"I wanted to aim for something
that wouldn't turn out exactly as intended."

―The color palette this season was striking. You used the term "youhen" (kiln change) when presenting the collection. Could you tell us why?

It actually began with the "Sumi" collection last Spring & Summer (2024). When artists create work, things are born beyond their intention, right? I wondered what that would look like if translated into clothing. That was phase one. I wanted to explore where design escapes intention — things we can't control. This season I took it further: dyeing, washing, drying... garments also change in ways we can't fully direct. The word youhen felt fitting for that.

―It's originally a ceramics term, isn't it?

Right. You place the piece in the kiln, ash glaze covers it, but the final color and texture are unpredictable. There's a broad range, but when I looked at examples of how colors shift through firing, many were beautiful. The idea was to use those color transitions, including the element of change itself, as the theme.

―So you focused on the beauty of transformation before and after firing.

Exactly. Of course artisans try to control the outcome, but it will never be 100% as intended. Yet sometimes those unpredictable results are even better. I wanted to aim for that. And when you think of mingei or old things, they age and change — sometimes new pieces aren't compelling until they've aged. Maybe it's because time cannot be designed. That makes it more alluring.

―Aging tends to move outside our predictions, for better or worse.

Originally, I was the kind of person who'd complain if a stitch was off by even one millimeter. I'm still like that (laughs), but this time I decided to intentionally make pieces where I wouldn't control everything from the start. Still, if the unexpected result isn't beautiful, I'll complain anyway.

―Sounds a bit unreasonable...

Sorry (laughs). But when artists work toward a specific finish, they must consider every step — in ceramics, kiln temperature, ash glaze state... They imagine, test, fail, adjust, and repeat. Through that repetition, their expression stabilizes and becomes personal. Being around such makers made me think, "This way of thinking is wonderful." I just wanted to try making things that way. Maybe I was getting tired of building everything perfectly within fixed rules.

―I imagined unexpected results would happen often in clothing production. Not so much?

It happens, but honestly, things are more controllable than you'd think. I was disappointed by that.

―Not something we usually hear (laughs).

Right? That's why I was saying things like, "Use less stable fabric," or "Isn't there a way to make it more chaotic?" — the complete opposite of how I used to speak.

JACKET Silk Noil Viscose Oversized Jacket
PANTS Silk Noil Viscose Sleeping Easy Pants

―(Laughs) So choosing the word youhen was symbolic of that attitude. How does it specifically appear in the products and looks?

We created fabrics while thinking about kiln-change colors and the texture of ceramics. For example, this one is silk noil. It's made using short fibers left over during spinning — basically a recycled material. Since many ceramics have a slightly rough surface, we intentionally chose a fabric with nep texture.

―Normally that kind of material would be used in an ethical context.

Right. But we aren't positioning this as environmentally-focused clothing. What's important is whether it works as modern city wear. Precisely because the fabric has texture, we paid extra attention to sewing it neatly. That balance was something we cared about.

SHIRT Broad L/S Oversized Regular Collar Shirt
SHIRT Broad L/S Oversized Band Collar Shirt

―Is this fabric original to Graphpaper?

Almost all items this season use original fabrics. This shirt is dyed with the idea of kiln-change in mind. In ceramics, the appearance before and after firing changes dramatically. We wanted to express that gradation — from deep to pale tones — through dyeing. Immersion time in the dye bath naturally creates individual variation, but we found that interesting and embraced it. Unexpectedly, it looked quite modern. I think the colors overall turned out well this season. The result changes depending on the fabric, which made it challenging.

―I see. Ah, this shirt has a separate fabric tag.

Yes. We worked with ALUMO, a historic Swiss mill, to create this as a double-name fabric. We've made shirts using Thomas Mason fabrics before too, but brands using fabrics of this level tend to go full dress-shirt mode. We like sitting somewhere between dress and casual — that balance feels right for us.

Creating something classic yet modern

SHIRT ALUMO for GP S/S Oversized Regular Collar Shirt

―In the look, you styled it with a tie. Did you style it yourself?

I did. Recently I've been circling back to classic dressing. Even when I was young, I always thought older men looked cool — I'd watch them on the street abroad more than fashion shows. That feeling has grown stronger. Until recently, I resisted certain "rules" of menswear.

―Maybe it has come full circle and now feels right again?

Maybe. I was curious what would happen if we mixed preppy and Ivy influences into a season built around this concept. The shoulder structure is slightly more defined than usual. Creating something classic yet modern feels like Graphpaper.

COAT Back Satin Linen Cupro Short Mods Coat

―This mods parka has a fascinating surface.

This is linen and cupro back satin. The fabric started from a mill telling us, "We can't picture how this will finish." (laughs) Cupro is soft, linen has bounce — mixing them was unpredictable. When I heard that, I felt it matched perfectly with the idea of embracing chance. In terms of expression, imagine glaze melting on pottery and producing a glassy sheen. That was the image.

COAT Boiled Wool Oversized Bal Collar Coat
PANTS Boiled Wool 3 Pleat Trousers

―This one is subtle too, yet full of expression.

That one uses a fabric you're technically not supposed to wash, but we washed it anyway. It's fulled wool. We raised the water temperature to force more distortion and tried a few things, but it didn't warp as dramatically as we expected. Maybe the mill did too good of a job (laughs).

―A rougher fabric might have distorted more.

Probably. But if it crosses the line and stops functioning as clothing, it just looks lame. A garment that is simply messy is like someone who can't draw well drawing an intentionally messy picture. That doesn't work.

―Like someone who misunderstood "art is an explosion" a little too literally.

Exactly. The meaning only exists when you can create something realistic, yet choose to break it.

―Hearing this, it's interesting how a return to classic styles and this pursuit of accident coexist. It feels almost contradictory.

I actually find it important to let contradictions sit together. In clothing, or even in space design. Hard to articulate, but the clothes I want for myself usually sit right there. I'd be happy if people feel, even just intuitively, what lies beyond that contradiction.

2025 SPRING & SUMMER COLLECTION
ALTERATION

Text by Rui Konno