EPISODE 158 FEATURES DESIGNER AKIRA ISOGAWA

What does it mean to leave - voluntarily - your homeland, to make a new creative life in another country? How might the place you left behind, and the new one you chose, collide in your work?

Thirty-five years after he left Kyoto and enrolled in East Sydney Technical College, with a big dream and small bag full of kimonos nicked off his mum, Akira Isogawa is an Australian national treasure. He's been the subject of major retrospectives at the National Gallery of Victoria and the Powerhouse in Sydney, designed costumes for the ballet, and seen his work championed internationally by people like the late Italian Vogue fashion editor Anna Piaggi, and the iconic Mrs. B, Joan Burstein from Browns in London.

Clare sits down with the iconic Japanese-Australian fashion designer to discuss home, roots and the future, and past, of fashion. It’s a delightful conversation touching on the artist's creative journey and collaborators, his long fascination with Japanese textiles and his approach to sustainability - which considers minimalism, recycling, repurposing and mending.

NOTES

KIMONO As Akira notes, kimonos have sustainability cred because an entire bolt or 'tan' (12.5 yards / 11.4metres) is used to make the garment - nothing is wasted or cut off.

“Growing up in Kyoto, Isogawa was fascinated by the colours and construction of traditional Japanese kimonos. When he founded his label, he brought old family kimonos back to Sydney and deconstructed them, making dresses from the aged silk of their linings. Rediscovering the kimono helped him to define his signature blend of traditional Japanese style with Australian ease.” Via Guardian Australia, read the rest here.

KYOTO As the ancient capital from 1200 years ago, many Japanese see Kyoto as the cultural heart of the country. Notes Britannica, “The area has few large factories or businesses, a fact reflected in the look of the inner city—shops and workshops, residences, and offices all standing side by side. Stringent building codes limit the height of buildings in order to preserve the overall look of the historic city.” Quieter and smaller than Tokyo, it is also more conservative.

KINTSUGI is the ancient art of repairing broken ceramics with gold - the idea being that by embracing flaws and imperfections, you can create an even stronger, more beautiful piece.

RECEPTION Akira’s first collection was launched in 1994 and two years later, at the inaugural Mercedes Australian Fashion Week, his spring/summer 1996-97 collection received critical acclaim.

NAOMI CAMPBELL wore Akira’s design on the June 1997 cover of Vogue Australia, photographed by Peter Lindbergh.

CHRISTIANE LEHMANN is a collage artist and Akira’s long-time collaborator/muse. In December 2004, for his exhibition at the Melbourne’s NGV, the pair created paper dolls dressed in pieces inspired by origami, the Japanese art of paper folding.

What to do when face with an army of bare-foot models and no budget? RED SOCKS are cheaper than shoes!

Here’s MRS B, legendary founder of Brown’s.

FRAGMENTED is the title of his 2021 collection, which explores upycling and is offered made to order.