An air pocket in Okushibu that Ran Tondabayashi visits on milestone occasions.

The act of putting on and taking off socks sometimes leads people to activity and invites them to rest. Its existence is likened to a switch in daily life, and its creativity is unraveled through the creator's on and off turns. In the corner of a Japanese sweets shop, which is a space of peace for Ran Tondabayashi, the guest of the first installment of the series, she encountered an unexpected past ecology that is the source of her creations.

Ran Tonda Hayashi handles music video art direction and visual production. While he uses illustrations, collages, videos, etc. to give form to his ideas, he also spends his days busy attending parties for luxury brands and traveling to music events. At the beginning of the still warm winter season, she appeared with a relaxed look, dressed in a long coat, paired with Marcomondo leg warmers and Wanderung cashmere hoodie with sneakers.

She chose the area commonly known as ``Oku-Shibu,'' heading from Shibuya toward Yoyogi Hachiman, where the Tokyu main store had disappeared. The Japanese confectionery shop ``Kantana Yume'' is a pink building that stands on a small hill right in the middle of the main street. After moving from Shibuya Maruyamacho to Nihonbashi, it seems that they have decided to open in Shibuya again. Although it has the style of Japanese sweets that incorporate seasonal flavors, it pleasantly defies expectations with a spiral of flavors such as cheesecake-like nerikiri and pistachio yokan. Juri, a pastry chef, runs the shop by herself, and Seiho, a truck maker, works as a musician while also serving as the owner after owning an oden shop. This restaurant, which Ran encountered through a club, has become a turning point for him.

``It's a place you can't come to if you don't have the time or inclination.It's not lunch or dinner until 6pm.That being said, I don't usually have tea, so I only come on days when I have a lot of free time. When I come here, my day is much more fulfilling.”

On holidays when there are no pressing matters, I indulge in Japanese sweets and Hojicha sake. Ran's work, which is faced with deadlines every day, has an exquisite parallel world that is both stylish and uncanny valley-like. The world created by Czech-born artist/videographer Jan Švankmajer and the surreality and distortion depicted in ``Chibi Maruko-chan'' are unconsciously woven out of the continuity of everyday life.

``But when I create, I don't really think about it.I think sometimes it looks pop to the viewer, and I think that's okay.Right now, I'm only doing client work.It's related to music. When I create something, I completely work with the artist in mind.When I look at the flow of their activities, I think it would be interesting to do something like this here, or I create something that fits the musicality of the song.Flow. If I get an order to change something, I will think about how to do that.I enjoy thinking in a different way than when I create something I want to create without letting go, and I feel that my range is expanding."

In a collaboration to celebrate the 50th anniversary of Rosetogo, a sofa by French furniture manufacturer Lien Roset, we devised a print called ``TAMESHIGAKI'' that resembles a memo found in the pen section of a stationery store. Punky inconsistencies drawn on high-quality furniture have an exquisite sense of humor, but at the same time they are reminiscent of a young child's doodles. This is a wonderful design that uses furniture as a canvas, giving off a sense of permanence as if it contained the irreplaceable everyday moments of life.

``I remembered that I thought it was interesting to try out sample writing, so I thought it would be interesting to include Japanese words and other things I had casually written.'' However, I don't often accumulate ideas like this. ``What's more important is what comes to mind at that moment. I'm the type of person who relies on notes when I write them down, and I don't like that. In the first place, if I have a deadline, I think that's everything I can think of that day. is".

Would it be too far-fetched to say that this improvisational nature is tied to Ran's history as a gal? The gals of the Heisei era, who enjoyed the moment ``now is the best'' and pushed forward along the pathless path with their young and energetic selves and their friends, were also symbols of opening up an era. In pursuit of being "cute," she packs a trunk full of irons and a change of clothes when she goes swimming at the beach. Ran says that this aesthetic sense is the foundation of her current work.

``Gyaru aren't generally cute, they have their own culture. Things like skin color, makeup, fashion, and demeanor are things that can't be learned in a day, and it takes a lot of effort to aim for it.'' It's necessary. I was the kind of person who would make the general public look at me twice, but I kept going, thinking that even if everyone didn't like me, as long as I liked myself, that was fine. I think the same can be said for art and works.Some people like it, some people hate it, and some people are indifferent.But regardless of that, it's what you want to create. As you pursue that, you'll make friends who say they like it.I think that kind of enjoyment is quite similar to what I'm doing now.''

Tondabayashi's world, full of wildness, expands through resistance to the distortions and outbursts of everyday life.

``I may not go to special places like museums or movie theaters to get inspiration at all.The only times I buy tickets for myself are club events or concerts. I'm working on ideas alone at home, as if I'm filtering out what I've gotten and creating it with what's left.I like thinking from everyday life, so I often develop things from what's around me. , I think it's more natural to create something from a world line that doesn't stretch too much.In that case, it might be the same as when I was a gal.I enjoy living hand-to-mouth, so I'm happy when I get an offer, and I work hard. Yes, I do, but I don't think I'm really thinking about the future."

The scope of my work, which is all about facing what is in front of me with all my might and a sense of beauty, continues to increase. Her feet, which have grown stronger with experience and have worn out countless loose socks, are now gently wrapped in soft, high-quality wool.

Wearing Items

[MARCOMONDE]
wide leg warmer 45

[WANDERUNG]
recycle cashmere hoodie