After leaving influential Japanese cult label Number (N)ine in 2009, designer Takahiro Miyashita wasted no time in founding his next venture, an eponymous label called TAKAHIROMIYASHITA The Soloist. As the name suggests, the brand’s output represents a completely unfettered execution of Miyashita’s personal style and creative vision.
The Soloist moniker proves to be an especially apt one, as the rock subculture influences of Miyashita’s previous work are infused with the sophistication of virtuoso tailoring, intricate attention to detail, and an innovative, progressive design sensibility.
Takahiro Miyashita’s Spring/Summer 2019 collection adjusts the levels of the alternative rock influences that inform his creative output. As with the actual music being celebrated, all subtlety has been purposefully set aside. Miyashita has taken famous imagery from celebrated Seattle scene photographer Charles Peterson and featured it prominently throughout the collection, from hyperbolic graphic tees to all over printed garments to reversible flaps.
Peterson’s black and white photography didn’t just document the nascent musical movement that would eventually be labeled grunge; it mythologized it. Peterson’s sometimes blurred, sometimes light streaked, wide-angle action shots captured the total live experience, rather than lead singer glamor poses. This anti-rock star ideal is replicated throughout the Spring/Summer collection, as the photographs become an aspect of Miyashita’s larger, intricately tailored, progressive aesthetic, rather than a singular focus.
TAKAHIROMIYASHITA The Soloist also highlights other aspects of Americana into the grunge-centric collection. Bomber jacket silhouettes made from reclaimed vintage quilt patterns, an oversized, label branded, poncho/blanket hybrid, and the designer’s own, distinctive takes on staple pieces.
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