Got inspired by A24’s
The Lighthouse,
a thriller film set
on a remote island.
“I’ve spent much more time watching movies at home since the pandemic began.” Daiki Suzuki told so. Following his interests, he enjoyed movies from various eras and in different genres. And The Lighthouse, a movie produced by A24 and directed by Robert Eggers, left the most significant impression on him among all.
- I’ve heard that your collection made for this season is inspired by a movie titled The Lighthouse. How did you come to know about it in the first place?
- My friend Gaku (Manabu Inada) who has created ENGINEERED GARMENTS’ video works suggested me to watch The Lighthouse when we were talking about our recent favorite movies. Because he said it has almost only two actors throughout the story and one of them is Willem Dafoe, I decided to watch it straight away.
- So you are a fan of Willem Dafoe.
- I’ve been his fan since I saw him playing a villain in Streets of Fire. It was ages ago, but Willem Dafoe used to visit NEPENTHES NEW YORK soon after the opening in 1998. He lived in the neighborhood, Soho, around that time. I think he purchased a suit from NEEDLES. I felt so happy as I was already his fan.
- The Lighthouse is produced by A24, a film studio with many much-talked-about works. And just like ENGINEERED GARMENTS, the studio is located in New York. Did you know about A24 before watching The Lighthouse?
- Of course. I think I first learned about them when they won the Academy Award for Best Picture for Moonlight. Later I saw The Witch, a movie directed by Robert Eggers before The Lighthouse, and started to grow my personal interest in the New York-based company producing such unique movies. After watching The Lighthouse, I googled about them and found out their studio is located quite close to our previous office.
- You used to be neighbors (laugh).
- Yes, we were. And the movies they’ve produced so far are not so-called major blockbusters. For me, they seem like a group of movie lovers making only what they believe in. Such an attitude towards craftsmanship has something in common with the way ENGINEERED GARMENTS makes clothes. Now I feel a one-way affinity for them (laugh).
ENGINEERED GARMENTS
clothes spiced up
with the movie’s
dark and solemn aesthetics.
The Lighthouse depicts how the minds of the two lighthouse keepers are slowly eroded by madness. While unraveling the mysterious story full of homages to myths and classic literatures, Daiki Suzuki became deeply fascinated with the costume as well as the beautiful yet threatening black-and-white aesthetics.
- How was your impression of The Lighthouse after watching it for the first time?
- I couldn’t really understand it, to be honest (laugh). The lighting is too dim to see what is happening, while the dialogues are hard to grasp. These two things sum all it up.
- But you somehow became intrigued by the movie.
- Just watching the movie once is not enough for me to get it all, so I became eager to fully understand it. With a streaming service, you can watch movies over and over again when you can’t really understand the stories. It’s so convenient (laugh). I then watched the movie again with English subtitles but still couldn’t comprehend the whole story because there are so many old words and sailor jargons. So I started to read the movie’s commentaries on the Internet and watched a video in which the director explains about his movie. While referencing those things, I’ve watched The Lighthouse five or six times in total. As doing so made me realize the real fun of the movie.
- What do you find interesting in the movie?
- The way it is shot is most interesting. Because the movie is set in the end of the 19th century, the crew filmed it with 35mm black-and-white films and vintage lenses with an almost square aspect ratio that was commonly used in around the 1930s. So it looks distinctive and reminds me of the photos taken by my favorite photographers in the early 20th century such as August Sander, Lewis Hine and Mike Disfarmer. That is why the movie left a great impact on me.
- Such a filming technique is not commonly adopted for modern movies.
- And their almost insane obsession for the detail. The lighthouse keeper’s uniforms look especially inspiring for me. From overalls to rain coats to sweaters to hats to other accessories, everything they wear fascinates me. All those things perfectly match my taste.
- What they wear is classic work clothes, so I also felt that it has something in common with ENGINEERED GARMENTS items.
- Observing their clothes made it easier for me to imagine what they would wear though there are no such garments appeared in the movie. While developing the idea in my mind, I came to think of incorporating the dark, solemn mood of the movie into the ENGINEERED GARMENTS style.
Clothes inspired by
the lighthouse keeper’s workwear
in the late 19th century.
In his latest collection, there are many new clothes designed based on seamen’s uniforms. The reefer jacket, pea coat, fisherman’s sweater and other related items convey a traditional atmosphere yet with a twist of ENGINEERED GARMENTS aesthetics.
- As the theme was fixed, did you have any particular ideas for the collection’s composition?
- In recent years, I’ve tried not to change roughly half of the collection. So our signature pieces such as olive and denim garments and chambray shirts always remain in the list, while the rest half consists of new, out-of-the-box items. I thought the clothes inspired by The Lighthouse should be in the latter of this season’s collection. The color palette of those new items is dark with blacks, navies and grays, and some maritime workwear pieces are newly added, too. That is how I designed our latest collection.
- What are the key pieces of this season’s collection?
- Among the new items, the REEFER JACKET should come first. It’s a jacket initially made for sailors working on the deck. The design looks like a uniform but is different from ordinary blazers with side slits. Another key piece is the DECK JACKET. This item is characterized by the surface details taken from the U.S. Navy’s HOOK DECK JACKET and the back design inspired by the TANKERS JACKET, thermal outerwear developed for military tankers.
- A PEA COAT featuring buttons on the back side looks unique, too.
- The design is inspired by wetsuit vests. Our DUFFLE COAT and LINER JACKET feature the same detailing on the side.
- There are some sweaters in your latest collection. It’s unusual for ENGINEERED GARMENTS.
- We’ve offered some sweaters knitted with yarn produced in New Hampshire and Canadian-made Cowichan sweaters soon after we started our brand. Though I haven’t designed a sweater for about ten years, this collection couldn’t be completed without sweaters. While wondering what I should do, I found out a manufacturer we’ve been working together for some time can make sweaters. So I decided to make one with Italian yarn for the very first time. It feels comfortable and goes perfectly well with any jackets in this season’s collection.
- Which piece do you like the best in this collection?
- I made only what I like, though… (wry laugh). I quite like the design of this OVERSIZED FIREMAN DUFFLE COAT. It’s a long coat featuring a fireman’s buckle. And this OVER PARKA with a hem that can be rolled up. The detail is often seen on old hunting jackets. I love garments with a detail that allows you to adjust the hem length, so I would surely wear this parka often in this coming winter.
THE LIGHTHOUSE
Produced by rising film studio A24, this thriller movie was first released in 2019 (2021 in Japan).It is set in New England, the U.S., in the 1890s with two men staying on an isolated island for four weeks as lighthouse keepers. Because one of them is a skillful old man and the other is an inexperienced youth, they just can’t get along with each other and repeat quarrels from the first day. In such an awkward atmosphere, a severe storm leaves the men trapped on the island. Secluded from the rest of the world, they gradually fall into madness…Robert Eggers directed and wrote the movie after coming into the limelight with his debut feature film The Witch (2015). The protagonists, two lighthouse keepers, are played by award-winning actor Willem Dafoe and Robert Pattinson who is highly acclaimed with his role in Christopher Nolan’s Tenet.