[🎨 Exhibition Report] Setagaya Art Museum "Tsugu minä perhonen"

[#306, approx. 5,000 characters, approx. 60 photos] I visited "Tsugu
minä perhonen" currently being held at the Setagaya Art Museum". I will write my impressions and review here.

▶︎ Conclusion

It was an exhibition with a high level of perfection in its display composition. This is mainly because 1) the craftsmanship, which successfully expressed the worldview of minä perhonen, allowed me to understand the brand concept and dedication to manufacturing, 2) the composition accompanied by a story conveyed the message clearly, and 3) I was reminded of the mindset of treating clothes themselves with attachment. However, it was unfortunate that the satisfaction level dropped because there were far too many people for the floor area.

▼ Recent exhibitions visited at the Setagaya Art Museum

▶︎ Reason for visiting

I originally had no plans to go to this exhibition. This is because I had already been to "minä perhonen / Akira Minagawa: Tsuzuku" at the Museum of Contemporary Art Tokyo.

After watching "Shinbi no Kyojin-tachi" and reading multiple note posts, I gradually started wanting to go. In particular, the deciding factor was my interest in the exhibition on wearing clothes for a long time.

▶︎ "Tsugu minä perhonen" impressions

✔️ The problem of too many people

The first thing that surprised me was the length of the line to buy same-day tickets. The staff announced that admission tickets could be purchased at the counter or online while waiting in that line.

So, I tried to purchase online, but my cell phone signal was out of range. The Wi-Fi didn't connect at all either. It was extremely stressful even before purchasing. Instead of guiding us to use the weak "SETAGAYA Free Wi-Fi," I wish they had prepared Wi-Fi exclusively for the Setagaya Art Museum.

Even after entering the venue, I was surprised by the number of people. I was amazed by the high level of cultural awareness among Japanese people (or is it just curiosity?), and the popularity of minä perhonen. Although the visitors were mainly women, there were also many children. Additionally, individual men who seemed interested in "textiles" stood out.

On the other hand, there were few young people. Perhaps it is because, unlike the stance of buying disposable clothes like Shein, minä perhonen has a quality that can only be understood by gaining depth in life.

The inside of the museum was wrapped in a strange and fanatical atmosphere. There were so many people that it wasn't an environment where one could appreciate the art, so I felt uncomfortable. I feel resentment toward the organizer, The Asahi Shimbun Company.

Also, the fact that all visitors formed polite lines for the exhibits and viewed them one by one was also a cause of the congestion. I wish the attendants had made announcements inside the exhibition rooms, such as "Please do not line up and feel free to view from wherever you like."I wanted them to make announcements inside the exhibition room.

In particular, the "score" room had some issues with the layout of the works. Placing large tables in a straight line increases the number of people lining up. Therefore, I thought that separating the exhibits or placing them in a scattered manner would have resolved the congestion.

✔️ A space that embodies the worldview

The entrance passage to the exhibition venue used minä perhonen patterns. This wasn't a print, but a carpet! I felt the spirit in this luxurious endeavor that cannot be repurposed for other traveling exhibitions.

Even amidst movements where the world is divided by conflicts, tariffs, etc., I believe that design is a universal tool that enriches people's hearts.

In a harsh world, I hoped that those who came to this exhibition would touch upon the richness of design and that their daily lives would become brighter.

✔️ The meaning of "tsugu"

" tsugu " has various meanings, such as to inherit, to pour, to join, to report, and to follow. What I was concerned about was, "tsugu = brand succession " and " can the brand survive if Akira Minagawa, the source of creativity, is gone? ".

In 2021, at minä perhonen, Keiko Tanaka was appointed as the new CEO (and designer). It seems that a system for "tsugu" (inheriting) as a brand is being put in place. Akira Minagawa goes from 0 to 1, and Keiko Tanaka, who has been with the company for over 20 years, develops it from 1 to 10. It will be interesting to see if minä perhonen can maintain its popularity in the future.

✔️ The secret to popularity ≒ Mingei (folk crafts)

Minä perhonen has only 21 stores, mainly in Tokyo and Kyoto (including general stores and restaurants) in Japan (sales figures are undisclosed). The price of a dress is around 100,000 yen.

Despite the small number of stores and high price range, this popularity is impressive, and the traveling exhibition is already scheduled until 2027. I became curious about the reason for its popularity.

The source of Akira Minagawa's creativity is his solo trip to Finland when he was 19. The natural-style textiles he creates may be a perfect fit for Japanese people who love Nordic design.

"|tambourine" is a motif I have bought items of twice in the past. It is a representative motif that you can immediately recognize as "Oh, it's Minä" the moment you see it. I was drawn to the subtle nuances that make it more than just a simple circle.

Throughout the exhibition, I felt that the uneven design common to "tambourine" and other motifs is the reason it touches people's hearts. This is a way of thinking that also aligns with Mingei (folk craft).

The uneven design is the exact opposite of Uniqlo, which is dedicated to precise manufacturing like industrial products. If there were any irregularities at Uniqlo, it would likely be considered a defective product.

I once thought, "If Uniqlo made a UT (graphic T-shirt) with the Minä perhonen <tambourine> pattern, wouldn't it sell like crazy?" However, I was able to understand once again that a collaboration with Uniqlo would contradict Minä perhonen's philosophy.

Because there were so many visitors, I decided to casually look around thinking, "Which textile do I like?". Among them, I particularly liked "tambourine" and "symphony", which has a Japanese-style cuteness within its Nordic design.

Seeing such a wide variety of products made me want to know what kind of input Akira Minagawa does every day and what his daily life is like.

Akira Minagawa's thought is, "The person who makes the clothes is an individual <I>. The person who wears the clothes is an individual <I>." And Minä perhonen aims for "special everyday wear." On the other hand, Uniqlo advocates LifeWear as "the ultimate everyday wear."

Unlike Uniqlo, it has a folk-craft-like sense of handiwork. I thought that minä perhonen enthusiasts might feel an indescribable, latent appeal in the slight wavering of lines and the subtle layering of colors.

✔️ Stories from the creators

The exhibition also featured the creation process. Whether handmade or machine-made, seeing the process of carefully crafted clothing made me feel a desire to cherish each piece and use it for a long time.

Among them, the video of the machine embroidering lace was mechanical and fascinating. The embroidery machine looked old, but it was a hybrid that also adopted digital technology for data input.

Also, I was surprised that the printing was done by hand-screening each piece rather than by machine. By seeing an exhibition like this, a story is born, and the appeal of the brand and its products increases exponentially.

Besides minä perhonen, for example, PORTER, which has high sewing technology, would also have high demand if they held an exhibition that conveyed such dedication to craftsmanship.

✔️ Using clothes for a long time

The final exhibit on the second floor focused on remaking. Uniqlo is working on clothing circulation as RE.UNIQLO, and including ZARA and others, each apparel company is going through trial and error. I felt that one of the hints for that is here.

Clothing is an important tool for expressing oneself. While Uniqlo's LifeWear, which can be worn for a long time at a reasonable price, is very valuable, there is also value in a special piece that is uniquely yours.

It is hard to feel attached to clothes when you buy them as a set or purchase them online. On the other hand, by going to the store yourself, consulting with staff, worrying over a purchase, or buying something on impulse that you fell in love with, that piece of clothing becomes a piece that is uniquely yours.

I thought this "uniquely yours" was the keyword. Even for clothes that have been worn for a long time and are mentally and physically worn out, by breathing new value into them, they can be worn even longer.

Remaking is difficult to handle in large quantities in terms of cost. Therefore, it is hard for chain stores to imitate. For example, Uniqlo offers an embroidery service at some stores. I felt there was some potential for development there.

Currently, Uniqlo offers original embroidery starting from 7,500 yen. In the future, by leveraging their scale, I thought demand would increase further if you could embroider your own favorite designs at a more reasonable price or by increasing the number of stores where embroidery services are easily available (currently only 19 stores).

✔️ Exhibition structure with a good aftertaste

Throughout the entire exhibition, the structure piqued my interest in minä perhonen and made me want their items. The flow of focusing on craftsmanship → focusing on the creator's thoughts → focusing on the customer was precise.

Also, I liked that many "people" appeared in the exhibition content. Brands are created by "people". Empathy is born from their thoughts and stories, and customers develop an attachment to the products.

After finishing the exhibition, minä perhonen's philosophy and future vision remained clearly in my mind. Also, because the structure provided an opportunity to rethink my perspective on "clothing itself", it left me with a good impression.

For someone like me who loves clothing itself, it was an exhibition that made me feel once again, "this is what clothing is, and this is how I want it to be."

✔️ The punchline

When I go to various exhibitions, it is my habit to buy only one postcard. This time, too, I bought one card with the exhibition's signature design.

I was surprised at the register. The price was 418 yen! The market price for a postcard is at most around 200 yen. I suspected a barcode scanning error. Are they hand-printed one by one? (It doesn't look like it...) Even though I thought, "That was a good experience," I felt a bit conflicted at the very end (bitter laugh).

▶︎ Summary

How was it? Because there was a story in the spatial design and composition, not only was I able to smoothly understand minä perhonen's dedication and philosophy in manufacturing, but it was also an exhibition where I was able to realize my attachment to clothing. Furthermore, the fact that there were too many people was a major negative. It would have been even better if the flow had been designed from the planning stage with an increase in the number of visitors in mind.