Last weekend, the chef, DJ, and writer Kiki Kudo and her partner, artist and musician Brian Close, celebrated the launch of their new project with the cult lifestyle brand Everybody.World at their home in Connecticut. Here, Kudo shares the story behind the collection—and the offbeat way they chose to inaugurate it.
I moved from Yokohama to New York in 2011 and met my partner Brian Close during my fourth year there. In 2021, we decided to leave our home in SoHo and head to Connecticut, where we’ve been living on acres of lush farmland ever since—and just last summer, the co-founders of Everybody.World, Iris Alonzo and Carolina Crespo, visited us here.
On the trip, they mentioned wanting us to design a new piece each for their Contributor Collection, and asked us what was missing from our wardrobes. Brian knew he wanted to make boxing-style shorts and I had ideas for long pants with deep pockets, because pockets are always a deciding factor in my clothing choices. A pocket that lies far from the center of the body helps me to feel good. Anyway, we took Iris and Carolina to our favorite local lake, and we swam together. There, the names of our Lake Pants and Pond Shorts were born.
Fast forward to last weekend. A picturesque summer’s day and the perfect backdrop to launch our new designs, both of which are made from a lightweight recycled cotton woven fabric. We hosted a long lunch to celebrate, with a group of dear friends who drove the two hours up from New York City to meet us in bucolic Litchfield for a floating noodle party. (I wore my Lake Pants in Bottle Green with a metallic shirt by Toga, whose designer, Yasuko Furuta, is my longtime friend in Tokyo.)
Upon arrival, our guests, who included fashion designers, artists, musicians and music label owners, an art director, and an underwater free-dive photographer, enjoyed a smoky, spicy cocktail of Madre Mezcal shaken with a blended peach, mango, fennel, and jalapeño accompaniment. For lunch, our menu was family-style and centered around floating noodles—cold sōmen flowing fast down a giant bamboo luge that Brian and I built in our backyard just days before—and a lot of condiments. Life is all about experiences, right? This one is my new summer favorite, and the interactive ritual in the middle of wide-open nature seems to have been a hit with our friends too.
Video: Brian Close
The elaborate water slide construction is called nagashi-sōmen and involves participants catching strands of thin noodles with chopsticks as they rush down a bamboo chute atop ice-cold water. It s a popular summer activity for kids in Japan and also happens to have featured in one of my earliest food performance pieces, that I debuted back in 2012 with my friend and polymorphic thinker, Jon Santos, at his three-day Catskills camp called The Last Weekend.
This time, I ordered huge bamboo poles and went to work shaving and filing them for the smoothest water flow. Cooking is a way I can take care of people and I was excited to put a lot of effort into creating something unique. I made a dipping soup with soy sauce and mirin, gently balanced with the umami of kelp. Guests were encouraged to adjust the taste by adding water and ice to dilute and chill as they wished. For a special twist, we used frozen cubes of homegrown heirloom tomatoes instead of regular ice, a new combination to make it more exciting.
Mushroom tempura was served next, powered by Smallhold who grow a range of certified organic varieties in the heart of Brooklyn. I fried five pounds of them in a light tempura with a batter made simply with organic flour, water, a drizzle of oil, and ice. (The oil and ice work nicely to keep it crisp.)
As the party wound down, we headed back to the lake where our collection began. Luckily, Hassan Ali Khan brought a special underwater rig that he’s been using to film deep beneath the Caribbean Sea. Elise Mascia, Jacob Gorchov, and I jumped in wearing the pieces, and Hassan shot incredible underwater footage as we swam, before the party turned into a jam session. Even if the day was beautifully ephemeral, capturing the memories makes it real for everyone. May it inspire you to throw your own flowing noodle party—and possibly even to slip on a pair of Lake Pants or Pond Shorts while you’re at it.
