The work of Ryota Iwai, who founded his label, Auralee, in 2015, is unveiled each season during Paris men’s fashion week. But calling him a fashion designer wouldn’t be completely fair, as the trends, whims and vampiric thirst for novelty in this sector are the opposite of the aspirations of the 39-year-old Japanese. “My goal is to imagine, from beautiful materials, the best possible products and to achieve a form of durability, he explains. Timeless rather than fashionable. »
“Confronting so many different clothes makes you wonder what matters: why this cut, this pocket, this lapel, this color? »Ryota Iwai
A native of Kobe, this “normal kind”, as he defines himself, who plays football or baseball, has discovered the love of clothes “Motoko”, the nickname of an alley (now defunct) where, at the end of the 1990, various vintage stores. “I didn’t have the Internet, I learned everything from salespeople and insiders. » Converse, Adidas, Levi’s jeans, sweaters, sport, military surplus, parts of European designers… He bargain hunts until he’s more thirsty. “Confronting so many different clothes makes you wonder what matters: why this cut, this pocket, this lapel, this color? »
After studying at Bunka Fashion College, in Tokyo, and working for Japanese brands (including the Norikoike knit label), Ryota Iwai has combined his obsessive relationship with details and his taste for purity. Endowed with a solid network of suppliers – in Peru for alpaca, in New Zealand for wool, in Mongolia for cashmere… –, the designer often has new textiles developed before the patronage and manufacturing that takes place in Japan.
His vocabulary is made up of natural colors and sensitive variations: subtly ribbed ivory or soft green cardigans, polo shirt with slightly asymmetrical buttons, jacket with ties and hood like a windbreaker but delivered in enveloping pure wool… His creed: « To move with the minimum of superfluity. »
