In the Mix: Channelling Japanese Traditions for Contemporary Clothing

Article on the work of Japanese Fashion and Textile Designer, Ryoko Haraguchi for her Japanese late Sind, Makiko Minagawa for her Japanese label HaaT and Katsuyuki and Leo Yoshida for their Japanese label Porter Classic. Increasingly, these days designers are turning to traditional materials and artisanal skills in order to perpetuate craftsmanship that could so easily be lost. Cultures that are particularly relevant include Japan with its rich textile heritage, and contemporary textile designers, both from the Orient and the Occident, are interpreting age-old methods of manipulating fibres and fabrics together with techniques that have been passed down through generations. The name behind the Japanese label Sind is textile/clothing designer Ryoko Haraguchi. Central to her signature is a combination of Japanese and Indian cultures – her textiles use ancient Japanese traditional dyeing techniques on Indian woven silks while her elegant and comfortable womenswear suggests Japanese modes of dress and Indian sarees with their layering and wrapping. The word Haat conjures up a variety of concepts: Sanskrit for ‘village market’, denoting a place of meeting and exchange, its English pronunciation alludes to ‘heart’, the very core of human life and emotion, while in Hindi, a similar word ‘haath’ means ‘hand’. The brand HaaT by Japanese designer Makiko Minagawa, lies under the umbrella of Issey Miyake Inc. Issey Miyake’s Textile Director for many years (since 1971), working at the Miyake Design Studio (MDS) to provide for his fashion creations, Makiko Minagawa translated often-abstract concepts into innovative textiles through material/technology experimentation. The names behind Porter Classic are well-known bag designer Katsuyuki Yoshida and his son Leo Yoshida. Porter Classic was founded in 2007 with the aim of promoting Japanese culture and craft – ‘Made in Japan’ while also reaching a global appeal. Their work is both traditional and experimental where artisanal techniques are honoured and new technologies explored. Their focus is menswear (that women also frequently borrow from) with some dedicated womenswear and accessories