LFW AW25 - YAKU - Sunset On Tutorial Island
“Building this lore took weeks,” says Yaku Stapleton, founder of burgeoning fashion power house, YAKU. Having attended the LFW presentation, this seems like a major understatement.
This season, the brand showcased the fifth instalment in their series, ‘The ImPossible Family Reunion in RPG Space’, entitled Sunset on Tutorial Island. A diligently crafted love letter to his family and vision for the brand, the series showcases Yaku’s family members reimagined in an alternate universe inspired by Studio Ghibli, 'dino-core', and 'Afrofuturism'. The series opened in 2023, at the coveted Central Saint Martins MA show, where the designer was awarded the L'Oréal Professionnel Creative Award. Stapleton is now a recipient of the BFC NEWGEN initiative, through which the ‘The ImPossible Family Reunion’ has evolved into a Runescape-inspired alternate reality made physical. After four seasons to familiarise themselves with their landscape and master their crafts, this latest chapter sees the ‘family members’ preparations on their final day before stepping out into the unknown.
Not merely a fashion show, YAKU’s presentations are an immersion into the ‘RPG Space’ that Stapleton has created, in which audience members are invited to explore the family’s island, not only as onlookers, but active participants - given passports complete with an introspective questionnaire and marker pens to integrate themselves into island-life alongside the family. The score, composed by Jordan Fox, overlaid by the distant sounds of birds tweeting and branches snapping as the audience explores the island's pastures calls to mind a scene from Jurassic Park. The space preceding the collection’s presentation was littered with personal anecdotes from the reimagined family members: knick-knacks, hand-written letters, and a cassette tape featuring the voice of “Old Dad”.
Stapleton’s hope for fashion to be a medium for “self-reflection and connection” is actualised by the immersive narrative the viewers weave their way through. Even before viewing the collection, the audience forge an undeniable emotional connection to its wearers. Having each been assigned a biome courtesy of the personality questionnaire, and armed with the knowledge of which family members this corresponds to, it feels as though the clothes were not only made for the actors, but for us, too.
The presentation space provides a platform to survey the collection, and to watch the tenderness and uncertainty of the family members before they embark on their next journey. The stage was dominated by three moving tableaus - The Library, The Forest, and The Volcano - each occupied by different family members. The clothes and the narrative work in tandem, bringing one another to life. The balance between YAKU’s use of holographic technology and contemporary style, set against a lush green backdrop populated by spear-fishing and campfire-building, positions the collection in a place that is familiar yet disarmingly futuristic. The uncertainty the family members are experiencing is felt by the audience members thanks to the immersive world-building, yet the strength of the collection (both in merit and in stature) is spotlighted as an empowering presence - a beacon of hope in uncharted terrain.
In The Library (inhabited by characters Steph, Karis, and Grandad), the family members scour books and put their heads together to strategise their next steps. Their looks call to mind street-style subsects seen in our reality, such as ‘gorpcore’ and workwear. More formal than in the other biomes, these looks are more erudite, and fit for learning. Grandad 1, for example, wears a structured tan utility jacket, and matching wide-legged cargo trousers, paired with a workman hat. From the front, the ensemble appears to be typical workwear attire, whilst the back shows off a spray-painted black and red YAKU logo on the spine of the jacket, and pooling around the ankles of the trousers.
From afar, Karis 1 appears to be wearing a regular black suit, complete with a camouflage tie and oversized white shirt. Upon closer inspection, however, the “suit” functions more like a track-suit - both in materiality and in silhouette. Dressed up with a shirt to fit the scholastic expectations of The Library, the co-ord is complete with distressed 3D embroidery on the arms, spine, and thighs, as well as a tie in the form of a scarab beetle. Steph 3 is one of the more conservative looks from the collection - made up of the ‘War Paint Long Sleeve’ (a purple long-sleeved t-shirt branded with a red YAKU logo), ¾ length black cargo trousers, and a light blue beanie. The look bridges the gap between fantasy and reality - versatile both on Tutorial Island and in our world.
Over in The Forest, characters Mum, Lorelle, and Ricky are occupied by survival tasks such as foraging and cooking. For camouflage in the swamp-like biodiversity, and strength in completing their tasks, the clothing acts as armour, crafted from humanoid exoskeletons and scaly growths. The ‘Shifter Hoodie’, worn by Mum 1, has iridescent animal scales across the sleeves and hood, and the image of an insect’s face printed across the front. From afar, the insect face looks like a set of abdominal muscles, blurring the lines between bravery and timidity, fantasy and reality. Ricky 1 also takes on the form of a shapeshifter, wearing distressed black wide-legged trousers, and the ‘Mega D. Toon Jacket’ - a distressed grass-green puffer jacket, with spikes pointing out of the head and cocooning the elbow pads.
The familial inhabitants of The Forest are not alone - they are accompanied by a school of fish, which form part of the collection. Ricky 1 has a ‘Basket Bag O’Fish’ netted to his back, and Mum 1 bears a cross-body ‘Fish Clutch’ bag. The fish serve as pieces of functional fashion - props and costume.
Characterised by skills in combat and weaponry, the clothes worn by the inhabitants of The Volcano are the least naturalistic looks in the collection. The most eye-catching look from the presentation is undoubtedly Amir 1, which showcases a blood-red ‘Volcano Protection Puffer’, emboldened by a black-stained armadillo shell on the back, and spikes and growths along the sleeves and hood. Amir also brandishes a bigger-than-life-size double-edged battle axe, akin to one brandished by Ono Oda in Naruto - an anime loved by Stapleton in his childhood.
A true testament to the versatility of the garments and to Stapleton’s world-building, as each character has more than one look, their roles are played by a number of actors of different genders, but the characters are instantly recognisable within their biome nonetheless. This commitment to androgyny helps to blur the line between character and wearer.
The collection explores the boundaries between fashion and costume, whilst maintaining wearability for the everyday customer - no small feat to achieve. As the actors transition from their intimate scenes of comradery to the walkway, there is a designated podium for the actors to pose for photos of the collection. With the aid of YAKU team members directing the cast and repositioning the garments, the fourth wall is broken, and the clothes can once again be viewed through the lens of the everyday wearer as opposed to the fictitious island-dweller.
The cyclical nature of the on-stage narrative (which starts at dawn and ends at dusk, before repeating again) is reflective of the cyclical nature of the trend cycle, but also the life-cycle of YAKU’s pieces. Sustainability is a core component of YAKU’s clothing, which is made of deadstock fabric. Due to the quality of the craftsmanship, originality, and their seamless blending of prehistoric and futuristic elements, the pieces are designed to last forever - be it in our world, or another.
All Images Courtesy of YAKU (Photo Credit: Jordan Core)
Written by Lucy Wragg
Edited by Daisy Packwood, Fashion Editor
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