|
HOME PAGE |
LUXURY NOW |
WINDOW SHOPPING |
BRAND GALLERY |
CITY GUIDE |
LUXURY TRAVELER |
ARTS PORTFOLIO |
The Japanese fashion designer Hiroko Koshino is renowned not only for her modern reinterpretations of traditional Japanese dress, but also for her calligraphy, painting and Tadao Ando-designed home.
The Japanese designer Hiroko Koshino is highly regarded in the fashion world as a pioneer of reinventing traditional Japanese dress. Whereas her more widely known contemporaries err towards the avant-garde, Koshino creates eminently wearable clothes based on strict ceremonial wear updated with more volume, natural materials and asymmetric designs. Modern reinterpretations of the kimono is Koshino’s hallmark, as are exquisite textiles and prints of her own design.
Since founding her label in 1964 after studying fashion and designing for one of Tokyo’s leading department stores, Koshino has built an empire with a turnover of $100million. But fashion is just part of Koshino’s impressive creative repertoire. She is considered something of a master of calligraphy; she paints; she owns a gallery; she plays the shamisen, a Japanese three-strings guitar; she has collaborated with some of the greatest composers on fashion shows that become spectacles; and she has commissioned some of the world’s leading architects, including Tadao Ando who designed her Tokyo home, his first private project.
More than fusing the east with the west (something she credits to a grandfather who was a dealer of antique kimono fabrics and a mother who ran a western clothes store), what ties Koshino’s work together is a deep appreciation for art. Fitting then, that Koshino will exhibit her Fall Winter 2011-2012 collection alongside her sketches and calligraphy at the Musee des Arts Decoratifs, Paris, from July 7 to 10. After a 15-year hiatus from the Paris catwalks (she shows in Tokyo and Osaka), Koshino presented her work at the Cité de l'Architecture et du Patrimoine in Paris in 2010 in a show that has become an annual event on the Paris couture calendar. After more than 50 years in the business, the duality of Japanese culture and western ways is still what informs her art. As Koshino comments: “I love Japan and have been attracted to traditional Japanese culture. I'm trying to express oriental sensitivities in a modern, Western framework. What I think, what I feel, my lifestyle—these are the starting points for my designs. They give me confidence in and a sense of identity with my creations.”
Hiroko Koshino’s definition of luxury?
The moment that I sleep well because I don’t always have the time to sleep well. Consequently, when I wake up after sleeping well, I feel happy. And also, travel: to discover a place you don’t know is so important because there is so much to learn. I want to go everywhere. Every time I travel, I want to create something new. If I stop creating it is because I don’t want to travel anymore. The journey is my source of inspiration.
“People in the fashion world always look ahead, rather than looking back. I want to remain a fashion designer as a global person, regardless of nationality, by honestly expressing whatever I feel.”
“Art has always been my grand passion throughout my life.
It is therefore my pleasure to welcome you to the heart of my universe; a unique union of art work, and fashion. Focusing on the most artistic elements of my work, this annual exhibition introduces to you my paintings, calligraphy, as well as textile designs which are born from my art, and selected pieces from my 2011-12 Autumn/Winter collection.
I invite you to share this special moment, and to discover and explore the world of my creativity.”
More info:
Hiroko Koshino: Creations 2011
Les Arts Décoratifs, Hall des Maréchaux, Paris
July 7 – July 10