[2026.03.30] Costume Designer Taketoshi Hara Online Lecture - Discussing Yuzuru Hanyu

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Info: https://premier.twitcasting.tv/axelquadruple/shopcart/425267 

 

[Discussing Yuzuru Hanyu] Costume Designer Taketoshi Hara Online Lecture: "The Charm of the Absolute Champion from a Designer's Perspective"

 

 

 

 

 

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Snippets from the lecture:

 

Costumes from FaOI can actually be taken home by the performers. For example, the “High Pressure” bunny outfit from 2024 was especially loved by a Spanish male aerial performer. After taking it home, he even wears it every week in cruise ship performances. Hara joked that he’s a bit worried, given the performer’s 90 kg build, and how tight the costume is, wearing it so often might cause it to tear lol.

 

Meanwhile, the costumes specially made for Yuzu are carefully preserved by CIC. Hara said he was quite surprised that they were allowed to be loaned out for this talk event. It was also the first time he had seen these costumes again outside of the FaOI ice show itself. 

 

 

1. Costume Design for Conquest of Paradise

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Hara first researched the piece Conquest of Paradise and discovered that it is based on the Folia dance from late 15th-century Spain, so he incorporated elements from that era into the costume design. What surprised him during the design process was the huge difference in body proportions between Yuzu and Kohei Uchimura. Yuzu has particularly muscular and full hips and thighs, a very narrow waist, and broad shoulders with beautifully defined arm muscles. The costume was designed to maximize and highlight these features.

 

In contrast, Uchimura’s muscles are completely symmetrical, with no side being larger than the other. Hara said this was the first time he realized how different sports can create such distinct body structures. After the performance, Uchimura mentioned that this was the first time he had a custom-made costume. He told Hara: “Wow, moving in this is super convenient! I should wear this at the Olympics, it might even help me score a bit higher lol.”*

 

 

2. Costume Design for Afternoon Parade (Golden Rose):

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The composer of this piece, Suga Shikao, is very familiar with American black music from the 60s and 70s, and the song contains many funk element. The costume design pays tribute to that era. In that period, performers often wore flashy shirts with large collars under sequined jackets. Artists today, like Pharrell Williams or Bruno Mars, still wear similar styles. The design honors this musical culture.

 

The fully sequined, highly stretchable jacket and the yellow rose shirt underneath were both difficult to source; the fabrics were imported from New York. “Golden Rose” was the most time and labor-intensive costume to create.

 

Originally, the jacket was not intended to be removed. To allow Yuzu to perform quadruple jumps comfortably, the costume was made as light as possible, so the shirt underneath was only designed so that the parts that would be visible were covered. Later, they realized that the outfit also looked great without the jacket, so Hara quietly told Yuzu: “You know, this costume actually looks pretty good even if you take off the jacket.” Yuzu replied casually, “Maybe~,” but didn’t plan to remove it at that time. However, he did end up taking it off later.

 

 

3. Costume Design for Plunder:

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Hara said the inspiration for this costume came from Miyakawa’s PV. In that PV, everyone is dressed in black, but Miyakawa wears a single red tie, making that splash of red stand out prominently.

Another main design motivation was Hara’s longtime dream to dress Yuzu in sheer black lace.

After the design was completed, it especially received praise from Lambiel and the French ice dance male partner, who said it was really great and kept looking in the mirror while wearing it.

 

“Plunder” received the strongest response from fans and became the most beloved.

 

 

4. Costume Design for Ray of Light:

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The colorful parts of this costume were actually hand-dyed by Hara himself.

The design was inspired by the subtle blurring effect in water. All the patterns were hand-dyed, making each of the 30 costumes unique. 

He said dyeing them was exhausting.

 

 

5. Costume Design for High Pressure (Bunny Girl):

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This design pays tribute to Nishikawa Takanori’s PV for 魔弹, where the suit is basically all torn apart except for the main frame. The costume was intentionally made more androgynous. Nishikawa Takanori commented: “It’s funny. Yuzu is dressed so summery (so revealing), and I’m all wrapped up so tightly lol.”

 

Hara said that when making this costume, if the suit-like cut didn’t look good or the materials weren’t right, it could easily look cheap. So he carefully selected materials and worked hard to make it appear formal. This was the tightest-fitting costume of all. It was custom-made for Yuzu at the time, and during the performance, he couldn’t even zip it up on the mannequin [cries].

 

The costume has already become something of a legend.

 

(for ref, this is the music video - you can see the torn apart suit at min 3:25: https://www.bilibili.com/video/BV14y42187Jn )

 

 

6. Costume Design for Haier Blue:

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First, Haier specified the color for the costume. Hara wanted to create a material with a sheen like a gemstone (lapis lazuli) or a supercar’s paint, so he personally prepared the material himself. Later, he looked at some futuristic fashion pieces for reference, all from women’s fashion, and aimed to give this costume a slightly feminine feel. The shoulder and chest embellishments at the end were assembled from stones imported from Eastern Europe (Czech Republic). The shoulders were designed with a slightly classical touch, to retain some “figure skating characteristics (classical feel).”

 

 

7. Costume Design for Aqua White:

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For this costume, a very light blue layer was dyed over pure white fabric so it wouldn’t appear too fluorescent. In the end, only Hara could really tell the difference before and after dyeing lol. He wanted to create a “Lexus white” effect. The design was inspired by religious priest garments, made completely symmetrical. Since Haier and Aqua are both Chinese-founded companies, some Chinese clothing elements were also incorporated, aiming to convey a sense of serving a noble person. This costume was designed with men’s fashion as the reference.

 

The mesh fabric used on the sleeves had never been used before. On the day Yuzu wore it, he immediately remarked: “Ah, this fabric is so rare!” which surprised Hara. He felt this costume truly suited Yuzu; in some ways, it’s the most “Yuzu” costume of all. The decorative stones on this piece are the same as those on the blue costume, symbolizing a shared element between Haier and Aqua.

 

During the shoot, they stood in the center of the rink while Yuzu skated, jumped, and performed around them. He repeatedly requested to redo takes, always striving for perfection within the allotted time. Hara reflected: “I realized for the first time how difficult it is for him to perform in such a vast, empty rink and project such powerful presence, yet he remains so light and graceful. It made my chest tighten just thinking about it.”

 

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8. About the Custom Mannequin:

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It’s very difficult to find a mannequin that fits Yuzu’s body shape. With his pronounced hips, extremely narrow waist, and well-built upper body, there’s basically no standard mannequin that matches. So the studio has a mannequin specially custom-made for Yuzu. For other skaters, ordinary mannequins are fine, but when making costumes for Yuzu, they have to use this custom mannequin.

 

Even though there are plenty of male mannequins stacked around, even a standard men’s size S doesn’t work. It has to be a “Yuzuru size” mannequin.

Because of this, people organizing Yuzu costume exhibitions in different places often struggle with how to handle the mannequin. They frequently contact Hara to ask about Yuzu’s body measurements and even request to borrow the custom mannequin.

 

 

9. Yuzu's respect for costumes and designers:

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Hara said that Yuzu has an extraordinary respect for costumes, treating them as independent performance partners. He’s always thinking: “What is this piece meant to express? What does it want to show?” Hara has never encountered anyone like this among all the people he’s worked with. Yuzu also shows great respect for the designer.

Backstage during ice shows, costume changes need to be done very quickly, and it’s often chaotic. Many skaters will throw their clothes on the floor or toss them on top of wardrobes, and Hara has to pick each piece up and hang it carefully. But Yuzu, after every opening and ending, always takes the time to hang his costumes properly or neatly fold them.

 

When Hara goes to check and asks, “Where are the clothes?” Yuzu always hands him the neatly folded costumes with both hands, saying, “Sorry about this.” Since Yuzu performs at full intensity, the costumes are often soaked with sweat and heavy. Yet he still holds them carefully and apologizes: “They’re all wet, I’m sorry…”

Hara said he was deeply touched by this. He’d never seen another skater hand over costumes he’d made with such care while performing at full effort. It made him genuinely happy to see someone respect his creations in this way.

 

 

10. What Hara Most Admires About Yuzu:

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Hara admires that, even after achieving such brilliant results, Yuzu has retained a sense of innocence and transparency in his heart. Leaving behind achievements while maintaining purity is incredibly difficult. In any creative endeavor, everyone starts out pure and transparent, but as we grow up, this clarity often becomes clouded by money, contracts, speculation, relationships, and even rule changes.

 

For a creator or performer, if you don’t preserve a bit of innocence inside, the work loses its strength. Hara’s greatest admiration for Yuzu is that he’s able to maintain such a high level of purity while leaving behind so many accomplishments.

The part Yuzu described about his nine-year-old self resonated strongly with Hara, because he also has a memory of himself as a 14-year-old arriving in New York, dreaming of becoming a musician. Without protecting the vulnerable child inside him, Hara feels he could have been easily destroyed. But Yuzu has done an extraordinary job preserving that part of himself.

 

 

11. Yuzu’s Contrasts:

Spoiler

In Hara’s view, “Yuzuru Hanyu” is an untouchable superstar, whereas “Hanyu-kun” is a clever, funny, and gentle young man from Sendai. There’s a huge contrast between these two sides. Maintaining the balance between them may be difficult, but it’s precisely this contrast that makes him so captivating. When people watch Yuzu, they sense a higher dimension. Two existences fused into one, creating a complex and magnetic charm. Hara feels that when interacting with Yuzu, one must acknowledge both sides and never ignore either.

 

 

12. Hara’s Thoughts on Receiving from Yuzu:

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For Hara, he doesn’t want to be just a passive “consumer” of Yuzu. Even though he collaborates with Yuzu professionally and experiences the moving performances and innovations Yuzu delivers, he always feels: “I don’t want to simply consume him.”

 

Yuzu has sacrificed so much from a young age and continues to move people today. Being a passive consumer of all that would feel uncomfortable for him. Yet he can’t directly repay him, so he’s constantly thinking about how to respond. For example, after feeling moved by Happy End, he wonders how to give back to society.

 

Hara wants to learn from Yuzu’s work, improve his own costume designs, and contribute something in return. Even for those not making figure skating costumes, everyone has responsibilities in society. After watching Yuzu’s performance, one shouldn’t merely consume the joy, emotion, or sadness, but use it as a catalyst to work toward improving the world. Hara often feels that this is the responsibility of those who admire or collaborate with Yuzu: starting from themselves, making the world a little better, as a true form of gratitude and respect for Yuzu.

 

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13. Hara also came to Notte this time as part of the costume team, responsible for costume maintenance. He said that watching “Happy End” left him deeply shocked. He could clearly feel that after the break period, Yuzu had reached an entirely new level. Watching this performance, it even felt like the ice rink had become smaller, as if Yuzu, as a performer incorporating elements of contemporary dance into skating, had advanced several more tiers.

 

Spoiler

“Happy End” itself is not a simple piece. Although it’s called “Happy End,” what it evokes goes far beyond happiness. For such a difficult piece to interpret, Yuzu delivered a perfect answer.

Hara watched the first day’s performance and cried afterward. Even though the other programs were also quite good, he found that this was the only one he could remember. When he first heard that Yuzu was entering a rest period, he thought he would just take some time off. But after seeing this performance, he feels that during that period Yuzu must have undergone a lot of completely different training and has fundamentally become a different kind of skater. He doesn’t know how many others feel the same way, but that’s his own impression.

 

Because of this, he was especially moved and wants to see this program again. He feels that Yuzu’s abilities as a contemporary dance-style performer have improved significantly. He was also very surprised to learn that this program was choreographed by himself. Since both Shae and David were present at Notte, he had assumed one of them must have choreographed it, but it turned out neither did.

 

 

14. Hara and Yuzu have taken quite a few photos together, and in every single one, Yuzu is the one holding the phone. That’s because Hara asked him to do it, saying, “Hanyu-san’s arms are longer, so I asked him to take it.”
 

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