At Ircam, where sound meets science, Kunihiko Morinaga reflects on the abstraction of vanishing, paying tribute to Mamoru Oshii’s 1995 cult anime Ghost in the Shell, the cyberpunk epic in which a cyborg heroine fades into the city’s flickering skin of light and code. Suspended between human and machine, her shifting state mirrors contemporary unease around identity and consciousness in an increasingly screen-centered world.

In Ghost in the Shell, thermal optical camo articulates a future vision of invisibility. Through a specialized suit, Major Motoko Kusanagi refracts and reflects light until she merges seamlessly with the world around her. She does not hide. She dissolves. Thermal optical camo becomes more than a cybernetic device; it proposes a form so withdrawn from view that even its existence feels uncertain.

On the runway, bold, organic, exoskeletal silhouettes stand before dense, sign-saturated backdrops. Developed in collaboration with LED TOKYO, their fluid, engineered surfaces function as living interfaces, capturing and relaying fragments of the surrounding visual field in real time. As patterns synchronize, the outline disappears. Clothing, skin, and screen converge; the figure remains in flux, perceptible only in motion. What unfolds is a meditation on erasure and visibility, exploring the limits between self and other, real and virtual. Clothing has traditionally affirmed identity, granting the body clarity and contour. Here, that logic is reversed. To dress is to disappear.

In counterpoint, vivid flamboyant looks channel the liberating spirit of the Seventies. Intricate and at times voluminous, they evoke romantic psychedelia. Frills meet sharply structured layers, half insect carapace, half robotic armor, conjuring a sci-fi prairie heroine or glam-rock protagonist in futuristic Sgt. Pepper finery. Antenna-like jewelry sprouts from shoes and fingers.

Digital blur returns in kaleidoscopic florals and patchworked Ghost in the Shell stills, evoking the vertigo of simultaneous screens. AI-generated crowds, acid-green numeric code, and circuit motifs translate into opulent jacquards. Prints realized with KYOCERA’s sustainable textile printer, FOREARTH, render ghostly florals reminiscent of watercolor, their subtle blurry effect achieved without a single drop of water. Swaying fringe amplifies visual flux; LED faux leather, pulses from within; printed faux suede masquerades as denim.

At the finale, the monumental wall that has served as a screen performs its own act of optical camouflage. Image and architecture converge until they are indistinguishable. Gradually, it recedes, absorbing its surroundings. A threshold is crossed.

As the last model exits, a question remains. If body, memory, and identity are mutable, what endures? Is there still a “GHOST” within the shell, or does the self vanish as it slips from view?

[1] As FOREARTH reduces water usage in textile printing to near zero, it eliminates the need for separate facilities for conventional pre- and post-treatment processes such as steaming and washing, thereby significantly cutting energy consumption and CO2 emissions. At the same time, it preserves the natural softness of key fabrics widely used in the textile and apparel industries, while enabling high-definition printing on a broad range of materials including cotton, silk, polyester, nylon, and blended fabrics.

[2] LED TOKYO is a technology company that enhances spatial design and brand experiences through the planning, design, installation, and operation of large-scale LED displays and digital signage. Across diverse sectors̶including corporate environments, commercial facilities, and major events̶the company has pioneered advanced forms of visual communication.

To exist is to be there.

A thing that can be seen.

Not to exist is not to be there.

A thing that cannot be seen.

A ghost resides in between.

It certainly exists, yet it cannot be seen.

The thermal optical camo depicted in “Ghost in the Shell” envisioned a future of the invisible body.

This concept is implemented not as fiction, but as real clothing.

Garments reflect light, shift in color and pattern, and synchronize with the landscape.

In that moment, the boundary between body and landscape begins to waver,

and the body gradually dissolves into the city.

By becoming invisible, the outline of existence grows indistinct,

until the body transforms into a part of the world.

Where does the self end, and where does the world begin?

To wear the ghost.

Images courtesy of ANREALAGE