ARTISTIC THREADS: Takashi Murakami has teamed with Japanese designer Yuta Hosokawa, who is behind cult upcycling label Readymade, on a spring 2026 capsule collection unveiled during Paris men’s fashion week.
Dubbed “Mononoke Made,” in a nod to the contemporary artist’s 2024 exhibition at the Kyoto City Kyocera Museum of Art, the line spans 30 pieces.
Topping the lot are a song by MNNK Bro., the group formed by Murakami and rapper JP the Wavy, and a runway-themed music video, both released Thursday.
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In fact, it was the latter that was created first in this project that was two years in the making, Hosokawa told WWD through a translator.
The pair met in 2018, when the designer made a pair of shorts featuring Murakami’s flower character as a gift for the artist, and had over the years worked on one-off jackets or T-shirts. Mutual respect bloomed and in 2021, Hosokawa held a solo exhibition titled “-Yes-” at Tokyo‘s Kaikai Kiki gallery.
Then came the idea of a music video, with Hosokawa designing the costumes. This led him to imagine a wardrobe that would fit “the Murakami lifestyle” and what the artist would want to wear.
You know: “An artist’s life — living a studio, sleeping in [the] studio,” deadpanned Murakami. “[Wearing] shorts and suspenders.”
Both items are among the options shown in Paris, which also includes T-shirts, soccer shirts, varsity blousons, souvenir jackets and a protective vest.
While the capsule’s price range wasn’t yet finalized at press time, it is expected to sit in the same ballpark as Readymade, which starts retailing around $300 for T-shirts and goes above $1,000 for outerwear.
A handful of accessories such as wallet chains, belts and caps complete the ensemble, which taps into Murakami’s famous characters such as the 12-petal flower, panda and cherry blossom.
The artist said he’d given Hosokawa carte blanche to select them, expressing admiration for this designer he deemed “a genius” with a natural connection with fine arts and who has a profusion of ideas, each with a detail and intensity that left Murakami impressed.
“Yuta-san gave us a big inspiration,” he said. “Doing a collaboration with him [felt] like a breath of fresh air.”
Despite being no stranger to projects in fashion and luxury, which have included collaborations with Louis Vuitton and watchmaker Hublot, there’s another reason why this one had particular resonance for Murakami.
“He also knows a lot of geek content like [sci-fi animated series Neon Genesis] Evangelion or [Mobile Suit] Gundam, the whole manga and anime philosophy,” said the self-avowed geek artist.
“That’s why I could link very deeply with him,” Murakami continued. “Because the fashion world is the fashion world, right? But he knows [as much] about the geek world and the fashion world. That is a very unique point, that’s why I am very close with him.”