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⏱ 2 min read
💡 TLDR
Anrealage is celebrating 25 years in Paris with a total fever dream of an alphabet collection, featuring everything from flower-encased hangers to a patchwork quilt made of 25 years of fabrics. It’s high-tech, surreal, and honestly kind of insane.
Kunihiko Morinaga is hitting his 25th collection milestone in Paris, and he’s doing it with the kind of avant-garde energy we live for. To celebrate, Morinaga has teamed up with Sarah Andelman of Just An Idea for “Just An Real Age”—a project that is equal parts retrospective and total fever dream. It features a transformed gallery and a gift shop filled with 26 curated letter-to-object pairings that bridge Japanese culture and high-tech art.
The Art Of Letter Pairing
The level of detail in these alphabet drops is actually insane. We aren’t talking basic merch; think a red marble apple for A or a furoshiki cloth for F printed with Kyocera’s FOREARTH sustainable inkjet printer. Even the trickier letters get love: an X-ray print travel case for X, a yo-yo bordered with alphabets from Freshthings for Y, and a monogrammed metal zester for Z. There are also items like a collectible Bearbrick (B), charm jewelry from Eyefunny (J), and a protective omamori charm (O) that shifts colors when you take it outside. When A and Z overlap, 26 becomes 25. That logic perfectly captures how Morinaga blurs the lines between the ordinary and the extraordinary.
💫 When A and Z overlap, 26 becomes 25.
Some items carry heavy emotional weight, too. The Q is a patchwork quilt bedcover made from fabrics spanning all 25 previous collections, while H is a hanger with real flowers encased inside. Morinaga describes the hanger as something that encloses time, which feels incredibly poetic for a brand that has spent years experimenting with everything from augmented reality to LED fabrics.
A Full Sensory Experience
If you’re in Paris, you can catch the exhibition at 76 rue de Turenne through next Monday. The retrospective features looks from every collection since 2014 displayed on a rotating carousel, complete with ambient music by Thomas Bengalter of Daft Punk. They even solved the “V” problem by releasing his music on a vinyl pressed at The Vinyl Factory.
As we look toward the future, Morinaga is already thinking about the next 25 years, teasing a new exploration of “skins”—ranging from literal feathers to digital gaming textures. Anrealage isn’t just making clothes; they are building entirely new worlds.
Which of these alphabet objects would you most want to add to your collection?
❓ People Also Ask
What is the theme of the Anrealage 25th anniversary collection?
The theme of the Anrealage 25th anniversary collection is a surreal project titled Just An Real Age. Created by Kunihiko Morinaga in collaboration with Sarah Andelman, the collection serves as a retrospective that bridges Japanese culture with high-tech art. It features a unique series of 26 curated letter-to-object pairings that transform the alphabet into various avant-garde items. This concept allows the brand to celebrate its history while blending the ordinary with the extraordinary through highly detailed, conceptual objects.
How can people view the Anrealage retrospective exhibition in Paris?
People can view the Anrealage retrospective exhibition at 76 rue de Turenne in Paris through next Monday. The exhibition offers a full sensory experience by displaying looks from every collection since 2014 on a rotating carousel. To enhance the atmosphere, the space features ambient music composed by Thomas Bengalter of Daft Punk. This immersive setup allows visitors to journey through the brand's evolution and experimental history in a highly curated, artistic environment.
What kind of items are included in the alphabet object collection?
The alphabet collection includes a diverse range of highly detailed items that pair specific letters with unique objects. Examples include a red marble apple for the letter A, a furoshiki cloth printed with Kyocera’s sustainable technology for F, and a patchwork quilt bedcover made from fabrics from all 25 previous collections for the letter Q. Other notable items include a collectible Bearbrick for B and a color-shifting omamori charm for O, showcasing the brand's ability to merge fashion with unexpected lifestyle products.
Why did Anrealage use a patchwork quilt for the letter Q?
Anrealage used a patchwork quilt bedcover for the letter Q to represent the brand's long history and emotional journey. The quilt is specifically constructed using fabrics gathered from every one of the brand's 25 previous collections. This design choice serves as a physical retrospective, weaving together years of experimentation and design evolution into a single, functional object. It transforms the letter Q into a meaningful symbol of the brand's cumulative creative legacy and milestones.
💬 What do you think? Let us know in the comments! 👇
📰 Source: Vogue