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Radical Fashion
Edited, by Claire Wilcox
VcS-A Publications
Distributed by Harry N.Abrams, Inc., Publishers
First published by V*A Publications, 2001
V6A Publications
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London SW3 1HW
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Victoria*Albert Museum 2001
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Judith Clark, Susannah Frankel, Amy de la Have,
Valerie Mendes, Mistair O'Neill. Valerie Stecle £
Claire Wllcox assert their moral right to be Identified
as the authors of this book
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ISBN: 0-8109-6588-7
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'A Dress is No Longer a Little,
Flat Closed Thing'
Issey Mjyake, Rei Kawakubo,
Yohji Yamamoto & Junya Watanbe
a similar clientele, among them those
who are most critical and discerning: their
fellow designers and arts professionals.
sought to design dress that was neither
elitist nor ephemeral, but simply in tune
with contemporary function and style
requirements. Often the best way to forge
Since it officially opened to the West in
change is from within. After studying at
Amy de la Haye
1868, the assimilation of western tailoring the Ecole de la Chambre Syndicate de la
and fashion clothing has formed a domiCouture Parisienne, Miyake worked with
nant image of the representation of
Guy Laroche and Givenchy. It was the
modern Japan. To western eyes the decline Paris riots of 1968 that reinforced his
The Comme des Garcons poster from
of traditional Japanese dress has done
belief that traditional haute couture
Spring/Summer 1986 shows a black
much to erode occidental fantasies of an
was anachronistic. Moving to New York
tarmac road, fringed with poppy-strewn
oriental 'other'. To the Japanese the rise of he learnt the rigours of mass production
grass. This prosaic image has a startling
transient fashions, otherwise symbolic of and merchandising with Geoffrey Beene,
intensity. The highway, open and empty,
emancipation and modernity, have in times the American designer celebrated for
stretches for miles ahead; perhaps a
of conflict with the West been condemned his high-quality, ready-to-wear lines for
metaphor for the journey into fashion's
as insidious capitalist manipulation. It is
women and men, for clothing that was
uncharted territory. For we are in the
amid this discord that Miyake, Kawakubo subtly coloured and deceptively simple.
domain of the radical Japanese designer. and Yamamoto embarked upon their
careers in fashion. As first post-war
In 1970 Miyake returned to Tokyo to
Described as innovative and challenging,
generation Japanese they grew up within establish The Miyake Design Studio
eminently wearable or utterly incompa society that simultaneously embraced
(the catchword was^reedom'). Utilising
rehensible, works by Issey Mjyake, Rei
western popular culture, while preserving traditional Japanese fabrics and techKawakubo — designer-owner of Comme
native customs. The tension between
niques, suchjs farmers' checked cloth
des Garcons — Yohji Yamamoto and,
these dual identities Is explored in
and sasbiko (cotton quilting), while
more recently, Junya Watanbe stand
fashion collections that reveal hybrid
embracing modern materials that
independently on fashion's global stage.
east — west influences.
included polyester Jersey, Miyake's deArdent internationalists, these designers
signs were often based on simple square
are disdainful of any joint categorisation
As specialist fashion courses were not
and rectangular shapes. His publication
by virtue of their shared ethnicity; indeed yet established in Japan, Miyake studied
East Meets West (1978) details his early
they might argue that the notion of
graphics at Tokyo's Tama Art University.
work and includes the sasbiko smock,
'Japaneseness' is irrelevant in an industry Dedicated to his chosen medium, prior to where it is seen worn by both the elderly
that transcends national boundaries. Yet,
graduating, in 1963 he presented his first feminist Fusae Ichikawa and a much
in exploring their aesthetic and working
collection, lyrically entitled Poem of Cloth younger fashion model.
practices, there are threads that bind.
and Stone. From the outset, and with the
For example their garments often attract modernist's revolutionary zeal, Miyake
•A Dress Is No Longer a Little, Flat Closed Thing' j 29
Investigating the idea or a second skin
and fusing east-west imagery, for Spring/
Summer 1970 Miyake designed close-fitting
garments with a tattoo print incorporating
the faces of rock stars Jimi Hendrix and
Janis Joplin who both died that year. This
theme was revisited in Autumn/Winter
1989-90 with a printed polyurethane 'tattoo body'. Throughout his career, Miyake
has exhibited extensively in museums of
fashion, art and design. His Bodyworks tour
was hosted by the VS-A in 1986. Suspended
in space were moulded silicone bustiers
— another second-skin solution — and
garments of pleated jersey coated with
polyurethane. Further exploration of body
form — this time a torso rendered in black
leather — provided the form for a handbag
(circa 1990), donated to the VS-A.
in law, also from Keio University, he
studied at Tokyo's Bunka College of
Fashion, founding his own company in
1971. While continuously pushing forward
fashion's frontiers Miyake has generally
avoided controversy, but from Spring of
1981 when Yamamoto and Kawakubo first
presented in Paris, their designs generated
a furore. At this time impeccable grooming,
daytime power-dressing and ultrafeminine,
fantasy evening wear was in vogue. The
contrast could not have been greater.
While western fashion generally echoes
the contours of the body and is cut front
and back, Yamamoto and Kawakubo
wrapped and draped great swathes of
fabric around the body. Foregrounding
form and texture, in time-honoured
tradition they exploited the full-width
Miyake, Kawakubo and Yamamoto each
of their loosely woven and pre-washed
established commercially successful
fabrics to create oversize garments that
businesses in Japan before succumbing
moved sensually with and independently
to the centripetal pull of Paris. A graduate of the wearer. (Both expressed interest
from Keio University in philosophy, special- in the void created between body and
ising in eastern and western aesthetics,
cloth.) Even brand new, their clothes
Kawakubo is a self-taught designer
had a lived-in appeal, were often multiunhindered by tradition or convention.
purpose, could be worn in a variety
Before establishing her label in 1969,
of ways and eroded occasion-specific
she worked in advertising fora textiles
formalities. The duo revelled in calculated
company and as a photographic stylist,
disarray, offering garments with disparate
acquiring valuable skills for future
weight or length; misplaced collars,
endeavours. From childhood Yamamoto
sleeves and fastenings; exposed finishing
observed and assisted in his mother's
techniques and ripped, knotted and
dressmaking business. After graduating
mis-matched fabrics. Their use of colour
i
301 Radical Fashion
was emotive — invariably black. (Equally
disarming were the designers' retail
environments: just a few items of dress
were hung or folded in minimal sites
with an industrial aesthetic and hallowed
gallery aura.)
Reactions were extreme, reaching a
crescendo with Comme des Garcons'
Autumn 1983 show. Leading fashion
Journalist Sally Brampton eloquently
described Kawakubo's models (Observer,
25 September 1983, p.zg): 'Their make-up
alienating: only a livid blue bruise marked
a mouth or an eye socket, burnt orange
and chrome was blistered across cheekbones and eyebrows, and their hair was
as kempt as a scarecrows' thatch. Their
clothes, too, seemed In tatters — great
flapping coats with frayed edges, covered
black and grey cocoons of fabric, which
were looped and wrapped around their
emaciated bodies.'
Bemused and piqued critics issued
headlines rife with conflict such as 'The
Japanese Invasion' and coined the derisory
terms 'Hiroshima chic' and 'Japanese
bag lady look'. Ultimately, many were
enchanted, sensing that, like Miyake,
the genius of Yamamoto and Kawakubo
lay in their ability to create radical yet
wearable fashions for women of various
ages and sizes. The prediction was
that their Influence would be profound.
consistently explore issues surrounding
he is a superb and innovative tailor,
body shape, sensuality, sexuality and the
celebrated for his flattering, often black,
sartorial gender-binary. Essentially modest suits that subvert convention. It was
and loose, their early 19805 collections,
Yamamoto who suggested the black suit
and white T-shirt combination, now the
accessorised with utilitarian flat-heeled
footwear, were often interpreted as femi- professional uniform for men In the arts.
nist expression. Kawakubo emphasised
Dismissing neat and tidy as boring he too
that she designs for independent women, emphasises imperfection, often inspired
capable of attracting men with their minds by the ill-fitting and dishevelled tailoring
rather than their bodies, and that her
finally consigned to Dickensian waifs.
controversial cosmetics raised issues
For Autumn/Winter 1986-87 Yamamoto
showed black dresses embellished with
surrounding the painted face. Yamamoto
a flourish of red tulle evocative of an 18705
The Comme des Carcons black wool
describes himself as a natural born
feminist, believing his design advantage
bustle (stunningly photographed in profile
sweater from Autumn/Winter 1982-83,
is that he learnt the world through
by Nick Knight) and subsequently designed
represented in the V6-A, is a seminal
women's eyes. Asked about his ideal ----^manj
many crinoline styles. Other diverse
design from this period. Punctured with
nistoideal references are displayed in long
seemingly random holes, the hand-knitted client, he muses (Guardian,28 September
1996, p.4): 'Ever'since I can remember, a
coats, knitted in oversize stitches with
garment is a challenge to the flawless
perfection of machine knitting. Japanese woman has always existed within me, like medieval austerity; cobweb knits and jet
a faint shadow. She is not young. She is 40 beading with a gothic edge and, quite
culture embraces imperfection as a
measure of perfection within creativity.
or 50 years old. She is not Japanese. I don't unexpectedly and much acclaimed, his
Spring 1997 collection", in which he paid
The design can also be analysed within
know why she's not Japanese but she's
homage to early post-war couturiers
not. It's very difficult to see her face.
an historical context of cutwork textiles
including fhanel.
and lace; of post-punk expression or even She is always looking away from me. I am
pursuing her. But I never reach her. If she
as a continuum from Parisian couturier
spoke her voice would be raspy. She is a
A black cotton poplin sleeveless dress,
Elsa Schiaparelli's 1937 Tear Dress'.
woman who has given up being a woman. emblazoned with an asymmetric flash
Dyed in shades of bruised purples and
of orange to form an irregular trailing
pinks, the print used by Schiaparelli
But she is incredibly sexy to me.'
hemline from 1988-89, exemplifies the
(based on a painting by Salvador Dali
and also in the VS-A) depicts strips of torn While Kawakubo likes to create unhindered designer's ability to create simultaneously
by external stimuli, Yamamoto is expansive the visually simple, yet striking and
flesh. Both designers explore a surreal
in his outlook, blurring notions of history, distinctive. The dress is entirely functional.
fascination with interior/exterior and
Worn in the West Indies and subsequently
culture and nation, while acknowledging
juxtapose violence and tatters with elite
that fashion is shaped by each. Gradually donated to the V6A, the wearer praised
luxury to shocking effect. Using fashion
as their medium, Yamamoto and Kawakubo introducing a softly structured silhouette, both its aesthetic and functional, elongated
(By 1984 the shops were full of sombre
colours, rough weaves and asymmetric
detailing.) As Vogue so rightly pointed
out in July 1983, if the European observer
felt at odds with the look, the European
wearer did not. Among the most receptive
to this new fashion aesthetic were the
British, already steeped in a cultural
predilection for loose and comfortable,
textiles-led 'artistic' dress, tempered by
the nihilism of punk.
,1
'A Dress is No Longer a Little. Flat Closed Thing1131
slit armholes and floating conical shape
that permitted cooling air flow. A seasoned
traveller himself, Yamamoto's designs are
imbued with international references.
He uses kimono silks and oriental prints;
was inspired by African nomads (Spring/
Summer 1982); Russian dolls (Autumn/
Winter 1990-91) and for Autumn/Winter
2000-2001 created urban, fairy-tale
cloaks with fur-lined hoods inspired
by Inuit dress.
l"
yi.
Black', introducing a more colourful palette.
Since then, she has struck a lighter note,
sometimes even in tune with prevailing
trends. But, more often than not she works
at a tangent and remains unpredictable.
Possibly her most perplexing output —
which left many Comme devotees aghast
— was her Lumps collection for Spring/
Summer 1997. Translucent chiffon and
pastel gingham dresses featured goosedown padded lumps and coils that exaggerated or entirely deviated from feminine
anatomical form. Kawakubo issued the
statement, 'body becomes dress becomes
body', evocative of Blaise Cendrars
poem for fineartist Sonia Delaunay's
•simultaneous contrast' dresses of 1913
(Buckberrough, 1980, p.s8):
Often described as a purist, Yamamoto
is also a humorist, who gently mocks the
fashion system. For the finale of his March
1998 show, he sent supermodel Jodie
Kidd down the catwalk wearing a giant
crinoline bridal gown and muslin hat
so large four attendants bearing poles
were required to support it (see p. 21).
The designer said he was playing up to
mass-market perceptions that fashion
was extravagant and stupid. As well as
selecting exceptional beauties, Yamamoto
caused a stir when'he first employed
unconventional, mature and 'ordinary'
looking models. Offering a new take
on 'bag ladies' and fashion's lucrative
accessory, for Spring/Summer 2001 he
sited a self-fabric purse on the derriere
of fluid evening gowns.
Anything that Is a bump pushes into
the depths.
Stars dig into the sky
Colours undress you through contrast
'On her dress she wears a body'
Famous for stating that she designed in
many shades of black, in Autumn 1988
Rei Kawakubo announced that 'Red is
More accessible are Kawakubo's Comme
des Garcons designs that deconstruct
and re-present the vernacular of western
tailoring. Questioning the (Unction of the
I5i
•*
u
321 Radical Fashion
Kawakubo's contribution to Visionaire
(no. 20,1997) Juxtaposed images from
nature - the protruding eye of a fish and
bulbousfloraland aquatic forms - with
organic looking details from 'lumps'.
lapel, for Spring/Summer 1994 she used
lapel structures to create city-smart
halter-neck jackets and in Autumn/Winter
1988-89 for scarves. Mixing fabric weights
and silhouettes, her menswear suits
have combined cropped trousers with
double-breasted sports jackets, featured
shawl collars and juxtaposed, inflated
and bleached classic checked fabrics.
As part of post-war regeneration, Japan
built up its industrial base and now leads
in the development of 'techno textiles'.
Working with specialist technicians
and factories, these designers have been
central in harnessing and advancing
textiles' technologies to replicate commercially the appearance of labour-intensive
fabric techniques and develop new fibres,
weaving, dyeing and fabric manipulations.
Textile designer Makiko Minagawa has
worked with Mfyake since the outset,
creating beautiful crafted textiles as well
as holographic cloth and inflatable plastics
for his modernistic designs.
Discovery of a lightweight, easy-care,
stretch polyester fabric that could be
permanently pleated and accommodate
any body movement was the catalyst for
Miyake's acclaimed Pleats Please range.
Launched in 1993 the designer has realised
his ambition to create (Kazuko Sato, p. 102):
'An "easy style", like that of the jeans and
T-shirt, but one that could be worn in a
wider milieu: of apparel that, regardless
or age or profession, could possess a
modern kind of beauty while still being
functional; of a style that would stay
trend-free.' Indeed, his egalitarian
approach to design has led to numerous
commissions for occupational dress, which
in turn have fed back into his collections.
Miyakc's costumes for the Ballet Frankfurt
formed the prototypes for Pleats Please,
and dancers and acrobats have modelled
the range to maximum effect. Injecting
renewal within continuity, in 1906 Mh/ake
introduced his Guest Artist series. The
designer's multi-layered, pleated silk
'Bouncing dress' from Spring/Summer
1993 has been promised to the VS-A as
part of Jill Rltblat's ongoing gift.
!-':
• 4*
in turn becomes structural seams.
The wearer need only select and free
her choice.' Created with environmental
considerations in mind, A-POC is constructed from Raschel-knit tubes produced by
computer-programmed. Industrial knitting
machines. These garments do not require
machine-sewn seams, a development with
potentially profound implications for the
clothing industry.
M^yake Photographs by Irving Penn series.
Exceptionally, the photographer was given
a free reign: choosing to present Mjyake's
pleated garments not only on figures but
also flat on the floor, as striking exercises
in colour and abstraction.
Kawakubo and Yamafnoto are fashion's
recluses - rarely making public appearances or conducting interviews. In a bid
to offer insight into Yamamoto's life and
To devote his energies fully to A-POC.
work, in 1990 director Wim Wenders
in 1999 Mjyake handed over design of his presented his documentary film Notebook
mainline collection to long-term colleague on Cities and Clothes. During the late 1980$
Naoki Takizawa (he remains general
Yamamoto worked with Nick Knight, art
creative director). Like Miyake, Takizawa
director/stylist Marc Ascoli and graphics
designer Peter Saville to produce stunning
also challenges prevailing clothing
conventions. Eschewing traditional
biannual catalogues and has subsequently
circular hemlines, the Spring/Summer
collaborated with leading photographers
Some thirty years into his career Mjyake
2001 collection included softly structured, Dominique Issermann, Max Vadukul,
continues to explore the relationship
Paolo Rovers! and David Sims to create
ankle-length dresses with square-shape
between clothing and the human body.
distinctive, modern marketing materials.
hemlines achieved by inserting blow-up
This has resulted in his A-POC (A Piece of
plastic tubing into the hem. Other garments Paving the way for the future, since
Cloth) concept, created with Dai Pujiwara, comprised of layers of ethereal, multiMarch 2000 Yamamoto's daughter Limi
textile engineer and designer at the Miyake coloured striped and polka-dotted organza. has designed the youthful Y's bis LIMI line,
Design Studio. An in-house leaflet for
shown in Tokyo.
Spring/Summer 1999 explains: 'Like a
Acutely aware of fashion's significance
Between 1988 and 1991 Kawakubo
not only as a construct of identity but
magic carpet, when the roll is unfurled,
produced Six (after intuition, the sixth
an entire wardrobe is revealed. Dresses,
also in time and space, each of these
sense), a biannual magazine of inspirashirts, socks, underwear, and even bags
designers maintains rigorous control
all lie trapped within lines of demarcation. over the representation of their work
tional images - few of clothing (not
always her own) and devoid of text.
within the broader cultural arena.
All that stands between the wearer and
their clothing is a pair of scissors by which As well as exhibiting extensively, Mh/ake
In 1987 she participated in the Fashion
to free them. The lines of demarcation
has produced and been the subject of
Institute of Technology's Three Women
create a pattern of surface design that
lavish publications including the Issey
show. Along with French designer
il;
34 i Radical Fashion
Madeleine Vionnet (whose inter-war work
Miyake cites as inspirational) and American
sportswear designer Claire McCardell, she
was selected Tor providing a new concept
and vision of dress. Creating for a total
way of life, rather than an ideal client,
Kawakubo has also designed chairs and
collaborates closely with her architects;
Rei Kawakubo and Comme ties Garcons
authored by design critic Deyan Sudjic
(1990) explores her multidisciplinary
output
and an entirely water-proof collection
(even fragile ruffled evening gowns) for
his Spring/Summer 2000 Function and
Practicality collection. Watanabe's 'digital
modern lighting for the future' show
for Spring/Summer 2001 was chosen to
launch the Paris collections. Alongside
more commercial striped tailoring, slip
dresses and tennis skirts were neon bright
colours; tops and dresses constructed from
space-age, jellybean discs and rectangles
and semi-transparent Jackets that glowed
in the dark.
Describing his product as 'techno couture',
Rei Kawakubo's proteg^ Junya Watanabe
is hailed as one of contemporary fashion's
greatest visionaries. After studying
at Bunka, In 1984 he was apprenticed at
Comme des Garcons and three years later
was promoted to chief designer of the
Tricot knitwear line. Since 1992 Watanabe
has worked under his own name as part
of Comme des Garcons and has shown
in Paris since 1993. Hauntingly beautiful
origami folding, honeycomb weaves and
garments entirely constructed from or
embellished with petal-like ruffles — from
chiffon dresses to thick woollen coats
and capes — are his forte. Especially noteworthy designs include 'caped' dresses
with slit arm holes for Autumn/Winter
1996-97; apron-fronted dresses that could
be worn over trousers or skirts for Spring/
Summer 1997; garments suspended from
coiled wire for Autumn/ Winter 1998-99
It is the ephemeral quality of fashion that
evokes Its greatest criticism - constantly
changing it can be of no lasting value.
While operating within the structure of
the industry, the output of these designers
transcends and is often entirely at odds
with seasonal trends. Critics draw on the
terminology of fine art and architecture
to describe clothes that can defy standard
fashion vocabulary. Defined as conceptual
- as mindratherthan body clothes - it is
often implied that ideas take precedence
over function. While some parallels clearly
exist, the designers are adamant that they
are not artists, they are in the business of
selling clothes and do so with impressive
commercial success. At the dawn of the
twenty-first century, Issey Miyake, Comme
des Garcons, Yohji Yamamoto and Junya
Watanabe present profoundly distinctive
collections. In a fashion era dominated by
pastiche and revival styles they are united
in their vision and modernity.
A dress is no longer a little, flat closed
thing.
But begins in the open sky and mingles
with (be courses of the stars,
So that she who wears it, carries the world
on her back.
The Universe is at Woman's beck and call.
Joseph Delteil for Sonia Delaunay,
The Coming Fashion (1923)
'A Dress Is No Longer a Little, Hat Closed Thing* 137
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