Mercibeaucoup

Japanese designer Eri Utsugi knew the minute she conceived her first piece of clothing in her native country that she'd go study fashion in Paris one day. Henceforth, after a stint in the local Esmod, she flew to the Berçot Studio : from this to-ing and fro-ing between the kingdom of mangas and the realm of haute-couture, she retained a propensity to mixing genres. Back in Tokyo, she could fashion a unique and heterogenous style for herself, through acquiring experience in different houses. In 2006, and after winning the Moët & Chandon prize for the young fashion designer, she joined Issey Miyake A-Net Company to start her own brand : Mercibeaucoup ('Merci beaucoup' in two words means 'thanks alot' in French). Eri Utsugi gave her label this name as a nod to her brief stay in Paris but also because this expression represents the highest level of appreciation for her. A persoanl way of saying thanks to life. For this season's collection, she wanted to combine comfort and aesthetics. One foot in Japanese popular culture, the other in the Indie trend. And she's aware her colorful pop patterns might remind anyone of those put out by Jean-Charles de Castelbajac. With its multicolored outfits, light blue sweatshirts with bone prints or resembling a sailor shirt, its pastel stripy pajama playsuits or broad flags tunics, her collection, entitled "Bones & National Flags" is an ode to eternal adolescence. It's a colorful manga with a rock'n'roll je ne sais quoi. The silhouettes were designed to create a surprise. Eri Utsugi played with amplitude, had fun chopping a pair of pants or shortening a jacket in order to break codes up, reinterpreting the norms with a perfect accuracy and an innate feel for design. Mixing her Jap roots with Brit influences, Pete Doherty and cosplay.