LA SCALA , run by tailor Nobuhito Yamaguchi, who is permanently stationed at Isetan Shinjuku Store, Men's Building is taking on its first challenge: "A garment for women who are aware of the latest global fashion." In the second installment of this series, Yamaguchi, who wanted to "express the world of LA SCALA in women's wear," commissioned a coat for model KUYURI, who made her Paris Fashion Week debut in the Yohji Yamamoto Spring/Summer 2016 collection. What dreams do the designer and model envision in this black cashmere coat that beautifully complements her 177cm height? We explore "LA SCALA's current position" through the words and thoughts of both parties.

KUYURI
She made her Paris Fashion Week debut in the fall of 2015 at a Yohji Yamamoto show, and has since appeared in Hermès and Dolce & Gabbana. A fashion model who has appeared in many shows. Her trademark is her black hair with blunt bangs.

The reason KUYURI only wears black

KUYURI has been modeling for about five years. "If there were shows every day, I'd want to walk the runway every day," she says, and has been walking in Yohji Yamamoto 's shows, held twice a year in Paris, France, since Spring/Summer 2016. She is a top model, but of course, the clothes are the main focus in collections. When walking the runway, she continues, "I want to be a model who blends into the brand's world and makes the clothes fit perfectly."

She says that ever since she started appearing in Paris Fashion Week, she's grown to love "black" more and more, from her clothes to her accessories. Even during the interview, she was dressed head-to-toe in black. Of course, the coat she had made by La Scala was also black.


"When I look at photos from when I first started modeling, I'm wearing all sorts of colors, but now it's all black. Black is smart, comfortable, and makes me look great. It's a color I can wear without feeling pressured, so I can wear Yohji's collections without feeling intimidated."

He also explained why he likes black.

The reason Yamaguchi decided to compete in women's cycling

Yamaguchi says he was originally more interested in how clothes are made and how they look good when worn, rather than in designing them. He majored in women's clothing at the fashion school he attended before becoming a tailor, but he says he never really felt comfortable with the idea of "designing."

This latest challenge stemmed from a simple desire as a tailor: to express La Scala's worldview, which focuses on beautifully flattering the customer's figure, in women's wear.

And it was around that time that I encountered KUYURI.



Upon seeing her, the first thing that came to Yamaguchi's mind was the Yves Saint Laurent smoking look photographed by the master Helmut Newton. When it was released in 1966, it was a groundbreaking style that was even called the "smoking revolution." He wanted to put a coat over it, in black of course, and made of the finest cashmere. —What kind of coat would you put over this tuxedo style that is still so appealing today?

NEXT> A masterpiece completed after two fittings.