On December 20, 2021, Tokyo Weekender published “Fashion Brand BIÉDE Takes Us To Parallel Worlds.” Written by Paul McInnes, the feature follows the label's beginnings, COLLECTION 02 and the making of its bags with craftspeople in Guangzhou.
Anonymity and work across borders
The article introduces KLEINSTEIN, which produces BIÉDE, and the multinational creative team whose nationalities, genders and ages remain undisclosed. It also describes the label's method during the pandemic: people in different countries passing texts between one another as a project takes shape.
COLLECTION 02 and a parallel world
COLLECTION 02 began with a text written by Yusuke Koishi and Miki Koishi. Wayne Conti reimagined it in English, and Beijing-based Quentin Shih translated it into photographs. Tokyo Weekender places the story's reference to Haruki Murakami's 1Q84 beside images suggesting an entrance to another world near a Tokyo expressway.
Writing about an image of a figure in pink seated by the road with a BIÉDE bag, the article turns to the dreamlike colour and light in Shih's work.
Guangzhou craftspeople and the bags
Another axis of the feature is BIÉDE's decision to make the bags in Guangzhou, China. It considers the distance between craftspeople who take pride in their technical work and the external image often attached to products made in China through fast fashion.
BIÉDE MINAMIAOYAMA
An addendum records the opening of the first BIÉDE MINAMIAOYAMA inside STEIN BOX on December 4, 2021. COLLECTION 01/02 bags and photographs by Quentin Shih were shown there, offering a place to handle the products before buying online.
Read “Fashion Brand BIÉDE Takes Us To Parallel Worlds” in Tokyo Weekender
Article: Paul McInnes / Published December 20, 2021. This page records the feature and the first showroom at that time.