Aguri Sagimori

Wonderful elegant presentation and great layers of transparency and print, this is Aguri Sagimori's AW 2013 collection called 'Gran Pas de Shat'. Please explore all of her collections they are stunning.

 Aguri Sagimori graduated in 2007 from the Vantan Design Institute of Fashion and immediately won the New Designer Fashion Grand Prix Prize for Excellence and the Nagoya Fashion Contest 2007 Grand Prix. This year she also launched a menswear collection.

Nui Project

 

 

 

The 'Nui Project'.
To see one style of garment, a standard white shirt, hand embellished in so many tranformative ways, must be an inspiration to any fashion /textile designer.
Some of the artists involved in this project in Japan stitch the garments to such an extent that they are sculpted and contorted, others transform the fabric structure and for others the results can be seen as more of an embellishment or surface pattern. For more information please see here and here.

Yamazaki Nobuko 山崎暢子

I always like the hazy boundaries between art, sculpture and fashion for at these blurred edges the most interesting ideas and work happens.
This is the work of Japanese artist Yamazaki Nobuko 山崎暢子. Yamazaki uses the medium of small glazed porcelain mosaic tiles, a material introduced from the west, she uses them uniquely, as the surfaces for three dimensional soft sculptures. Her forms are usually domestic objects and often clothing such as shirts, dresses, socks, bathing suits and underwear.

Sachiyo Oishi I

Love this photoshoot by Nachito Sakuma for cikolata-cikolata SS 2011. Sachiyo Oishi is the founder of this Tokyo based company that specialises in handmade plush toys, quirky fashion and accessories. (thanks)

Emi Wada

'My Life In The Making' by Emi Wada. Emi Wada is a renowned Japanese costume designer, you will have seen her stunning work in films such as Peter Greenaway's film Prospero's Books, and Zhang Yimou's film House of Flying Daggers.
This beautiful book of her life's work is already quite rare you can only get it if you have a spare £350, but I wanted to share it for its beauty and inspiration for your sketch books and source boards.

Mint Designs

In response to the outbreak of bird flu in 2009 Mint Designs produced these protective masks from thermoplastic non woven fabric 'SMASH'. This material can be molded using a heat press, it is receptive to print and is a highly functional fabric.
I thought the masks certainly looked 'mysterious' and would maybe give the HN's some ideas.

Phenomenon

An impressive cocktail of cultures and traditional dress are whipped into great contemporary style by Japanese label Phenomenon.

Tinytoadstool

Tinytoadstool Shan Shan is an artist from Tokyo who combines and contrasts with great skill and style; vintage, handmade, new fashion and accessories. She also has a great blog from where you can access her fashion shop and many more links for this prolific artist, crafts person and designer.

Kana Shirouchi

Kana Shirouchi's project on constructing body space, is visually and conceptually very intriguing. Kana has just graduated from London Central St Martins and is originally from Japan.

Yohji Yamamoto

Lines, shapes and style from Yohji Yamamoto who sculpts clothes that can be worn with easy elegance. Clothes for that the wearer wears, not that wear the wearer. You can see a retrospective of Yohji Yamamoto's work's at the Victoria and Albert Museum, London until 10th July 2011.

Tze Goh

Tze Goh's AW2011 collection is beautifully crafted from wool in a subtle pallet. It challenges traditional shape, creates a new aesthetic with beguiling simplicity and sculptural modernism. (Thanks)

Rei Kawakubo

Upholstered fashion! I love these silhouette changing, padded dresses, capable of completely reinventing shape and form by Rei Kawakubo.

Issey Miyake

132.5 Issey Miyake, a new concept in fashion design was launched last autumn. Merging the ancient tradition of origami with state of the art software by Jun Mitani, Issey Miyake fashioned dresses, pants, skirts and boleros from single pieces of fabric with the most minimal fastenings. The clothing has a mathematical elegance that creates it's structural beauty. (Watch this)

Yohji Yamamoto and Sashiko

This design by Yohji Yamamoto features black sashiko designs

Ari Tabei

Ari Tabei has the nesting instinct bad! she makes nests, garments and bags like cocoons.

''With these materials, I package my body to disconnect myself from reality, but also to tie myself to it.'' Ari Tabei

Have a look at the link Ari Tabei uses lots of interesting techniques to construct her garments.

Sashiko

Below: Circular sashiko design on indigo fabric, Above: Sashiko stitches on patterned and plain fabric by fairybread.

Below: Kimono's from the Sashiko Exhibition at the Collins Gallery Glasgow 27th Feb- 10th April 2009

Sashiko is a traditional form of Japanese textiles. Sashiko textiles are made by layering fabrics and securing and decorating them using simple running stitch to build up pattern, texture, strength and weight to domestic textiles and clothing.

Traditionally sashiko was practiced by peasant workers who were only allowed , by law, to wear clothing that was indigo and they were limited to very simple stitched designs. As a result of this strict regulation on their clothing the people became very skilled at using the limited resources available to them to make clothing and quilts of incredible complexity, individuality and beauty whilst adhering to the limitation's placed on them.

The simple running stitch is called rice stitch as it resembles grains of rice, the designs created by this simple stitch become amazingly intricate and decorative.