Hello.
I'm Noguchi from CASANOVA&CO.
Currently, the WONDER ROOM event is in full swing at our store.
Thank you to everyone who came.
Especially for those who visited on Saturday or Sunday and spoke with Kakoi-san and Okamoto-san, I believe you were able to get a stronger sense of what WONDER ROOM is all about.
We look forward to seeing you in our special area where you can experience a glimpse of Kakoi-san's fabric development until next Sunday.
Today is not about WONDER ROOM, but about KAKAN, as the title suggests.
During this Obon period, we've received 25AW deliveries from various brands, and the KAKAN item I'm introducing today also arrived recently.
However, it's not 25AW.
Nor is it 25SS.
I don't know how to describe it in terms of seasons, so let's call it a "shared treat."
KAKAN
T-Shirt "IT'S OK TO SAY NO"
color _ white
size _ F
At the 26SS exhibition held in Tokyo the other day, this particular piece, which had wrinkles suggesting it had just been unfolded, was hanging at the very end of the rack.
I thought it had a nice, spontaneous feel to it, and I heard that some items were sold on "Friends' Day" (a day when the brand's associates and designers' friends are invited to the exhibition), and there were still a few left in stock.
I'm the type who values unexpected encounters like that, and besides, summer is far from over, so with KAKAN's cooperation, we've made this T-shirt available in extremely limited quantities.
So, I don't think it's widely available as an inline wholesale item in stores.
I don't really pay attention to that kind of thing, so it might not be accurate information, but...
A graphic T-shirt of angels dancing with a super powerful message.
"IT'S OK TO SAY NO" in a catchy typeface.
Angels in a realistic style.
A striking red message in a serif font.
I don't really understand design theory, but I intuitively felt it was incredibly brilliant and cool.
The phrase "IT'S OK TO SAY NO" was apparently a word that helped designer Hanami-san.
At the age of 18, Hanami-san moved to the UK alone and enrolled in the prestigious Central Saint Martins, a name you've probably heard of.
There, she studied fine art and jewelry design, and with a foundational knowledge of design, she moved to Italy.
In Italy, she enrolled at Istituto Marangoni in Milan, further deepening her pursuit of design and fashion.
Although I only know the current Hanami-san, I immediately felt when I first met her that her studies abroad greatly influenced the formation of her personality as a designer.
However, precisely because she is so full of vitality and constantly strives forward, anxiety and pain always accompany her.
It was the phrase "IT'S OK TO SAY NO" that supported Hanami-san's life abroad at that time.
As I myself studied abroad in an American university for a year when I was 20, I can deeply empathize with the power of this phrase.
Living abroad, I realized there was a much bigger internal barrier to being myself than the language barrier itself.
In my case, when I was in Japan, I skillfully presented my character and how I was perceived, adapting my persona to the other person and the situation.
However, when I went to America and lived my life in a non-native language that I had only learned academically, I had no room for such acting.
I had to convey what I needed to, whether through body language or anything else.
It was as if I was completely naked and unarmed.
That naked and unarmed Noguchi often dealt with situations by simply saying "YES!", "OK!", "I got it!" when it came to expressing emotions like "tatemae" (public facade), "reserve," and "humility," which I could have skillfully put into words in Japan.
However, I don't think this is an issue of whether I could speak English more fluently.
Sometimes, saying "NO!" is an act of kindness. And rather than pretending to accept by saying "YES!", isn't it more important to realize that communicating "NO!" can be an opportunity for others to accept you?
I don't know what Hanami-san was feeling at the time, but if I had this phrase with me back then, my emotional stability and behavior might have been different.
That's why "IT'S OK TO SAY NO" is a phrase I really like too.
Though I wish I had encountered it sooner, haha.
To summarize the red part very briefly,
"I won't change myself, but I'll continue to change daily and not be afraid of risks."
Something like that is written there.
Such powerful words.
If you look closely, angels holding flowers are dancing.
While the angels alone create a peaceful mood, the words have a strong core, with a main theme of phrases that are not just for oneself but also an act of kindness for others.
It combines a strength that appeals to the viewer with a kindness that embraces the heart of the wearer.
To talk a little about the clothing aspect, the T-shirt body is a completely original KAKAN design.
It's not thick, and the fabric is quite smooth and pleasant to the touch.
In short, it's a very good T-shirt.
No print on the back.
It's the mindset of "a man's back should speak for itself," haha.
Oh, and don't worry, women can wear it too.
This is how it looks on someone 178cm and 60kg.
With its boxy balance of a shorter length and wider width, it looks cute oversized on a petite woman and also balances well when a man wears it casually.
Please ignore the noticeable tan line from my watch on my wrist, haha.
The shoulders are dropped, but it fits very nicely.
I think it's a very excellent T-shirt.
"IT'S OK TO SAY NO"
A superb message.
I believe we'll be introducing this phrase with some outstanding clothing in 25AW as well.
For now, let's start by setting our mindset with the T-shirt.
For now, I plan to sell it only in-store, but please come check it out if you're interested, both men and women.