Creatures of the Wind's Inspiration for S/S 2014 Might be Robots

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Celebrating the 70th anniversary of its textiles and fashion line, Japan-based Sanyo Shokai launched collaboration with Chicago-based Creatures of the Wind. Designers of the brand, Shane Gabier and Chris Peters recently visited to Tokyo, Sanyo Shokai's HQ to present the capsule collection and visit manufacturers and factories outside of the city. The pair is charmed by the high quality found in Japanese techniques (take the holographic fabric from S/S '13) and have pledged to create unique fashions updating inspirational sketches from the past with cuts of the future.

While in Tokyo, Shane and Chris (along with buyers from Isetan, one of their international stockists) visited a few hot spots, to fuel their creativity. They shared with this editor one such location, Robot Restaurant, three floors below street-level in the neon light-washed district of Shinjuku. We heard their story, watched one of their cell phone vids, and because Vogue apparently has all the exclusive rights to the duo's vacation photos, were compelled to make a personal visit this week.

Holy crap. Ultra-cute dance-girls in band uniforms with instruments, laser lights and fog machines, fifteen foot-tall robots, flaming torches and Island masks, cyborgs battling the Kung-fu pandas and furries, Amazon heroins on robotic dinosaurs fighting bad guy cylons, more robots on Segways, girls on real motorcycles brandishing swords, a LED-lit tank and sequin bikini-clad girls suspended on a moving track on the ceiling, and, oh did we mention the robots?

via Jared Hatch on Vine

While the food was pretty bad (entry comes with complimentary bento box) and the drink selection limited to Asahi beer and three variations of a beverage citing "Strong!" on the label, the floorshow was spectacular and gave the urgency that one would expect from a show of robots.

Audience participation was encouraged through the distribution of light-sticks, dance-girls screaming for "high-fives" (we did), and touch-n-play pic time with the robots (did that, too)! We were told by a man outside the club next to the robotic brachiosaurus that tourists are normally thrown in the mix but on our night the audience was made up of Japanese business people with a few local couples thrown in. The diners were on fire, screaming, stroking their laser staffs, and trying to provide tips. One middle-aged Japanese woman needed to be restrained from grabbing a dancer.

If you want to be inspired like Chris and Shane, perhaps for next Spring's collection, the Robot Restaurant is located at 1-7-1 Kabukicho, Shinjuku-ku, Tokyo and has three seatings every night 7, 8:30 and 10PM. Cost is about $50 USD per person and two-for-one discount coupons are available through your hotel concierge.
· Sanyo Shokai Collaborates With Creatures of the Wind [Fashion Headline]
· Creatures of the Wind [Official Site]
· Robot Restaurant [Official Site]