The Beautiful Fall

Chiaki Moronaga is studying fashion at Japan's Coconogacco, a school founded by Mikio Sakabe and Writtenafterwards. The young talent's collection of moody antique gold was one of the highlights of this year's ITS prize in Trieste, Italy. Here Dazed's deputy fashion editor Elizabeth Fraser-Bell works with photographer Mathias Sterner on an exclusive Moronaga shoot for Dazed Digital, as we caught up with the designer to learn more.

Dazed Digital: Can you tell us about your background?
Chiaki Moronaga: I grew up in Kitakyushu, in the south of Japan. I'm studying at Cocoa/Coconogacco, Fukuoka. I feel like I know fashion and what I want to say, I want to gain more skills to allow me to express that and develop.

DD: How did you get into fashion?
Chiaki Moronaga: When I was small, barely tall enough to reach the display case in-store, I was mesmerised by a Chanel barrette. It shone as if it had a rainbow trapped inside it. I was lucky enough to have it and still a treasured possession of mine. It changed my life and opened my mind to this wonderful world of fashion.

DD: Can you tell us your collection seen here?
Chiaki Moronaga: It's about Autumn, inspired by my mother. This collection is about looking inside myself for my 'mother' and the contradictory power of her. Love and hate, life and death, joy and sadness in one body. I turn cloth inside out as I do my feelings, internal meets external.

DD: What's your design signature?
Chiaki Moronaga: It's all from the heart.

CREDITS
Photography Mathias Sterner
Styling Elizabeth Fraser-Bell
Hair Christos Kallaniotis at Terrie Tanaka using Pantene pro V
Make-up Nobuko Maekawa using MAC
Model Yana at M and P models

All clothes and accessories by Chiaki Moronaga