Japanese fashion - YouLookFab Forum

Yesterday, I went to an exhibition of Japanese fashion over the past 30 years and I had to share it with you as I was completely blown away!
http://www.qagoma.qld.gov.au/e.....turebeauty
I had heard of Issey Miyake and Akira Isogawa, but did not really know of any of the others. Well, it was such a beautiful and inspiring education.

Things that really struck me:
1.These designers are so innovative and ahead of the pack! There was a bunch of outfits from Yamamoto designing for Adidas(of all groups!) in 1997 that would look perfectly at home with the sports luxe items today.

2.Some of the architectural, structural looks that I really enjoy seem to come directly from Japanese experiments with structure. There was a series of garments that were presented flat, like an artwork and then on a mannequin, and the simplicity and volume and intricacy was incredible. It was explained as being inspired by origami, and I can completely see that!

3.The idea of clothing concealing the body and the concept of ma, which was described as the space between the body and clothing. I can see a lot of the cocoon styles popular today probably come from these ideas.

4.The idea of the beauty of imperfection. This was probably one of the more moving ideas for me. Usually, if I see an unfinished hem or loose lining it drives my Team Polished self to distraction. However, the exhibition showed a number of these outfits where this was done deliberately as a counterpoint to the exquisite tailoring and beautiful fabric as an expression of the joy of breaking free of the narrow confines of perfection. It was a completely new way of looking at this for me, and I am so grateful for have my thoughts around this challenged and to have been given a new way of seeing beauty.

5.Of course, the 80's apocalyptic looking stuff that I still have memories of from my teenage years. And still look interesting and fresh.

My favourite was the Issey Miyake pleated dresses - so beautiful and both simple and intricate at the same time.

Anyway, I thought it was wonderful and would encourage any YLF people living near Brisbane to see it before it finishes in February.

9 years ago

Thistle

Veteran

Very enlightening. Thanks for sharing!

Helena

I must admit, I find it hard to relate to fashion as art most of the time, but the preview on this looked really fascinating ... the shapes they were able to make the fabric take, very architectural/structural indeed. Amazing. Thanks for sharing and glad you got a chance to experience the exhibit!

Angie

(website)

Fashion Stylist

YES. There is a Japanese fashion section in the SAM (Seattle Art Museum). I completely understand your passion and excitement, Sharon.

Caro in Oz

I SO want to see that exhibition Sharon. It was the Japanese Fashion movement in the 1980s that made me sit up & take notice of fashion & style. They took inspiration from all the things I was interested in - their heritage, '60s pop culture & architecture - & I loved it so much.

I remember reading some where that Miyake's garments celebrate the vitality and movement of the human body, which I think is true. Some of the Pleats Please range of used fabric that wasn't so great unfortunately. Akira Isogawa uses wonderful fabric I have a silk top of his that is 30 years old & perfect

deb

This would be wonderful to see. Thank you for sharing.

Sharon

Caro, if you want to come up and see it I would be happy to give you a room for the night. It was such a great experience. I enjoyed it even more than the Valentino one from a few years ago, which I didn't think I would. It is possible it will move around to some of the galleries in the other capital cities - might be worth checking if you don't want to travel

That's lovely of you Sharon - thank you.

We will be in Brisbane in March DH has a conference then but too late for this obviously. I'm working on it

Suz

It sounds amazing.

I find the Japanese fashion incredibly interesting and appealing. There is a firm in Canada called Kaliyana that does Japanese inspired clothing (on the arty architectural side) and I so wish I could wear it. Unfortunately, the sizing is off for me and it overwhelms.

So glad you got a chance to see this show. Love that idea of beauty in imperfection. Like the Leonard Cohen song. There's a crack...a crack in everything....that's how the light gets in.

Meredith

Wow! Thanks for sharing. The promotional clip is such a tease. A one second glimpse at a garmet I could study for hours!

Dimity

Active Member

Japanese fashion is fabulous. I love that they go beyond conventionally flattering for another point of view, like the cocoon coats. So interesting.

SandyG

Echoing how fabulous and unique Japanese fabrics are! They lend themselves to experimentation and wild, creative streaks. It makes for exotic looks even in basic garments -- a Japanese friend in her 70s looks AMAZING in her unique basics, timeless and artistic and chic. I can't decode it, even shopping in Cali, but would happily purchase everything she wears!

Firecracker (Sharan)

It's wonderful, isn't it? That exhibition was here last year, and I loved it. Your review of it is so fun to read. I was struck by the difference in approach between fitting a garment to the body, as in European classic couture, where the garment has the shape of the body when it's off, and the approach of creating garments that lie flat on a table and hanging them on the body so that they take on a new character on the body. That idea just kind of blew my mind.

CocoLion

I too enjoyed your review Sharon. Firecracker it sounds like some of the modern Japanese designs have conceptual origins in the kimono -- a garment that is laid flat on the table, is one size fits all, and takes on a different look when on the body. Kimonos fold beautifully in squares for storage and I was told that when cleaned, you would actually deconstruct them -- take apart the yards of narrow (for our standards) panels of silk.

Ornella

Thanks for a great post Sharon. The exhibition sounds like a dream. I definitely must keep my eyes open for something similar in my neck of woods.
I've started paying more attention the Japanese fashion last summer when I started wearing a lot more linen - something about that fabric lends itself to playing with the structure and the origami-like design perfectly. There are boards on Pinterest with Japanese sewing patterns which are just a fabric cut and a few stitches, and it looks awesome. Clean, simple, structural, divine. That's how it started for me and could lead to an obsession

CocoLion, yes! That's it exactly.

Jaime

I am sorry I missed this but your review is excellent Sharon. I love Japanese designers and the concepts of ma and imperfection as you describe them.

Firecracker, I'm so excited that you got to see this too. I loved your comparison of European and Japanese design. And the other aspect of the garments taking on a new character on the body was seeing footage of the garments being worn by models and seeing how different they looked again when worn on a moving body, rather than a mannequin.
Ornella, yes they had a number of garments that were just as you describe, with some artfully placed darts or stitches that transformed the fabric.

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