The Tamesis
Like a rebellious band member or an unruly lover, Miyashita Takahiro has a gift for breaking up and getting back together. The 53-year-old Japanese designer, who founded the hit label Number (N)ine in 1997, is relaunching the brand after 15 years away.
After leaving, he founded Takahiro Miyashita The Soloist (or The Soloist for short), but when he left last year, he made an elusive Instagram post that read: “Rock ‘n’ roll will never die…the music keeps playing, louder and louder. Just on a different stage. A new band, a new noise, to get me there.” It was a teaser for his return to Number (N)ine — though the details of the release are as mysterious as the designer himself. So I went to see him.
On a rainy day in Tokyo, I arrived at the conference room of his PR office, unsure of what to expect. Miyashita is known for his caution, and interviews with him and photographs of him are rare. His taciturnity earned him the nickname “Oyster Taka.” Eugene Rabkin, founder of the magazine style zeitgeist One of the few journalists who met Miyashita said the designer was cautious during his first interview in 2017. “I think it was because he was careful that his work was understood accurately, but we bonded over our shared love of youth culture and we’ve stayed in touch,” Rabkin said. “He’s one of the most genuine people I know.”
When Miyashita arrived, he was dressed in black from head to toe. A thick black chain hung around his neck and he wore a nylon Patagonia trench coat. He was known for his sensitive designs and his deep, melancholy love of music and poetry, but his first impression was one of confidence, even toughness. “I don’t open up easily,” he said. “I’m a closed person. I’ve always said that what I want to say and what I want to convey is expressed through my designs, so I don’t think interviews matter.” He has a small teardrop-shaped tattoo under his left eye – a symbol I’ve heard American gang members get after murders. Gurgling. But Miyashita’s reasons were innocent. “When I received it, I had no idea what it meant,” he said with a laugh. “I haven’t killed anyone. I just think it’s an important and beautiful thing to shed tears.”
The most dangerous thing about Miyashita is that he always leaves audiences stunned and even in tears at his fashion shows, which often feature wandering models in romantic outfits. He was fashion’s original sad boy. The designs he has shown over the past three decades, from gorpcore to grunge, have been crafted with a masterful sensibility, an intoxicating balance of punk and poetry. Even the simplest garments are full of exquisite details: lace on a skirt or a fringed neckline on a vest. A touch of romance appeared on garish jackets trimmed with brocade and Americana-style panels, inspired by Miyashita’s teenage travels to the United States. I remember, after one of his shows in Paris for The Soloist in 2018, a typically stern buying director, without much praise, whispered reverently: “What he’s done is absolutely incredible.”
The relaunch of Number (N)ine has been years in the making. “During the pandemic, I started thinking about the future,” Miyashita said. “I’ve never really heard of a fashion brand reorganizing, rebooting or reviving [from the owner]so I thought it might be fun to try it out. Although he publicly announced his departure from The Soloist in July 2025, he had actually become an outside contractor with the company four years earlier, significantly reducing his involvement. “I’m sorry to my fans, but the truth is, I grew emotionally distant from it four years ago,” he said.
