Interview with Fashion Designer Yukiko Hanai

New Yamato, New Fashion

I’d heard many stories about love, and I had many questions when I met Mr. Nishizaki. I heard about the grand romantic story made by this great man and I thought I could help. Men talk about love and romance, but most of it is just lip service, not the real thing. What he achieved proves that he is serious about this matter. Not for the love of money, but a much grander hope or ambition made it possible, I suppose.

It was part of my dream to design for an anime hero. In a standard movie, it is never certain how suitable the clothing will be for the cast members. This is why we start with a picture drawing, a design that will become the real thing. I envision the story happening in an ivory tower, but reality always gets in the way. For example, if the actress is a certain kind of person, it is necessary to observe limits. But animation always has the possibility to break through such restrictions, because in the end it is still a picture. I could design a dress that would be impossible to make in the real world. It is processed as a picture.

On the other hand, there are still limitations. In animation, if I were to change the clothing or hairstyle, the character would become another person who would be inconsistent with the story. Therefore, everything is unified after all. Narrowing down those connections is rather difficult.

It will be released in the summer, and young girls will want to wear the clothing immediately. This is how I connected to the idea of a jumpsuit with hotpants. They are connected by a string that opens with a fastener, though it does not become a two-piece outfit with a blouse. Therefore, you must remove the whole thing when you go to the restroom, that’s what I had in mind. Another idea was the small handbag; if you wear it over one shoulder then slippage is common, so it runs diagonally. Practical application is easy.

It is a pleasure to decide what kind of style this character dresses for.

The End

Special thanks to Sword Takeda for translation assistance.

Return to the Farewell to Yamato Time Machine.

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