In fact, I've never met a creative pair that hold so much control over a brand, from the advertising and the location of the artisans that make the material to craft their handbag range to the photographer and background narrative for each collection. Kleinstein is becoming one of the most important agencies in Japanese fashion and culture with an enviable roster including heritage sneaker brand Novesta, Mylo Slovakia (a herbal skincare brand) and genderless accessories label Biéde which weaves and incorporates artisans and artists from a disparate array of disciplines and locations. 

For Biéde's latest collection the creative duo decided on Kyoto's annual Kyotographie arts festival as a location and the city's Node Hotel as the space to experiment. Node Hotel has become, over the years, a creative hub for local and visiting artists and performers and in April, the city's cognoscente descended on the hotel to celebrate the performance event titled “Biéde in Motion” featuring performances by acclaimed flutist Hana Yamamoto and emerging rapper and musician Nina Utashiro. 

The performance “Biéde in Motion” was inspired by “Umegae,” the 32nd chapter of The Tale of Genji by Murasaki Shikibu. The performance explored how the scene would look if “Umegae” were updated for modern society. For starters flutist Hana Yamamoto performed, inspired by fue (the flute) in the scene from “Umegae.” The new Biéde incense product, which was also being released, 32 Umegae, was based on the “Umegae” scene from The Tale of Genji in which people brought their own incense to compete in a game called “Takimono-awase.”