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A Study of Miyake, Kawakubo and Yamamoto: Identifying their Success Factors as Revolutionary and Innovative Designers since the 1980s

By

SANDHYA LALLOO-MORAR

Submitted in fulfilment for the requirement of the degree

MAGISTER TECHNOLOGIAE: FASHION

In the

Department of Fashion Design Faculty of Art, Design & Architecture UNIVERSITY OF JOHANNESBURG Supervisor: Mrs D Smal Co-Supervisor: Dr K Ramdass

2012 ~c:~ JOHANNESBURG

DECLARATION

I Sandhya Lalloo-Morar hereby declare that the dissertation submitted for the Magister Technologiae: Fashion to the University of Johannesburg, apart from the help recognized, is my own work and has not previously been submitted to another university or institution of higher education for a degree.

SIGNATURE

,t i dartU(J.(~ ,Ztl/3 ·······················0················

DATE

ii DEDICATION

To all who find beauty in all things Japanese

iii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

This research document is the culmination of years of research not only in terms of reviewing written material, but of trying to understand a different culture with different traditions. I've always been mesmerised by Japanese design and this research study has taught me to further appreciate how a very sophisticated aesthetic could become an inherent part of daily living.

J respectfully acknowledge and thank my supervisor Mrs Desiree Smal, head of department at the University of Johannesburg, for giving me important suggestions and devoting precious time to reading and commenting on my research. Thank you for your continued support in guiding me down this winding path. My appreciation goes to Dr Kem Ramdass, my co-supervisor, for his constructive comments. To Glenda Hutchinson and Carol Lavelle, senior lecturers at the University of Johannesburg: I am grateful for sharing your knowledge on new insights and your books from your personal libraries. I also thank the University of Johannesburg for granting me bursaries for two years of my study.

I have appreciated the wonderful encouragement and enthusiasm of my family and friends throughout this process. To my father: thank you for allowing me to choose my own path. Thank you to my mother who called continually to check on my well­ being, and to my brother who constantly coaxed me to complete my study. I would like to give my biggest thank you to my husband, Hitesh, without whom completing this task would have been very difficult and the journey very lonely. Your guidance, patience and the numerous hours you have spent critically reading my documents and challenging my thoughts over the years has made me less scattered and more focused. I am deeply grateful and for that I give my love and thanks.

iv ABSTRACT

This is a study of the principal factors that have sustained the success of Issey Miyake, Yohji Yamamoto and Rei Kawakubo in innovative design from the 1980s to the present day. While fame is often fickle, these designers have continued to innovate and push the boundaries of design over the past three decades. As a consequence of the above they are viewed as revolutionary designers. Although there is a significant amount of evidence to account for their global acclaim in the 1980s, there is very limited information that clearly explains the factors contributing to their success as revolutionary designers. This research study focusses on discovering why these designers are regarded as revolutionary and understanding exactly what elements make them different to others. Its further aim is to extrapolate new design techniques that could be used by South African fashion designers.

This study is grounded within a qualitative research paradigm. Research design and data collection methods have been selected accordingly. An in-depth analysis of literature was conducted in order to provide a theoretical grounding for the study. In order to construct the findings of the study an interpretative approach was taken. Two research instruments were used. First, a literature survey aimed at assisting in clarifying the central issues and sub-themes of the focus of the study. Second, a visual content analysis aimed at performing a comparative analysis of selected past and present garment collections by the three Japanese designers. The data was analysed using semiotics: the study of signs denoted by a signifier and the element that it signifies. This study focused on five key signifiers that form the basis of fashion design.

By analysing the commonalities and differences of the five key signifiers the research findings conclude that the three Japanese designers rejected the structured designs of the prevailing European fashion in the '80s. The Japanese designers used clothes as a medium to convey new shapes. Miyake, Yamamoto and Kawakubo challenged Western definitions of beauty by deforming the natural shape of the human body, and

v introduced unisex clothing. The Japanese designers created deconstructed, unfinished clothing with deliberately aged or flawed fabrics, as design concepts. They pioneered the use of less fashionable textiles that were handmade and had a rough­ sewn look to them. They collaborated with textile designers and textile artists to create unique fabrics. They minimised cutting and sewing, thereby reducing waste. Yamamoto and Kawakubo popularised the colour black as a powerful and androgynous colour, and broke colour stereotypes.

The research question was: what are the principal factors that sustained the success of Miyake, Yamamoto and Kawakubo in innovative design since the 1980s to the present day? The findings suggest that the answer may be that these Japanese designers not only focused on creating incremental changes, but a combination of changes to all attributes of their designs.

To address the further question of what would be a way forward for designers wanting to push boundaries, the study extrapolated specific lessons and design techniques that may be used by designers to enhance their fashion design potential. Design should not be constrained by the shape of the human body. New ways of constructing clothing should be considered. Experimentation with textiles and collaboration with textile artists can lead to interesting clothing textures and finishes. However it is important to follow an educated approach to ensure a sustainable future in fashion design. The findings and recommendations of this study also provide a guide to unexplored areas for further research.

vi TABLE OF CONTENTS

DEDiCATION 111

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS IV

ABSTRACT ~.~ V

TABLE OF CONTENTS VII

LIST OF FIGURES X

LIST OF PLATES XI

CHAPTER 1: OVERVIEW OF THE STUDY 1

1.1 INTRODUCTION ...... •....•....•...... •...... •...... 1 1.2 RESEARCH RATIONALE 3 1.3 PURPOSE OF THE STUDy 4 1.3.1. RESEARCH QUESTION 4 1.3.2. AIMS AND OBJECTIVES OF THE RESEARCH 4 1.4 BACKGROUND INFORMATION 5 1.4.1. BLENDING EAST AND WEST DESIGN 5 1.4.2. ANTI-FASHION AS A REVOLUTIONARY DESIGN PROCESS 6 1.4.3. THE COLLECTIVE EFFECT 6 1.4.4. EXOTICISING JAPAN AND POSITIONING PARIS AS THE GLOBAL FASHION CAPITAL 7 1.5 RESEARCH METHODOLOGY AND DESIGN 8 1.6 CHAPTER BREAKDOWN 9 1.7 ENVISAGED CONTRIBUTIONS OF THE STUDy , 10 1.8 DELIMITATIONS OF THE STUDY 11 1.9 CONCLUSION 11

CHAPTER 2: RESEARCH METHODOLOGY 12

2.1 INTRODUCTION 12 2.2 RESEARCH PARADIGM 12 2.3 SAMPLING 13 2.4 DATA COLLECTION METHOD 14 2.4.1. LITERATURE REVIEW: 15 2.4.2. VISUAL CONTENT ANALYSIS: 15 2.5 DATA ANALYSIS 17 2.6 OBJECTIVITY AND VALIDITY OF THE STUDy 20 2.6.1. CREDIBILITY 20 2.6.2. TRANSFERABILITY 21

vii 2.6.3. DEPENDABILITY ...... •...... •...... •...... •.....•...... •....••• 21 2.6.4. CONFIRMABILITY .•...... •.....•...•...... •...... •...... •.....•.. 22 2.7 ETHiCS 22 2.8 CONCLUSION 22

CHAPTER 3: LITERATURE REViEW 24

3.1 INTRODUCTION ;; 24 3.2 THE FASHION LANDSCAPE OF THE 1980s 25 3.3 THE RISE AND DEVELOPMENT OF JAPANESE FASHION 33 3.4 JAPANESE VERSUS EUROPEAN 35 3.5 DECONSTRUCTION AS A CONCEPT IN CLOTHING 41 3.6 AVANT-GARDE AS A CONCEPT IN FASHION 43 3.7 JAPANESE AESTHETICS 45 3.8 BLENDING EAST AND WEST 47 3.9 PARIS AS THE FASHION CAPITAL 53 3.10 USING NEW TOOLS AND TECHNIQUES 56 3.11 USE OF THE COLOUR BLACK 59 3.12 THE USE OF MEDIA 65 3.13 CONCLUSION 68

CHAPTER 4: PRESENTATION OF VISUAL ANAYLSIS RESULTS 69

4.1 INTRODUCTION 69 4.2 FIT AND FORM 69 4.2.1 RESHAPING THE BODY 70 4.2.2 UNISEX CLOTHING 74 4.2.3 SUMMARY OF ANALYSIS: FIT AND FORM 79 4.3 CONSTRUCTION 79 4.3.1 SUMMARY OF ANALYSIS: CONSTRUCTION 89 4.4 TEXTILE AND TRIMMINGS 89 4.4.1 SUMMARY OF ANALYSIS: TEXTILES AND TRIMMINGS 100 4.5 FABRiCATION 100 4.5.1 SUMMARY OF ANALYSIS: FABRiCATION 107 4.6 USE OF COLOUR 107 4.6.1 SUMMARY OF ANALYSIS: USE OF COLOUR 112 4.7 SUMMARY OF THE RESULTS 112 4.8 CONCLUSION 117

CHAPTER 5: CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS 118

5.1 SUMMARY OF CHAPTERS 119 5.1.1 INTRODUCTION 119 5.1.2 RESEARCH METHODOLOGY AND DESIGN 119 5.1.3 LITERATURE REVIEW 121

viii 5.1.4 DISCUSSION OF THE VISUAL ANALYSIS FINDINGS .•...... •....•...... ••....•....••.•.. 122 5.2 SUGGESTIONS FOR FURTHER RESEARCH 126

REFERENCES 128

ADDITIONAL READING LIST 139

ix LIST OF FIGURES

Figure 1: Chanel (designer), Helmut Newton (photographer), Spring/Summer collection1983. 27

Figure 2: Chanel (designer), Daniele Batt (photographer). FalllWinter 1986. 27

Figure 3: Chanel (designer), David Seidner (photographer), FalllWinter Ready-to-wear 1988. 28

Figure 4: Thierry Mugler (designer), Helmut Newton (photographer), FalllWinter 1986. 30

Figure 5: Giorgio Armani (designer), Mert Alas and Marcus Piggot (photographers), Spring/Summer 1983. 31

Figure 6: Yves Saint Laurent (designer), David Seidner (photographer). FalllWinter 1982. 32

Figure 7: Yves Saint Laurent (designer), David Seidner (photographer). Spring/Summer 1982. 32

Figure 8: Yohji Yamamoto (designer), Niall Mcinerney (photographer), AutumnlWinter 1996-1997. 52

Figure 9: Yohji Yamamoto (designer), Niall Mcinerney (photographer), Spring/Summer Collection 1999. 55

Figure 10: Yohji Yamamoto (designer), Hiroshi Sugimoto (photographer), Spring/Summer 1999. 62

x LIST OF PLATES

Plate 1 FIT AND FORM: Reshaping the Body 72

Plate 1a: Issey Miyake, Spring/Summer 1985. 72

Plate 1b: Yohji Yamamoto, AutumnlWinter 1982. 72

Plate 1c: Rei Kawakubo, AutumnlWinter 1983-84. 72

Plate 1d: Rei Kawakubo, Spring/Summer 1982. 72

Plate 2 FIT AND FORM: Reshaping the Body 73

Plate 2a: Rei Kawakubo, Spring/Summer 1997. 73

Plate 2b: Rei Kawakubo, Spring/Summer 1997. 73

Plate 2c: Rei Kawakubo, AutumnlWinter 2010. 73

Plate 2d: Yohji Yamamoto, AutumnlWinter 2009. 73

Plate 3 FIT AND FORM: Unisex Clothing 76

Plate 3a: Issey Miyake, Spring/Summer 1985. 76

Plate 3b: Issey Miyake, AutumnlWinter 1987. 76

Plate 3c: Rei Kawakubo, AutumnlWinter 1981. 76

Plate 3d: Rei Kawakubo AutumnlWinter 1988. 76

Plate 3e: Yohji Yamamoto, AutumnlWinter 1984/85. 76

Plate 4 FIT AND FORM: Unisex Clothing 77

Plate 4a: Yohji Yamamoto, AutumnlWinter 2002. 77

Plate 4b: Yohji Yamamoto Spring/Summer 2012. 77

Plate 4c: Rei Kawakubo, AutumnlWinter 2004. 77

xi Plate 4d: Rei Kawakubo, AutumnlWinter 2006. 77

Plate 5 FIT AND FORM: Unisex Clothing 78

Plate Sa: Rei Kawakubo, AutumnlWinter 2011 Menswear. 78

Plate 5b: Rei Kawakubo, AutumnlWinter 2011. 78

Plate 6 CONSTRUCTION 85

Plate 6a: Issey Miyake, Spring/Summer 1988. 85

Plate 6b: Rei Kawakubo, AutumnlWinter 1983/84. 85

Plate 6e: Rei Kawakubo, Spring/Summer 1998. 85

Plate 6d: Rei Kawakubo, AutumnlWinter 1983/84. 85

Plate 6e: Rei Kawakubo, AutumnlWinter 1984. 85

Plate 7 CONSTRUCTION 86

Plate 7a: Rei Kawakubo, AutumnlWinter 1997-98. 86

Plate 7b: Rei Kawakubo, AutumnlWinter 2007. 86

Plate 7e: Rei Kawakubo, Spring/Summer 2008. 86

Plate 8 CONSTRUCTION 87

Plate 8a: Rei Kawakubo, AutumnlWinter 2009. 87

Plate 8b: Rei Kawakubo, Spring/Summer 2010. 87

Plate 8e: Rei Kawakubo, Spring/Summer 2011. 87

Plate 9 CONSTRUCTION 88

Plate 9a: Yohji Yamamoto, AutumnlWinter 1983. 88

Plate 9b: Yohji Yamamoto, AutumnlWinter 1989. 88

Plate sc: Yohji Yamamoto, AutumnlWinter 2003. 88

xii Plate 10 TEXTILES AND TRIMMINGS 96

Plate 10a: Issey Miyake, Spring/Summer 1985. 96

Plate 10b: Issey Miyake, Spring/Summer 1982. 96

Plate 10c: Issey Miyake 1985. 96

Plate 10d: Issey Miyake, Spring/Summer 1997. 96

Plate 11 TEXTILES AND TRIMMINGS: 97

Plate 11a: Rei Kawakubo, AutumnlWinter 1982. 97

Plate 11b: Rei Kawakubo, Spring/Summer 1983. 97

Plate 11c: Rei Kawakubo, AutumnlWinter 1990-91. 97

Plate 11d: Rei Kawakubo, Spring/Summer 2005. 97

Plate 12 TEXTILES AND TRIMMINGS: 98

Plate 12a: Yohji Yamamoto, Spring/Summer 1983. 98

Plate 12b: Yohji Yamamoto, AutumnlWinter 2009. 98

Plate 12c: Yohji Yamamoto, Spring/Summer 1998. 98

Plate 12d: Yohji Yamamoto, Spring/Summer 2005. 98

Plate 13 TEXTILES AND TRIMMINGS: 99

Plate 13a: Yohji Yamamoto, Spring/Summer 1995. 99

Plate 13b: Yohji Yamamoto, Spring/Summer 2002. 99

Plate 13c: Yohji Yamamoto, AutumnlWinter 1996. 99

Plate 13d: Yohji Yamamoto, AutumnlWinter 2000. 99

Plate 14 FABRICATION: 104

Plate 14a: Issey Miyake, Bodyworks 1983. 104

xiii Plate 14b: Issey Miyake, 1982. 104

Plate 14c: Issey Miyake A-POC. 104

Plate 15 FABRICATION: 105

Plate 15a: Issey Miyake, Spring/Summer 1991. 105

Plate 15b: Issey Miyake, Spring/Summer 1995. 105

Plate 15c: Issey Miyake, Spring/Summer 2010. 105

Plate 16 FABRICATION: 106

Plate 16a: Issey Miyake, 132 5 collection 2010. 106

Plate 16b: Issey Miyake, 132 5 collection 2010. 106

Plate 17 USE OF COLOUR: 110

Plate 17a: Rei Kawakubo, AutumnlWinter 1992-93. 110

Plate 17b: Rei Kawakubo, Spring/Summer 2009. 110

Plate 18 USE OF COLOUR: 111

Plate 18a: Yohji Yamamoto, AutumnlWinter 1983-84. 111

Plate 18b: Yohji Yamamoto, AutumnlWinter 1986. 111

Plate 18c: Yohji Yamamoto, AutumnlWinter 2003-04. 111

Plate 18d: Yohji Yamamoto, Spring/Summer 2007. 111

xiv CHAPTER 1: OVERVIEW OF THE STUDY

1.1 Introduction

This chapter aims to introduce and explain the process of the study by contextualising fashion events that have possibly influenced the three Japanese designers. The chapter explains the aims of the research, the research methodology and design, the contributions the study hopes to make, and the delimitations of the study.

This study is an investigation of Japanese designers, Issey Miyake, Yohji Yamamoto and Rei Kawakubo, who are widely regarded as leading innovators in the fashion world (Kawamura 2004:36; Niessen 2003:216; Sudilc 1990:84). Collectively they have been described as avant-garde designers (Sudjic 1990:13; Breward and Gilbert 2006:58), creators of the Japanese fashion revolution in Paris (Kawamura 2005:96), and exponents of anti-fashion design (Kondo 1997:118). These designers defied the prevailing fashion norms and produced clothes referred to as "wearable art" through the use of advanced technology (Leventon 2005:25).

While there are volumes of articles crediting them as revolutionary designers over the years, there is limited literature material that clearly articulates what these designers did differently. Various scholars have tried to uncover what it was that Japanese designers brought to international fashion (Koren 1984; Koda 1987; Coleridge 1989; Evans and Thornton 1989), yet none have been conclusive enough to provide the "recipe for success" that Miyake, Kawakubo and Yamamoto have achieved.

Moreover, these three Japanese designers have been able to continuously innovate and push the boundaries of fashion design, which has maintained their success over the past three decades (Quinn 2002:142; Gale 2004:15). Miyake's

1 innovation in design has seen him develop A-POC (A Piece of Cloth) - a design technique based on creating seamless clothing that requires minimal or no sewing. Kawakubo has innovated using abstract themes to conceptualise designs such as the crumpled piece of paper as inspiration to create a dress that distorts the natural shape of the female form. Yamamoto introduced unisex clothing and developed designs based on contourless bodies that not only oppose current fashion trends, but are. also designed for minimal cutting or waste of fabric while achieving sophisticated and graceful lines.

The innovations in designs by the three designers demonstrate their ability to embrace new technological developments and methodologies in textile design that led to new fashion trends. This ability to continuously innovate in design contributed to many of their successes over the years.

The three designers not only blended Japanese and Western fashions; they also created an opportunity for unfashionable traditional clothing to be acknowledged and transformed into fashion. Often referred to as anti-fashion, as defined by Polhemus and Proctor (1978:16), their method constituted a system designed to overthrow the existing regulations and norms of fashion design. They are regarded as having shared a disregard of the fashion system and made self-conscious attempts at deviating from the basic dressmaking conventions. Many examples have been cited in which they experimented with construction techniques or the way that the cloth is cut Niessen, Leshkowich & " Jones (2003:236), which led to innovative designs that brought acclaim and recognition from the media and their peers.

Therefore the study sets out to analyse the various design collections created by the three Japanese designers. The study aims to highlight the intricacies of their design approaches and methods, which may reveal specific lessons and/or design techniques that may be used by other designers to enhance their fashion design potential.

2 This study provides an understanding of how the three Japanese designers' tradition and advanced textile technology became an intrinsic part of fashion design practice in the late twentieth century. Issey Miyake, perhaps the most revered designer in Japan today, has consistently experimented with new ideas, materials and design directions that accommodate the modern lifestyle of contemporary women. While the work of Rei Kawakubo and Yohji Yamamoto was initially thought of as another form of antl-aesmetlc,' their contribution to the evolution of twentieth-century fashion has become more profound. Their understated design underlines the notions that culture, conceptualisation and experimentation can be as integral to fashion as it is to art. By the end of the century their intercultural and intergenerational influence helped change the face of fashion, influenced a whole generation of emerging designers and infiltrated the international fashion industry.

1.2 Research rationale

As a practising designer for almost a decade I have always had a keen interest in Japanese designers and their revolutionary designs. This has motivated me to investigate what sets these three Japanese designers apart from others. What are the reasons for them being regarded and portrayed as revolutionary by various other researchers and fashion critics?

Current literature on the topic reveals that although there is a significant amount of evidence that accounts for the Japanese designers' global acclaim in the 1980s, there is very limited information that clearly explains what factors contribute to their status as revolutionary designers. The results of the study

'Aesthetics is a branch of philosophy dealing with the nature of beauty, art and taste, and with the creation and appreciation of beauty. Anti-aesthetic is defined as un-aesthetic, ugly, nasty, unpalatable and unpleasant creation (Kawamura 2004: 24).

3 may allo\fJ us to extrapolate specific lessons and/or design techniques that may be used by designers to enhance their own fashion design potential.

1.3 Purpose of the study

Fashion designers attempting to push the boundaries of fashion and achieve lasting success need to complement their existing desiqn processes with new and lnnovatlve techniques. An understanding of these innovative design' techniques and their application is possible by studying three revolutionary proponents of design innovation: Miyake, Yamamoto and Kawakubo.

1.:J.1. Research question

Therefore, the fundamental question driving this research focus is:

What 2re the principal factors that have sustained the success of Issey Miyake, Yohji Yamamoto and Rei Kawakubo in innovative design from the 1~8()s to the present day?

1.3..2. Aims and objectives of the research

In order to address the research question and guide this study, the primary research aim is to establish the principal factors that have sustained the success o11ssey Miyake, Yohji Yamamoto and Rei Kawakubo in the innovation of designfrom 1980s to present day.

The following aims and objectives will be achieved:

1. Analyse the collections of Issey Miyake, Yohji Yamamoto and Rei Ka\fJakubo to clearly define what they did differently in Paris in the 1980s. 2. Deterrnlne the principal factors that distinguished them from their peers in the 1980s.

4 3. Determine what innovations in design they have contributed in the past three decades. 4. Compare their design techniques and approaches to design in the 1980s to their current techniques and approaches, to determine if there are any commonalities. 5. Extract the findings and document them for use by fashion designers striving to differentiate themselves in the market.

1.4 Background information

The background information discusses some of the reasons for the three Japanese designers being regarded as revolutionary, as portrayed by various other researchers and fashion critics, documented as follows:

1.4.1. Blending East and West design

The first reason, as documented by Da Cruz (2004), was that these designers blended age-old couture tailoring with Japanese design ethos. Each had used Japan's rich visual heritage as a foundation for aesthetic, social and sometimes political collages of cultures worldwide to derive new Western fashions. Davis (1994:187) further describes how these designers placed great significance on clothing inherited from the past and designed through necessity, using adapted dyed textiles and qUilting from ancient Japan. Their Paris collections portrayed designs based on the body not being restricted, playing on creating different silhouettes for the body through elegant wrapping and packaging.

While the incorporation of Japanese minimalist styles is evident in Miyake, Kawakubo and Yamamoto's collections, this was not something that was completely new to Europe. Kenzo, Hanae Mori and Miyake himself had introduced Japanese minimalism in the 1970s, with little recognition (Kawamura 2004).

5 1.4.2. Anti-fashion as a revolutionary design process

Upon further analysis of their designs, one could surmise that these designers not only blended Japanese and Western fashions, but also created the opportunity for unfashionable traditional clothing to be acknowledged and transformed into fashion. Often referred to as anti-fashion, as defined by Polhemusand Proctor (1978:16), their method constituted a system designed to overthrow the existing regulations and norms of fashion design. What these designers shared was a disregard of the fashion system and a self-conscious attempt at reworking its conventions. They consciously tried to break dressmaking conventions, for example, by placing seams on the outside of the garment and by experimenting with the way in which the cloth is cut (Niessen et a/2003:236).

1.4.3. The collective effect

While breaking all conventions as a designer may provide some shock effect, it does not necessarily label one as a revolutionary or creative designer. Fashion is a collective activity and not an individual task. As such it requires multiple designers to embrace and create a trend (Kawamura 2004:3; Kawamura 2005:60).

Niessen et a/ (2003:221) point out that Issey Miyake had been presenting his ready-to-wear collections in Paris since the 1970s, while Yohji Yamamoto and Rei Kawakubo had been successful in their competitive domestic markets before their international breakthroughs. The common effect of this group of individuals presenting their revolutionary collections in Paris at the same time in the early 1980s, grouped under the label "Japanese", created an effect that this was not just the emergence of something new, but the recognition of a style at a higher level in Paris (Kondo 1997:60; Niessen eta/2003:49).

6 1.4.4. Exoticising Japan and positioning Paris as the global fashion capital

While each of these reasons presented above support the notion that Miyake, Kawakubo and Yamamoto actually did something different, there is another view that perhaps the Japanese revolution was merely an orchestration by the Paris fashion industry to stamp Paris as the leading fashion capital in the world by accepting and giving recognition to designers that were non-Western (Niessen et a/2003:217).

Consider for a moment Barthes's (1990:3) distinction between image clothing and written clothing. Photographed and drawn garments, defined as image clothing, elicit a very different perception to a garment described in words, defined as written clothing. When applied to the Japanese trend in the 1980s, the image clothing represented clothes with technically novel conceptions that ignored conventional dressmaking techniques, while the written clothing conveyed the story of exotic Japan. By exoticising the Japanese collections and praising them, Paris positioned itself as the fashion capital that transcended all boundaries of the world (Niessen et a/2003:217).

Davis (1994:34) and Kawamura (2004:94) also described their collections as unconventional, and viewed them as a satirical revolution in Paris that set the stage for the breaking of boundaries between the West and the East.

While there is a multitude of reasons that can be attributed to the combined effect that made these designers revolutionary during the 1980s, Miyake, Kawakubo and Yamamoto have been able to transcend time and continue to reinvent themselves to this day by pushing the boundaries of innovation in design (Quinn 2002:142; Gale & Kaur 2004:15).

As such, this research study is focused on analysing the rise of Miyake, Kawakubo and Yamamoto in order to identify exactly what they did differently that led to them being labelled as revolutionary designers. The findings

7 extracted from this research are aimed at complementing the existing fashion design process in South Africa to enable designers to push the boundaries of fashion innovation.

1.5 Research methodology and design

The nature of this research is based on an interpretive paradigm as described by Elizabeth Henning, Wilhelm van Rensburg and Brigitte Smit (2004:19). The interpretive paradigm is based on understanding and interpreting the realities at the core of the research. The approach is based on a communal process whereby knowledge is constructed by observation and scrutinised and/or endorsed by others. This method of research is specifically suited to this study as the objective is to understand the commonalities between these designers through multiple sources of information to determine what laid the foundation for their success in design innovation.

The first phase of this research study is focused on data collection. Two instruments will be used in the study to gather data: literature review and visual content analysis of designer collections.

The second phase of this project is to reflect and synthesise the research from the previous phase and clearly articulate the findings related to the success factors of the aforementioned designers. As highlighted above, the interpretive paradigm is used to synthesise the information collected.

The final phase deals with the review of all the findings synthesised from the study. A summary of the conclusions, shortfalls in research and suggestions on further research will be made. The write-up process will be guided by the chapter breakdown listed below.

8 1.6 Chapter breakdown

The following section highlights the proposed content outline of the chapter divisions.

Chapter 1: Introduction • commences with an introduction into the research topic and is as follows: purpose of the study, problem statement, fundamental question guiding the research, the envisaged contributions to the study, and the delimitations of the study. The research assumptions, scope and limitations will be clearly defined in this chapter.

Chapter 2: Research methodology and design • will document the research design process and methodology employed to analyse and interpret the reviewed information. The research synthesis mechanisms and approach to the study will be presented. The specific collections by each designer over the period of the study will be examined through archived literature, video footage, and online fashion sites. The chapter explains the methods selected and involved in approaching the analysis, as well as issues concerning ethical procedures, credibility, transferability, dependability and confirmability of the study.

Chapter 3: Literature review· presents the pertinent literature reviewed in order to provide a solid theoretical framework for the research. The chapter will focus on presenting all data gathered from the various literature sources. The various concepts relating to the study in terms of revolutionary design, avant­ garde and anti-fashion will be defined. To address research objectives 1 and 2 defined in section 1.3.2 of Chapter One, the Paris fashion landscape of the 1980s will be sketched to provide a snapshot of the prevailing trends of the time. This will be followed by a detailed account of the three Japanese designers and their designs.

9 Chapter 4: Findings & discussion - will present and discuss the findings of the research study. The chapter relates to the reasons why the three Japanese designers were and are still regarded as revolutionary. A discussion related to each element will be presented based on a collation of all the information reviewed and acquired through the research process. This chapter addresses research objectives 3 and 4 defined in section 1.3.2 of Chapter One by comparing the Japanese designers' design techniques and approaches as well as determining their contributions to innovations in design in the past three decades.

Chapter 5: Conclusions & recommendation - brings the.study to a close by supplying a summary of all the chapters and will review the various findings in accordance with the scope and limitations of this research study. Finally, recommendations will be made on which elements may be adopted within the fashion design process in future. This chapter addresses research objective 5 in section 1.3.2 of Chapter One by defining the key elements that could be used by designers to differentiate themselves. The chapter also concludes and addresses the primary research aim to establish the principal factors that sustained the Japanese designers' design innovation from the 1980s to present day.

1.7 Envisaged contributions of the study

It is anticipated that the findings of the study will contribute to the provision of a thorough and well-documented resource available to designers. The resulting recommendations will provide direction for further research to future designers interested in this field.

10 1.8 Delimitations of the study

This research study does not focus on South African trends or a creation of a new South African identity through fashion. Neither does it focus on changing the fashion education process in South Africa. The scope of this research is primarily related to determine what success,factors, as employed by the three revolutionary Japanese designers, may be adopted by South African fashion designers in order to innovate in their design process.

1.9 Conclusion

Chapter One provided an introduction to the research topic as well as the purpose of the study, problem statement, fundamental question quldinq the research, the envisaged contributions to the study and the delimitations of the study. The research assumptions, scope and limitations were clearly defined in this chapter.

Chapter Two will discuss the research design of the study. The next section will describe the research methodology that will be followed to address questions that were put forward as possible solutions to the sub-problems. The research paradigm will be discussed as well the sample selected. The data collection method, data analysis are discussed as well as the objectivity, validity, credibility, transferability, dependability, confirmability and ethics.

11 CHAPTER 2: RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

2.1 Introduction

Chapter Two discusses the research design of the study. This section describes the methodology that will be followed to address the research questions that were put forward as possible solutions to the sub-problems identified in the literature review section. The research paradigm is discussed as well the sample selected. The data collection method and data analysis are discussed. The objectivity and validity and the assumptions of the qualitative paradigm of credibility, transferability, dependability, confirmability and ethics are also accounted for in this chapter.

2.2 Research paradigm

The following section discusses the paradigm applied in the research. The research was based on an interpretive paradigm as described by Henning et al (2004:19). The interpretive paradigm is based on understanding and interpreting the realities as the core of the research. The approach was based on a collective process whereby knowledge is constructed by observation and scrutinised and endorsed by others. This method of research was specifically suited to this study as the objective was based on understanding the commonalities between these designers through multiple sources of information in order to determine the commonalities in their designs.

As described by Henning et al (2004:19), the methodology associated with interpretive research was based on qualitative data collection processes such as unstructured observation followed by detailed analysis.

12 2.3 Sampling

This research utilises a purposive sample. A purposive sample is a non­ representative subset of a larger population, and is constructed to serve a very specific need or purpose (Trochim 2006:17). A subset of a purposive sample is a snowball sample. In snowball sampling, one begins by identifying information that meets the criteria for inclusion in that study, and the rest of the sample is acquired as the study progresses (Trochim 2006:27).

Based on the abovementioned snowball sample, this study provides an analysis of the publicised collections of the three designers' collections over the last four decades. A minimum of two design collections per decade per designer was analysed to ensure sufficient sampling of their work. Given that the three designers' collections over the last three decades are not adequately documented or published, samples are based on those collections that drew media attention and have been well documented by other researchers. Hence in the table that follows, the block indicating the year 2000 for Kawakubo and Yamamoto have more collections selected.

Table 1: List of selected collections

Designer 1980s 1990s 2000s 2010s

Issey SpringlSummer 1982 SpringlSummer 1997 Spring/Summer 2000 Spring/Summer 2010 Miyake Bodyworks 1983 SpringlSummer 1991 Spring/Summer 2005 1325 collection 2010

SpringlSummer 1985 Spring/Summer 1995.

AutumnlWinter 1987

SpringlSummer 1988

13 Rei AutumnIWinter 1981 AutumnIWinter 1990-91 AutumnIWinter 2004 Spring/Summer 2010. Kawakubo Spring/Summer 1982 AutumnIWinter 1992-93 Spring/Summer 2005 AutumnIWinter 2010

AutumnIWinter 1983-84 Spring/Summer 1997 AutumnIWinter 2006 Spring/Summer 2011

AutumnIWinter 1988 Spring/ Summer 1998 AutumnIWinter 2007 AutumnIWinter 2011

I·" SpringlSummer 2008.

SpringlSummer 2009

AutumnIWinter 2009.

Yohji AutumnIWinter 1982 AutumnIWinter 1989-90 AutumnIWinter 2000. Autumn IWinter 2010 Yamamoto AutumnIWinter 1983 Spring/Summer 1995 AutumnIWinter 2001. SpringlSummer 2012

AutumnIWinter 1984-85 AutumnIWinter 1996 Spring/Summer 2002

AutumnIWinter 1986 Spring/Summer 1998 AutumnIWinter 2002

AutumnIWinter 2003

AutumnIWinter 2004

Spring/Summer 2005

Spring/Summer 2007

AutumnIWinter 2009

2.4 Data collection method

Two instruments were used in the study to gather data: literature review and visual content analysis of the three Japanese designers' collections.

14 2.4.1. Literature review:

A critical analysis of literature pertinent to the study was performed to provide an understanding of Miyake's, Kawakubo's and Yamamoto's designs. This review assisted in clarifying the central issues and sub-themes of focus within the study. As De Vos (2003:193) describes, the review addresses the most important ideas, logically links statements and findings from the various materials, and notes discrepancies and weaknesses identified in other studies. Information has been sourced from books, museum exhibitions, online fashion

sites, newspapers and magazines, both past and present. <

2.4.2. Visual content analysis:

The visual content analysis includes a comparative analysis of selected images of past and present collections by the three designers. The images of the collections were analysed from documented curated museum exhibitions, books, online fashion sites, newspapers and magazines. A minimum of two images per collection per decade per designer was analysed to ensure that sufficient examples of their work were reviewed. A comparison with other selected designers that showcased alongside them in Paris during the 1980s (e.g. Coco Chanel, Yves Saint Laurent and others) was also performed to highlight key differences. The images form visual references that are divided into five criteria and grouped accordingly. These visual references are referred to as plates. The five attributes namely fit and form, construction, textiles and trimmings, fabrication and use of colour, represent the key elements of clothing design. As per Aldrich (1997:5), the basic rules for clothing design are based on sound principles that relate to these attributes and, when broken, lead to creative interpretations that are featured in fashion.

The analysis was aimed at documenting the visual similarities and differences between the various collections based on five criteria defined as follows:

15 a. Fit and form: fit and form refers to something that perfectly aligns to the shape and contours of whatever it is on. Fit and form is an integral element of how the design effectively portrays the shape of any body. b. Construction: construction ls the foundation of clothing and fashion design, which involves creating a three-dimensional garment from a two-dimensional design or pattern in order to create a shape and fit on a moving body. Garment construction involves both technical and design application. When creating a garment the designer decides on the construction lines, dart position, seams, pockets, collars, edge finishing, volume and structure. c. Textiles and trimmings: textiles are the bulldlnq blocks of all garments and can be defined as types of cloth or woven fabric, produced by weaving, knitting, or felting. The textures, handle and surface qualities of textiles play an important part in achieving the total effect of garment. Trim is defined as the additional decoration, typically incorporated along the edges of a garment and sometimes in contrasting colour or fabric. d. Fabrication: fabrication in fashion refers to the manufacturing processes relating to cutting, bending and assembling of clothes with the use of technology. e. Use of colour: each season a colour theme emerges; occasionally spontaneously, often imposed by designers or entrepreneurs in the fashion industry (Aldrich 1997:5). Colour has different associations in different countries and cultures. Associations with colour defined by Faber Birren (1978:126) are by our senses, language, objects or forms, and personality

16 characteristics. Colour conveys moods that attach themselves to human feelings and our psychic make-up in an almost automatic fashion. Individual colours have a variety of cultural associations, such as national colours. The field of colour psychology attempts to identify the effects of colour on human emotion and activity.

2.5 Data analysis

According to Durrheim (1999:198), one of the difficulties in working with images is the range of complex theoretical methodologies available. Durrheim (1999:198) suggests that the primary methodology that .has been used to considerable effect in this area is the analysis of sign systems. The study of signs, widely referred to as semiotics, was proposed by the founder of modern linguistics, Ferdinand de Saussure (Kawamura 2011 :83). Kawamura (2004:7), Barthes (1967:13) and Lurie (1981 :9) base their semiotic analysis of clothing and fashion on structural linguistics, initiated by Ferdinand de Saussure's Course in General Linguistics (1916).

Before the 1960s, semiology remained just an idea until other scholars like anthropologists and literary critics developed the methodological insights of the semiological science that Saussure had postulated in the 1900s (Kawamura 2011 :82). Saussure examines the relationship between speech and the evolution of language, and investigates language as a structured system of signs (Bally and Sechehaye 1966:63).

Saussure emphasised that signs are essentially arbitrary and, therefore, this flexibility allows signs to be combined in so many ways to convey so many different meanings (Kawamura 2011 :81).

According to Saussure, there are two levels to the sign: the 'signifier' and the 'signified'. Both of them together create the sign. Wells (1977:3) and Andersson and Trudgill (1992:75) explain that the 'signifier' is the form that the sign takes,

17 and the 'signified' is the concept it represents. The 'signifier' without the 'signified' has no meaning whatsoever and it simply exists. The 'signified' cannot exist without the 'signifier' either. Therefore, the sign needs two levels.

The relationships between the symbolising elements, the signifier, the meaning that is symbolised, and the signified, as well as the relationships of similarity and difference among the various symbols of a given cultural system, are often the focus of the semiotic perspective (Rossi 1983:12). While Saussure believed that the relationship between the 'signifier' and the 'signified' is arbitrary, Barthes and Lurie argued that there was a contextual reference.

Alison Lurie, in her book The Language of Clothes (2000:184), makes a direct analogy between language and clothes. Lurie (2000:185) rejected the idea of its arbitrary relationship as she 'argued that language is just like clothes, and clothes just like language. Lurie (2000:185) explains, "we use language to communicate verbally, and we also use clothes to communicate non-verbally." Lurie (2000:185) suggests that the more vocabulary you know, the more sophisticated your speech will be. In the same manner the more clothes you have, the more sophisticated and stylish you will look. Barthes said that it is better to describe this relationship as not arbitrary but "motivated", which implies that the relationship is not a natural one but is still inseparable from "arbitrary" (Kawamura 2011 :89).

Barthes's analysis of fashion (1967) is based on a system of meaning constructed from visual and linguistic details. Barthes deconstructs each piece of garment in making a semiological analysis of "clothing', although he calls it 'fashion'. For him, fashion is a language in a structural sense. Roland Barthes (1967:8) used images of clothing in fashion magazines and texts. He analysed written fashion in technically linguistic terms, such as "a jacket with an open collar" of which "a jacket" is an object, "open" is a support and a "collar" a variant. Object is a basic element or entity of dress. Details such as collar, sleeve or buttons are secondary elements, and each one of the "supports" has

18 "variants'" such as open/closed, wide/narrow and so forth. Numerous variations of objects, supports and variants define the signifiers within the clothing system (Kawamura 2004:8). The combinations and relationships of these signifiers create different fashions and what is fashionable.

In his book The Fashion System (1967), Barthes does not talk about a fashion system, but a clothing system. Barthes's (1967:89) analysis is useful in finding a distinction between these two separate systems. The clothing system teaches us the conventions about how and what to wear in a specific context because each social context conveys different meanings. There are assumptions about what Western clothes are supposed to look like (Kawamura 2004:8). We have learned through socialisation that a shirt usually has two sleeves or a pair of pants has two legs. Similarly, there are rules that are taken for granted as far as dressing is concerned. These are unwritten laws or 'folkways,2 (Sumner 1940); (Sumner & Keller 1927) and these sartorial conventions make a clothing system.

Applying Gaimster's (2011) visual research methods to fashion, clothing can be analysed in terms of the following key parameters: fit and form, construction techniques, textile and trimmings, fabrication, and use gf colour. These five key parameters represent the signs that are analysed within each collection of the designers in this study. The signs provide the key elements to distinguish these designers from their peers. According to Gaimster (2011 :144) this technique is referred to as visual literacy: the ability to interpret images and understand the ideas conveyed by them. The results of the analysis of the five parameters and what they signified for each designer provides the basis of the material, which is then evaluated to deduce the commonalities. These commonalities represent

2 Folkways: a term coined by Sumner to describe the norms that are simply the customary, normal, habitual ways a group does things. Folkways is a broad concept that covers relatively permanent traditions, such as a white wedding dress, shirt with two sleeves. A key feature of all folkways is that there is no strong feeling of right or wrong attached to them (Kawamura 2005:23).

19 the motivating factors that are then discussed to support the hypothesis of this research.

2.6 Objectivity and validity of the study

Producing valid and reliable information in research is critical, as the issues determine the "objectivity and credibility" of the research (Silverman 2004: 238). Babbie and Mouton (2003:267-278) and De Vos (2003:351,352) propose that the constructs that most appropriately reflect the assumptions of the qualitative paradigm are: credibility, transferability, dependability and confirmability. The following is a discussion of how these issues were accounted for in this study.

2.6.1. Credibility

According to De Vos (2003:351) a study needs to demonstrate that "the inquiry was conducted in such a manner as to ensure that the subject was accurately identified and described". According to Kawamura (2005:16) different types of visual records have been used to research dress and fashion. Writers of fashion, especially art historians, examine actual garments. As part of visual culture, fashion has often been studied through paintings, illustrations and photographs. De Vos (2003:351,352) states that data derived in this manner "cannot help but be valid".

Whilst assessment of literature is regarded as secondary information, it is far more pertinent to this research study rather than information acquired through interviews (Kawamura 2005:16). Books and articles documenting the collections were published closer to the period under study. Biographies, catalogues, memoirs, essays and recorded interviews with the designers and related fashion critics also provided a recollection of events from the time. The aim of this study is to elucidate the research subject matter by providing various sources of information that help to validate the authenticity of the visual

20 representations, and provide an authoritative representation of the events of the time (Kawamura 2005:17).

2.6.2. Transferability

According to De Vos (2003:352) transferability generally concerns the extent to which findings can be applied to other situations. ",1 order to enhance the transferability of the study an attempt was made to provide an in-depth description of the Japanese designers' success factors as well as recommendations for other designers. The aim of the study was not to provide a "recipe of success". Rather, procedures and approaches have been presented for designers wanting to experiment and push boundaries. The recommendations offered can be generalised for new research or can be transferred to other situations or settings.

2.6.3. Dependability

Babbie and Mouton (2003:278) state, "an inquiry must also provide its audience with evidence that if it were to be repeated with same or similar respondents in the same or similar context, its findings would be similar". Babbie and Mouton (2003:278) propose the notion of an "inquiry audit", whereby documents and interview notes account for dependability and should be available for examination. As suggested by De Vos (2003:352), if the research design of this study includes multiple informants this would strengthen the study's usefulness for other settings. The application of the defined criteria set within the visual analysis ensures a consistent approach to the Japanese designers' collections. This defined criteria ensures dependability and repeatability of the analysis and results within the study.

21 2.6.4. Confirmability

De Vos (2003:352) states that confirmability should capture the traditional concept of objectivity and that this can be obtained by reviewing data produced by others. Babbie and Mouton (2003:278) refer to a "confirmability audit trail", that is an adequate trail should be left to enable the auditor to determine if the conclusion, interpretations and recommendations can be traced to their sources and if they are supported by the inquiry. Babbie and Mouton (2003:278) describe confirmability as "the degree to which the findings are the product of the focus of the inquiry and not the bias of the researcher". The use of two research instruments within the study provides a mechanism whereby the results of the analysis and conclusions are confirmed and supported through findings presented within the literature survey. The bias is eliminated as the literature survey is based on articles and books produced closer to the period of the study.

2.7 Ethics

Research projects should be guided by a code of ethics. Kumar (1999:190) describes ethics as: "in accordance with principles of conduct that are considered correct, especially those of a given profession or group". This research was carried out following the general best practice principles according to the University of Johannesburg's regulations to protect human dignity and to ensure all material is managed and referenced correctly.

2.8 Conclusion

Chapter Two was aimed at explaining the research design of the study. The chapter explained semiotics, the theory of signs that is applied to Miyake, Kawakubo and Yamamoto's selected collections over the last three decades. The chapter also discussed Gaimster's (2011) visual research methods of

22 fashion, which define the key parameters under which clothing can be analysed. These visual research methods provide the mechanism to analyse the designers' collections in order to extract the key factors that demonstrate how the Japanese designers challenged the traditional Western clothing system and invented a new clothing system.

The chapter concluded by explaining how issues concerning the constructs of credibility, transferability, dependability and confirmability, as well as ethical procedures have been dealt with as part of the research process. The next chapter will comprise a review of literature pertinent to the purpose of this research study in order to provide a solid theoretical framework for the research.

23 CHAPTER 3: LITERATURE REVIEW

3.1 Introduction

In order to provide a sound theoretical grounding for the study, this chapter examines the related literature in the areas most pertinent to the purpose of the research.

Since the 1970s the work of Japanese designers has had an unequivocal impact on Western dress. Initiated by Issey Miyake, and followed ten years later by Rei Kawakubo and Yohji Yamamoto, these Japanese designers' work offered a new expression of creativity that challenged the established notions of fashion.

This study examines how cultural traits of these Japanese designers are embedded in their design work, providing a cultural richness and meaning that defies and deconstructs the notion of a globalised fashion industry. Miyake, Kawakubo and Yamamoto produced work that was ingrained with the history of the past, yet looked toward the future through an amalgam of ideas and functions. All three Japanese designers rejected "change-for-change's sake", and instead worked on the refinement and evolution of their previous collections. This evolution of an idea formed the basis of Japanese fashion.

The objective of this literature review is to:

1. Sketch the Paris fashion landscape and give a general sense of what was happening in fashion during the 1980s.

2. Expand on the other Japanese designers showcasing in Paris that were regarded as exotic designers who relied on traditional Japanese designs.

3. Give a brief recount of how the Japanese revolution in Paris fashion was initiated by Miyake, Kawakubo and Yamamoto to create a new fashion identity.

24 4. Explore some of the reasons that contributed to the three Japanese designers being regarded as revolutionary, as documented by other researchers. These include the use of Japanese aesthetics, blending Eastern and Western design elements, and focusing on specific elements of design related to deconstruction and use of monochromatic colour.

5. Discuss the role of media and the positioning of Paris as the international capital of fashion and its impact on the Japanese designers' collections.

The next section sketches the Paris fashion landscape and gives a general sense of what was happening in fashion during the 1980s.

3.2 The fashion landscape of the 1980s

This section explains what European designers were doing during the 1980s in Paris. Chanel, Dior, Yves Saint Laurent, Thierry Mugler, and Italians Gianni Versace and Giorgio Armani were the leading designers of the European fashion establishment. These European designers were easily identifiable by their style, structure and use of colour in their designs. The European designers' style was characterised as haute couture? French for,lIhigh sewing" or "high dressmakingII. Haute couture refers to the creation of exclusive custom-made clothing, made to order for a specific customer, usually made from high-quality expensive fabric, sewn with extreme attention to detail and finished by the most experienced and capable seamstresses using time-consuming, hand-executed techniques (Shaeffer 2001:5).

3 Haute couture: The couturier Charles Frederick Worth was the father of haute couture, revolutionising how dressmaking had been previously perceived. Worth made it so the dressmaker became the artist of garnishment: a fashion designer. Haute couture designers included Poiret, Vionnet, Fortuny, Lanvin, Chanel, Schiaperelli, Balenciaga, and Dior. Some of these fashion houses still exist today, under the leadership of modern designers following in Worth's footsteps (Shaeffer 2001).

25 Historically Western female clothes have been fitted to expose the contours of the body. Women's clothes produced by Western designers in the 1980s moved towards a tighter fit and formality.

Coco Chanel, known as the designer of the "little black dress" and famous Chanel suits, was a great exponent of haute couture. According to Shaeffer (2001 :7) Coco Chanel's collarless, braid-trimmed cardigan jacket and slim, graceful skirts have been popular in Europe since the 1950s. Coco Chanel's designs placed emphasis on the waist and shoulders with form-fitting cuts, resulting in designs that incorporated pencil skirts, wide belts, big hats, and shoulder pads in jackets. The designs portrayed a structured and fitted look meant to accentuate the contours of the body. Although Coco Chanel died in 1971, her designs influenced many American and European designers, who continued to reinforce her concept of classic fitted clothes (Baudot 1996:20).

According to Baudot (1996:27) one such designer was Karl Lagerfeld, who took over designing the Chanel couture line in 1983 and its ready-to-wear collections the following year. He was widely credited with bringing Chanel back to the forefront of fashion, by taking original Chanel designs and modifying them to appeal to younger customers. The fitted, traditionally constructed, ready-to-wear suit in Figure 1 depicts the style of the 1980s.

26 CHANEL

CHANEL BO UTIOUE . ~

3 1. RU E C ....~BON. P .A~ IS ,. TEL 201 Il.l 35

~~~~: ·:':"~ ·= ~ ; :-::: ::-~-:'':.:::''''T ... ,. .. . ~ ...... QI'>:I ...... :l,oO,"oU.. -~ ""OOo

Figure 1: Chanel (designer) , Spring/Summer 1983 . Fitted Chanel suit, (Newton 1983).

A style that was popular among the European designers in the 1980s was the fitted quilted, embroidered and sequined Chanel suit, as depicted in Figure 2.

Figure 2: Chane l (designer) , FalllWinter 1986. Fitted quilted Chanel suit, (Bott 1986).

27 Figure 3: Chanel (designer), FalllWinter Ready-to-wear 1988. Green checked Chanel skirt,

(Seidner 1998).

Illustrated in Figure 3 is a garment by Karl Lagerfeld for Chane!. The green checked skirt emphasised the use of bold bright colours and the long sleeve fitted black lace bodice depicted the seductive silhouette that was the prevailing trend of the '80s.

Frankel (2010:63) states that power dressing was popular in Europe and Americ a in the early 1980s. Men and women opted to wear severely tailor ed suits to project an image of efficiency. Women 's tailored suits emphasised the curvaceous bosom, narrow waist and natural proportions of the female shape.

Italian fashion designer Gianni Versace's designs were described by Turner (1 998:1 22) as flashy , sexy, beautifully cut outfits. As per Weber (1 994:68),

28 Versace's garments evoked sensuality and sexuality with the use of extreme colours, patterns, fabrics and leathers. Versace startled the world with his clothes made from metal and leather (Turner 1998:172). He was one of the few designers to feature leather at this time. The designs accentuated the contours of the body as well as drawing attention to these contours through the striking colours or patterns.

Mason (1999:56) relates that, in 1982, Versace won the first of a series of awards, "L'Occhio d'Oro," (Golden Eye) for the best fashion designer of the 1982 FalllWinter collection for women. This collection displayed Versace's famous metal dress referred to as 'Oroton'. Versace worked with German engineers to develop the mesh material. In later collections metal dresses were made in bright colours, thus further emphasising the use of bright colours and metallic clothing that accentuated the body (Stegemeyer 1996:24).

Baudot (1997:37) and Stegemeyer (1996:24) highlight Thierry Mugler's body­ conscious designs, consisting of suits, dresses and jacket pieces that emphasised a woman's elegance. Mugler, according to Baudot (1997:68), was subsequently labelled a "provocative designer" by the media. Martin (1987:35) suggests that Mugler created ensembles from embossed leather and silk chiffon, trimmed with beads and feathers, which sculpted the female body (as seen in Figure 4).

29 Figure 4: Thierry Mugler (designer), FalllWinter 1986. Mugler embossed leather ensemble, (Newton 1986).

Giorgio Armani created the "wedge-shaped power suit", enhancing the shoulders and padding to the shoulders to enhance the upper body. The lapels were widened and the broadest point of the lapel, called the gorge, was lowered. While casual and comfortable, the new style was what the April 1982 New York Times stated endowed men with a "broad-shouldered, slim-hipped glamour" (La Feria 1990:1). Armani's focus was on using traditional tailoring techniques to sculpt the clothes to expose the contours of the body (Kawamura 2004:137). Armani's women's wear collection of 1983 consisted of tailored fitted jackets with fabrics that included silk-lined cotton and mixtures of velvet, silk, wool and linen, in multiple prints and with embellished necklines on see-through bodices (as depicted in Figure 5).

30 Figure 5: Giorgio Armani (designer),Spring/Summer 1983. Armani fitted suit and dress with embellished neckline, (Alas & Piggot 1983).

According to Stegemeyer (1996:145) , French fashion designer Yves Saint Laurent, known as one of the world's most influential designers of his time, was closely associated with the "Swinging Sixties". This outlook was embodied in his "see-through" blouses of 1968 and his incorporation of "street style" into fashion goods. Stegemeyer (1996:145) mentions that Yves Saint Laurent also had a great love of the theatre. Theatre became an important source of ideas and inspiration for his couture collections, resulting in flamboyant ensembles in the 1980s. Mises (1982:41) states that Yves Saint Laurent's collections were all about colour. Yves Saint Laurent's use of metallic fabrics, bold bright colou rs and form-fitted clothing can be seen in Figure 6 and Figure 7.

3 1 Figure 6: Yves Saint Laurent (designer), FalllW inter 1982. Yves Saint Laurent see­ through blouse, (Seider 1982).

Figure 7: Yves Saint Laurent (designer), Spring/Summer 1982, Yves Saint Laurent form-fitted dress with bold colours, (Seider 1982).

32 This section explained what leading European designers - Chanel, Dior, Yves Saint Laurent, Thierry Mugler, Versace and Armani - were doing during the 1980s in Paris with regards to their style, structure and use of colour in their designs. The next section explores the rise and development of Japanese fashion in the West.

3.3 The rise and development of Japanese fashion

This section explores the rise and development of Japanese designers in the West. According to (Fukai 2010:23; Kawamura 2004:16; Steele 2010:45), European fashion in the 1980s was regarded as the universal fashion, in the sense that the European fashion appealed to all international markets.

For many years fashion trends in Japan, like street styles, were a derivative of the trends of the west. French designers such as Christian Dior held fashion shows in Tokyo, and films such as Roman Holiday and Sabrina made Audrey Hepburn a lasting style icon for young women in Japan. During the 1950s and early 1960s young Japanese women wore pencil skirts, full skirts over petticoats and Capri pants, while young men wore blue jeans, rockabilly styles (modelled after the clothes shown on record covers), and Ivy League styles. Photographs from the period showed young Japanese dressed much like American teenagers of the 1950s and engaged in the same pursuits, like dance parties (Kawamura 2004:114).

As the Japanese economy grew stronger in the 1970s, Japanese consumers were increasingly able to travel to Paris to indulge in prestigious Western brands, such as Chanel and Louis Vuitton. At the same time the indigenous fashion industry developed its own brands, often with foreign names such as Nicole By Hiromitsu Matsuda. The vast majority of these brands were sold only within Japan (Steele 2010:15).

33 Meanwhile young Japanese who liked music were increasingly travelling to London, where punk rock flourished. Dame Vivienne Westwood opened her store "Seditionaries" during this era," providing the visual identity for punk. By the mid-1980s, Westwoodrs fashions had begun to exert a powerful and recurring influence on both Japanese youth style and Japanese avant-garde fashion (Kawamura 2010:16).5

Japanese designers also started exhibiting their work abroad, especially in Paris. Hanae Mori, who began designing in Tokyo in the 1950s, opened a couture house in Paris in 1977. Her elegant clothes often featured oriental motifs such as butterflies and cherry blossoms (Kawamura 2004:158).

Kenzo Takada, known as Kenzo, was the first Japanese designer to make a big impact in the West. After studying fashion in Tokyo he moved to Paris in 1965, where he freelanced for various companies. In 1970, Kenzo launched his own collection and opened a boutique, both called "Jungle Jap". Being a prolific traveller, Kenzo did not only draw on aspects of Japanese culture. His creations were based on multicultural diversity and compatibility of ethnic styles and cultural options from all parts of the world. As per Stegemeyer (1996), Kenzo's designs were youthful and fun, usually brightly coloured and incorporated colourful prints, loose silhouettes, folkloric exoticism and ethnic elements.

Steele (2010:25) states that Issey Miyake also began to produce and show his designs around the same time as Kenzo. Rather than incorporating the same bright colour palette or floral prints, Miyake pioneered the use of what were then

4 Dame Vivienne Westwood: Vivienne Isabel Swire, Born on 8 April 1941, has come to be known as one of the most influential British fashion designers of the twentieth century. While she is latterly credited with introducing "underwear as outerwear," reviving the corset, and inventing the "mini-erini," her earliest and most formative association is with the subcultural fashion and youth movement known as punk. She is largely responsible for bringing modern punk and new wave fashions into the mainstream (Wilcox 2004: 04-23).

5 Avant-garde: the advance group in any field, especially in the visual, literary, or musical arts, whose works are characterised chiefly by unorthodox and experimental methods (Collins English Dictionary 2009:12) (discussed in 3.6: 43-45).

34 less fashionable, ethnographic materials, such as Asian ikats.6 Part of what made Miyake unique was his interest in fabrics that had a rough-hewn look similar to those handmade by rural people (Kawakura 2004:136).7 Miyake's use of indigenous materials, or versions woven to evoke traditional cloth, initiated the trend toward abandoning the less predictable, manufactured, and stylised forms of "exoticism" in favour of seeking out and embracing those deemed more authentic.

Kansai Yamamoto was yet another Japanese designer to show in Paris, where his decorative exoticism attracted attention. Drawing on both Kabuki and pop art," Kansai Yamamoto clothes were decorated with Japanese images, such as samurai figures.

This section explored other Japanese designers who featured prominently on the Paris fashion scene. The next section explores the concepts of designers Issey Miyake, Rei Kawakubo and Yohji Yamamoto, which were different, original and new compared to the rules of fashion set by previous designers.

3.4 Japanese versus European

This subsection explores the concepts of designers Issey Miyake, Rei Kawakubo and Yohji Yamamoto as different, original and new compared to the rules of fashion set by previous designers.

The Japanese 'fashion revolution' of the 1980s dramatically transformed the world of fashion. Avant-garde designers like Miyake, Kawakubo and Yamamoto

6 Ikat: is the method of weaving that uses a resist dyeing process similar to tie-dye on either the warp or weft fibres. The dye is applied prior to the threads being woven to create the final fabric pattern or design (Guy 2009:10).

7 Rough-hewn: being in a rough, unsmoothed, or unfinished state or crudely formed (Collins English Dictionary 2009:119).

B Kabuki: is classical Japanese dance-drama. Kabuki theatre is known for the stylisation of its drama and for the elaborate make-up worn by some of its performers (Cavaye 1993:10).

35 introduced a radically new concept of fashion to the catwalks of Paris. Utilising innovative textile technologies, together with aspects of traditional Japanese clothing culture the Japanese designers were instrumental in creating a new relationship between body and clothes. The Japanese designers created a new attitude toward the beauty of imperfection, and a new appreciation of avant­ garde fashion as "art" (Kawamura 2004:1).

Kawamura (2004:137) and Jones (1992:72) explained that Miyake, Kawakubo and Yamamoto rejected the structured designs of the prevailing European fashion. From the 1970s, a period when European clothing traditions were recognised unquestioningly as universal, Fukai (2010:13) explains how Miyake, Kawakubo and Yamamoto started to transform the modern international language of fashion.

Miyake, Kawakubo and Yamamoto did not want to showcase traditional exotic collections. They did not want to present the East as previously expressed through the eyes of such Western designers as Paul Poiret (Fukai 2010:15).9 Fukai (2010:16) mentions that European and American newspapers stated that Japanese fashion exhibited an attitude based on a na"ive view of Japan as an exotic, far-off land, which according to Fukai (2010:16) was termed 'Orientalism' by the Palestinian-American literary theorist Edward Sa·id. 1o This was perhaps motivated by a wariness of the newly rampant Japanese economy. Instead Miyake, Kawakubo and Yamamoto wanted to present something completely out of the norm - to blend eastern and western cultures. Western commentators recognised the strength and freshness of Kawakubo's and Yamamoto's clothes.

9 Paul Polret opened his first fashion house in 1902 on the Rue Auber in Paris. There he produced innovative designs such as the kimono coat, (1905; Paris, Mus. Mode & Cost.), and enlarged his clientele of famous customers. The richness of materials, violence of colouring and style and taste for orientalism were shown in such designs as that for the Sorbet dress (1913; London, V&A) (Bowles 2007: 236-250).

'0 Edward Sai"d: was an influential cultural critic and author, known best for his book Orientalism (1978). The book presented his influential ideas on Orientalism-the Western study of Eastern cultures cited in Fukai (2010:26).

36 Rei Kawakubo and Yohji Yamamoto's creations possessed qualities that could not be diluted by the Eurocentric gaze (Fukai 2010:15).

Da Cruz (2004:29) suggests that Miyake, Kawakubo and Yamamoto blended age-old couture tailoring with Japanese design ethos. Each of the designers used Japan's rich visual heritage as a foundation for aesthetic, social and sometimes political collages of cultures worldwide to derive new Western fashions.

Davis (1994:187) further describes how Miyake, Kawakubo and Yamamoto placed great significance on clothing inherited from the. past, and designed through necessity, using adapted dyed textiles and quilting from ancient Japan. Issey Miyake, Rei Kawakubo and Yohji Yamamoto Paris collections portrayed designs based on the body not being restricted and on creating different silhouettes.

According to Kawamura (2004:94), in October 1982 the word 'Japanese' featured prominently in the headlines of newspaper articles reporting on the Spring/Summer 1983 fashion collections. Approximately ten of the seventy shows held in Paris over that season were by Japanese deslqners." While the sheer power of these numbers was widely noted, what divided the critics, according to Kawamura (2004:95), was the shock of the garments unveiled by Kawakubo and Yamamoto as reported by Nina Hyde of the Washington Post in October 1982 cited in Kawamura (2004:96).

Paris was already well acquainted with Japanese designers. Kenzo was seen as a designer who typified Parisian fashion, and Miyake was also highly regarded (Fukai 2010:13). According to Kawamura (2004:151), in 1977 Hanae

11 Other Japanese designers showing at the time in Paris where Rei Kawakubo, Kenzo, Hiroko Koshino, Junko Koshino, Issey Miyake, Hanae Mori, Junko Shimada, Yuki Torii, Kansai Yamamoto and Yohji Yamamoto (Kawamura 2004:105).

37 Mori had become the first Asian woman to be made a member of the exclusive Chambre syndicale de la haute couture in Paris - a branch of the governing body of the French fashion industry, the Federation francaise de la couture, du pret-a-porter des couturiers et des creatures de mode. In April 1981 Kenzo, Miyake and Kansai Yamamoto featured in an article in the International Herald Tribune under the headline "Three Japanese Designers Make Big Dent in Paris", as mentioned by Kawamura (2004:121).

Although Kawakubo and Yamamoto had both established themselves in Japan throughout the previous decade, they made their Parisian debuts quietly in 1981. They were not yet members of the influential Federation; their AutumnlWinter 1981-82 and Spring/Summer 1982 collections were seen by only a handful of people. Among them was reporter Claire Mises from the French newspaper Liberation October 1982, who was the first to accurately report important characteristics of these designers' collections, including their emphasis on material, form and deconstruction (Fukai 2010:13).12

Niessen et al (2003:221) mention that Miyake had been presenting his ready-to­ wear collections in Paris since the 1970s, while Yamamoto and Kawakubo had been successful in their competitive domestic markets before their international breakthroughs. The common effect of this group of individuals presenting their revolutionary collections in Paris at the same time in the early 1980s, lumped under the label 'Japanese', created an effect that this was not just the emergence of something new, but the recognition of a style at a "higher level" in Paris (Kondo 1997:60; Niessen et al 2003:49). A "higher level", according to Fukai (2010:19), meaning that their approach to fashion was intellectual. These designers used elements like the colour black, a tattered style, flatness, an interest in process, and an expression stemming from different contexts.

12 Deconstruction in fashion explained in detail in Chapter 3.5: 41-43.

38 According to Fukai (2010:19), they then shaped these elements into a bold expression that opened European eyes to the existence of non-European aesthetics. This came as a shock to the West. Japanese fashion revealed the benefits of ceasing to perceive Japan as an exotic marginal culture and demonstrated that clothes from non-European spheres can have universality.' According to Vinken (2010:28), the shock was more than just temporary.

Miyake, Kawakubo and Yamamoto destroyed all previous definitions of clothing and fashion. Their concepts were undoubtedly different, original and new compared to the rules of fashion set by orthodox,legitimate 'Western designers such as Coco Chanel, Christian Dior and Yves Saint Laurent. These Japanese designers Jed the charge into the postmodern realm and the twenty-first century, according to an article written by Hebe Dorsey in October 1983 in the Herald Tribune, with the headline: "The Japanese and Paris: Couture Clash, Head-On; Eastern Contingent Setting Pace for the Spring-Summer Collections" (Fukai 2010:25). Fukai (2010:22) states that the Japanese designers were increasingly seen as a match for their French counterparts. At a time when most Western fashion was aggressively sexual and body-conscious, avant-garde Japanese fashion was body concealing, asymmetrical, and overwhelmingly black. Steele (2010:11) states:

She remembers how strange and wonderful the new Japanese fashions looked and how they polarized opinion. The sight of clothes that seem to have been deliberately damaged or destroyed horrified many people, even fashion professionals. Equally shocking was the perception that these clothes were apparently not intended to make women more 'beautiful'. (Steele 2010:11)

39 By March 1982 Kawakubo and Yamamoto had joined the Federetlon," and they presented their AutumnlWinter 1982-83 collections in the catwalk shows, as they have done ever since. Kawakubo presented a black sweater pierced with holes, an ecru-coloured sweater given a daring sense of volume by its twisted stitches," and a white dress with drawstrings. Yamamoto's models occasionally wore white masks; the clothes appeared tattered, oversized and almost dragging. There were interesting details around the hemline that caught the eye (Fukai 2010:13).

The clothes proposed by the Kawakubo and Yamamoto Spring/Summer 1983 collections were so shocking that critics responded with discomfort. According to Fukai (2010:14), a reporter for Le Figaro wrote that their collections sent a chill up her spine. The reporter said of Kawakubo: "Her apocalyptic clothing is pierced with holes, tattered and torn, almost like clothing worn by nuclear holocaust survivors." Fukai (2010:14) mentions that the work of Yamamoto was described as "clothes for the end of the world that look as if they have been bombed to shreds".

As per Fukai (2010:14) there were also positive appraisals, Kawakubo and Yamamoto clothes were recognised as representing something completely new. Kawamura (2004:98) mentions that the newspapers Liberation and the Washington Post concluded that Kawakubo and Yamamoto were pioneering a new aesthetic. Fukai (2010:14) mentions that The New York Times wrote: "The fashions that have swept in from the East represent a totally different attitude toward how clothes should look from that long established here." These clothes

13 Federation: French couture is regulated by an industry governing body, the Federation fram;aise de fa couture, du pret-e-porter des couturiers et des creeteurs de mode created in 1973, which itself consists of the Chambre Syndicafe de fa mode masculine (men's fashion), the Chambre syndicete du pret-a-porter des couturiers et des creeteurs de mode (ready-to-wear) and the Chambre syndicafe de fa haute couture (high fashion), the latter having been created in 1868 (Kawamura 2004:38).

14 Ecru-coloured: describes the shade greyish-pale yellow or a light greyish-yellowish brown. It is often used to describe such fabrics as silk and linen in their unbleached state. Ecru comes from the French word ecru, which means literally 'raw' or 'unbleached' (Collins English Dictionary 2009:46).

40 may have stood outside the norms of traditional European aesthetics, and according to Fukai (2010:15), itbecame difficult to ignore the powerful originality of Miyake, Kawakubo and Yamamoto.

In retrospect, the Japanese fashions of the 1980s marked a very important, turning point in fashion history. It was not simply because black became the default fashion colour, nor that "deconstruction?" soon influenced everything from haute couture to fast fashion (Vinken 2010:2).16 For the first time, a non­ culture had significantly affected the global system, and had done so by projecting an image of hyper-modernism. In her influential book Fashion Zeitgeist, Barbra Vinken (2010:3) argues that the appearance of Japanese fashion in Paris in the 1980s "spectacularly marked the end of one era and the beginning of another". What Vinken called the ''fashion of a hundred years... stretching from Worth to Saint Laurent" was replaced by a new phenomenon that she dubbed "post fashion" (Vinken 2010:5).

This subsection explored how the concepts of Miyake, Kawakubo and Yamamoto were different, original and new compared to the rules of fashion set by designers. The next subsection explains what deconstruction as a concept means in fashion.

3.5 Deconstruction as a concept in clothing

., The following subsection explores what deconstruction as a concept in fashion refers to. Kawakubo and Yamamoto's clothing was often referred to as "deconstructed". According to the Dictionary of Critical Theory (Orr 1991 :25)

15 Deconstruction: discussed in detail in Chapter 3.5: 41-43.

16 Fast fashion: is a term used to describe cheap and affordable clothes which are the result 01 catwalk designs moving into stores in the fastest possible way in order to respond to the latest trends (Collins English Dictionary 2009:77).

41 rarely has a critical theory attracted the sort of dread and hysteria that deconstruction has incited since its inception in 1967.

The term "deconstruction" originated in the writings of French philosopher Jacques Derrida in the late 1960s. Deconstruction was originally an attitude of the time rather than a defined movement or methodology (Potter 2010:96). Amy Spindler, a well-known fashion critic in the 1980s, was quoted in Koda (1995:89) as stating that deconstruction was a rebellion against fashion's heritage. Deconstruction flourished in the West, and today has become part of a formalised global cultural vocabulary. According to Potter (2010:96), the approach of deconstruction has spread over the past forty years through architecture, music and design, establishing novel principles of practice. Mears (2010:181) suggests deconstruction and its relationship to contemporary fashion design had yet to be fully explored by fashion theorists, critics, and curators.

Gill (1998:04) defines deconstruction in terms of fashion as a garment that was unfinished, coming apart, recycled, transparent and grunge. Gill (1998:04) suggests that deconstruction was the literal dismantling of clothes in order to destroy fashion. Potter (2010:96) suggests that the deconstruction philosophy was aimed at un-building the constructs of a culture inherited from previous generations. Potter (2010:97) states that Derridean deconstruction challenged the non-visible form of meaning; such disciplines as architecture and fashion picked up on the "construction" in "deconstruction" as it applied to their own visible fields. In architecture, "construction" refers to the precepts of building; in clothing, to a set of traditional rules for tailoring and fashion. To "deconstruct" in these disciplines is to dismantle the form. Removing the term from its philosophical origins, designers and artists established an aesthetic of fragmentation, disruption and displacement (Potter 2010:96).

According to Mears (2010:180) it can be argued that the first manifestation of deconstruction began on the streets of London. Following the effeminate mods

42 and leather-clad rockers, punk emerged in the 1970s as an aggressive counterculture. Punk's shredded black garb was a publicisation of outrage and antipathy to society. These anarchist libertarians established a significant ''tear down and destroy" aesthetic, and the influential "punk look" became associated with clothing that was worn unfinished, inside out and ravaged (Potter 2010:96).

Mears (2010:183) suggests that Kawakubo and Yamamoto were clearly not the first designers to appropriate elements of deconstruction in their work, but the first to formalise it completely. Their work seemed to incarnate a similar distress in relation to Western fashion. Kawakubo and Yamamoto's work promoted ragged edges, irregular hemlines, crinkled fabrics and ill-fitting layers, and was termed "Le Destroy" by the French (Potter 2010:96). However, there was no reason to believe that Derrida's ideas were the motivating force behind the pioneering designs of Kawakubo and Yamamoto (Mears 2010:181). Therefore Mears (2010:184) suggested that it could be argued that the official "birth" of deconstruction in fashion occurred in 1981, with the Paris debuts of Kawakubo and Yamamoto.

This subsection explained what deconstruction as a concept means in fashion. The next subsection explains avant-garde as a concept in fashion.

3.6 Avant-garde as a concept in fashion

This subsection explains avant-garde as a concept in fashion. The Japanese designers Issey Miyake, Rei Kawakubo and Yohji Yamamoto challenged the Western clothing system by creating avant-garde clothing. Crane (1987:1) explains that the term 'avant-pards' implies a cohesive group of artists who have a strong commitment to iconoclastic aesthetic values and who reject both

43 popular culture and middle-class Iifestyle.17 The artists are generally in opposition to dominant social values or established artistic conventions. Miyake, Kawakubo and Yamamoto rebelled against everything that exists in society (Kawamura 2004:129). The Japanese designers found it important not to be confined by tradition, custom or geography and to be free of any influences in expressing shapes, colours and textures.

Crane (1987:14) in her analysis of a new art movement, such as avant-garde, states that an art movement may be considered avant-garde in its approach to the aesthetic context of its artworks if it does any of the following: (1) redefines artistic conventions, (2) utilises a new artistic tool and techniques, (3) redefines the nature of the art object, including the range of objects that can be considered as artworks. All of these apply to styles that Miyake, Kawakubo and Yamamoto created collectively. Kawamura (2004:130) suggests that Miyake, Kawakubo and Yamamoto abandoned the conventions of clothes-making altogether, invented different and original materials as clothing fabrics and, by doing so, introduced and redefined the meaning and nature of both clothes and fashion.

Vinken (2010:22) explains that the labelling of Miyake, Kawakubo and Yamamoto as avant-garde in the early 1980s was a response to their creative and original spirit of going beyond the existing and conventional fashion concepts. In 1986 the exhibition Japon des Avant Gardes 1910-1970 (Japanese Avant-Garde 1910-1970) took place at the Centre Pompidou in Paris, which exposed a cultural side of Japan. At the time Japan was attracting attention around the world for its economic growth; this Japanese spirit was defined as avant-garde. The exhibition focused on aesthetics and concepts that existed

17 Iconoclastic aesthetics refers to attacking and seeking to overthrow traditional or popular ideas or institutions. Characterised by attack on established beliefs. Of or pertaining to iconoclasm, or to the opinions and practices of the Iconoclasts; given to breaking images, or to exposing errors of belief or false pretensions (Collins English Dictionary 2009:56).

44 beyond the realm of European thought. It focused on ideas that could not be discussed in any European language. The Japanese avant-garde being referred to here was avant-garde in the Western sense, but much of what appeared "avant-garde" already existed in the Japanese tradition, such as the concepts of wabi-sabi, rna and iki.

This subsection explained avant-garde as a concept in fashion. The Japanese aesthetics of wabi-sabi, rna and iki concepts are explained in the following subsection.

3.7 Japanese aesthetics

This subsection clarifies the Japanese aesthetics used in this research study. One of the most influential aesthetic concepts to develop in the era of the samurai was wabi-sabi, which focused on "simplicity and elegance as Japanese ideals of beauty". A compound word, wabi-sabi embraces both the medieval term wabi, implying a "simple, austere type beauty," and sabi, "lonely beauty", such as ''the beauty of silence" and "old age." The aesthetics of wabi-sabi are associated with Zen Buddhism." and particularly with the Zen concept of emptiness19 (Steele 2010:5). Mears (2010:173) explains wabi-sabi as a philosophical, intellectual and cultural term with deep and profound meaning. Commonly quoted elements of wabi-sabi were: the appreciation of things that

18Zen Buddhism an outgrowth of Mahayana, the "meditation" sect, developed in Japan from its earlier Chinese counterpart and divided into two branches: Binzai, an austere and aristocratie monasticism emphasizing meditation on paradoxes; and soto, a benevolent monasticism with great popular following, emphasizing ethical actions and charity, tenderness, benevolence, and sympathy as well as meditation on whatever occurs as illumination. School of Mahayana Buddhism asserting that enlightenment can come through meditation and intuition rather than faith; China and Japan. (Suzuki 1994:09)

19 Zen concept of emptiness Mu is a term in Zen that is used to describe "emptiness" or "nothingness". This is what a zen practitioner hopes to attain and realize. The universe is in a constant flux of change. Nothing ever remains unchanged. As long as we continue to desire we will always be suffering. If one wishes not to suffer, desire must be cut­ off from one's life. Physically, all sentient being suffer with birth, illness, old age, and death. The whole body-mind complex is in a state of SUffering. The third salient mark below suggest that at the core there is a void. If indeed we are composed of the five skandhas we will find that within or behind any of these elements no ego-entity will be found. The fourth mark suggest that we are mu. Since everything depends on other factors to exist, all is without a core or substantial reality. The term mu gives this explanation a name.( Suzuki 1994:78)

45 show their age or have an inherent patina and character; objects that are seemingly imperfect although beautifully and painstakingly crafted; and the reality of the impermanent or the ephemeral. Fukai (2010:9) explains wabi-sabi as the beauty of things imperfect, impermanent and incomplete. It is the beauty of things modest and simple. It is also the beauty of the passage of time expressed in material form.

The complex spatial concept of rna refers to the "space" between the garment and the body. According to Fukai (2010:16) the Japanese aesthetic is more than simply a void; rna is a rich space that possesses incalculable energy. Steele (2010:5) explains rna or space in art as an underlying principle among a variety of traditional Japanese arts, including clothing. Examples are the empty space between either what was painted or the notes played in a song. The area that was left intentionally empty was just as important as the space that was filled, if not more so.

Gallagher (2003:45) explains that the word iki is generally used in Japanese culture to describe qualities that are aesthetically appealing and when applied to people or what they do or have, constitutes a high compliment. Iki is not found in nature. While similar to wabi-sabi in that it disregards perfection, iki is a broad term that encompasses various characteristics related to refinement with flair. The tasteful manifestation of sensuality can be iki. Etymologically, iki has a root that means pure and unadulterated. However, it also carries a connotation of having an appetite for life. Vinken (2010:22) explains iki as sophisticated and possessing erotic charm.

The Japanese aesthetics and concepts that existed outside a modern Western society appealed to the West, which was trying to escape from dominant Western cultural ideals. While the trend increased toward uniformity in fashion around the world, original techniques that were specific to cultures and distinctive aesthetics were particularly relevant. According to Fukai (2010:13),

46 as part of the Japanese design process, the past is linked to the present and to the future. Not only were the Japanese designers' clothing a bold assault on fashion, but Miyake's, Kawakubo's and Yamamoto's conception of clothing also created cultural divide. Western dressmaking took the natural shape of the human body, contouring fabric into three-dimensional shapes (Fukai 2010:14). Miyake created clothes from new methodologies that still correspond with traditional ideas.2o Aesthetics of Japan's past appear in Kawakubo's approach of reducing everything to zero and attempting to create in a completely new way. Yamamoto occasionally looks at the past without distinguishing between East and West; the style behind his inherently European clothes is the quintessentially Japanese aesthetic of iki, which was regarded as sophisticated, and possessing erotic charm (Vinken 2010:22).

This sub-section explained the Japanese concepts of wabi-sabi, rna and iki. The next sub-section discusses how the Japanese designers blended Eastern thought with Western form.

3.8 Blending East and West

This subsection discusses how the Japanese designers blended East and West. By blending Eastern thought with a Western form, Miyake, Kawakubo and Yamamoto challenged not only the conformity of Japanese society but also the norms of Western society. Kawakubo says so explicitly in her rare in-depth interview with a Japanese fashion critic, Takeji Hirakawa, (1990:21) as quoted in Kawamura (2004:120):

When I was young, it was unusual for a female university graduate to do the

same job as a man. And of course women didn't earn the same. J rebelled

20 New methodologies: Issey Miyake created new methods of making clothing, like A-POe "A Piece of Cloth" and Pleats Please. This will be discussed in Chapter Four in greater detail.

47 against that. And when my fashion business started running well, I was thought of as unprofessional because I was not a fashion school graduate. Then, when I went to Paris, I rebelled against that as well. I never lose my ability to rebel, I get angry and that anger becomes my energy for certain. I wouldn't be able to create anything if I stop rebelling. Hirakawa (1990:21)

Kawamura (2004:137) further emphasises that the intention of Miyake, Kawakubo and Yamamoto was to never reproduce Western fashions, which have historically been fitted to expose the contours of the body. The designers instead introduced large, loose-fitting garments, such as jackets with no traditional construction and a minimum of detail or buttons. Kawakubo and Yamamoto's dresses often have a straight, simple shape, and their large coats with sweepingly oversized proportions can be worn by both men and women alike. As per Kawamura (2004:139), Comme des Garcons Rei Kawakubo from FalllWinter 2002 collection consisted of monochromatic colours and unisex features. Both monochromatic colours and unisex features have been Kawakubo's trademarks of not being revealing or seductive and are said to have a feminist concern." Kawakubo mentions that she created clothes to be worn by strong, independent women like herself (Kawamura 2004:139). The conventions of not only garment construction but also the normative concepts of fashion were challenged. Their view of fashion was diametrically opposed to the conventional Western fashion.

Miyake, Kawakubo and Yamamoto found beauty in the unfinished. In doing so they broke the Western convention of fashion by creating a new style and new definition of aesthetics (Steele 2010:156).

2' Feminist concern: Rei Kawakubo's unisex and monochromatic pallets created feminist concern because her clothing label Comme des Garcons means 'like some boys' in French. She chose the name because the sonorous quality appealed to her - but of course, it immediately brings to mind a myriad of gender-related references that provided fodder for fashion theorists. Kawakubo created clothing that was un-revealing, unsexy and not form-fitting. The woman who wears Comme des Garcons was unwilling to dress herself so that other people have something pleasing to look at, and overburdened by the news she reads every day in the paper (Kawamura 2004:136).

48 Kawamura (2004:136) states that every convention carries with it an aesthetic, according to which what is conventional becomes the standard by which artistic beauty and effectiveness is judqed. The conception of fashion and the conception of beauty go together. Therefore, an attack on a convention of fashion becomes an attack on the aesthetic related to it. Miyake, Kawakubo and Yamamoto broke the Western convention of fashion by creating a new style and a new definition of beauty (Kawamura 2004:136). This was offensive to some of the French as the attack not only went against their aesthetic of beauty but also against their existing arrangement of ranked statuses, a stratification system in fashion and the hegemony of the French system.

According to Mendes and De la Haye (1999:233) Miyake's, Kawakubo's and Yamamoto's major influence on today's fashion was to create clothing from texture and fabric. Mendes and De la Haye (1999:233) quote Miyake as saying: "I do not create a fashionable aesthetic. I create a style based on life." Miyake was opposed to the term 'haute couture", which he felt implied the quest for novelty.

Chandes (1998:107) states that fashionable clothes are often synonymous with the definition of beauty and aesthetics. According to Kawamura (2004:143) one can find a common and consistent principle in Kawakubo's designs: she finds beauty in the unfinished and the random. Hirakawa (1990:73) quotes Kawakubo as saying: "I don't have a definition of beauty, I don't have an .establishment view of what beauty is, as my idea of beauty keeps changing.. 1 want to see things differently to search for beauty. I want to find something nobody has ever found. It is meaningless to create something predictable" (Hirakawa 1990:24).

Kawakubo explains in Jones (1992:72) that ''fashion design is not about revealing or accentuating the shape of a woman's body; its purpose is to allow a person to be what they are". Kondo (1997:124) reports on Kawakubo's comments on the Western obsession with fitted clothing:

49 I don't understand the term "body-conscious" very well. I enter the process from interest in the shape of the clothing and from the feeling of volume you get from the clothing, which is probably a little different from the pleasure Western women take in showing the shapes of their bodies. It bothers Japanese women to reveal their bodies. I myself understand that feeling very well, so I take that into account, adding more material, or whatever. It feels like one would get bored with "body-conscious" clothing. Kondo (1997:124)

Similarly, Gottfried (1982:5) mentions Yamamoto stating that he liked large clothes, and that he found women in a men's loose-fitted shirts very attractive. According to Duka (1983:63) Yamamoto thought that tight-fitting clothing on a woman's body did not look noble and that it was for the amusement of men. Menkes (1989:10) documented Yamamoto stating that it was not polite to other people to show off too much of one's body. To be fashionable meant to dress up, but Yamamoto wanted to break away from what he called "special elegance".

Kawabata (1984:56) explains that traditionally in Japanese society, sexuality was never overtly revealed and that this ideology was reflected in the style of the kimono, especially for women. Unlike Western clothes, women's kimonos were geared toward creating a contourless body; even large busted woman wore undergarments to flatten breasts. By doing so they suppressed their female sexuality (Sato 1992:55). Even Japanese women who had hourglass figures found it necessary to pad out their waists to create a cylindrical appearance. The only exposed parts of the body are the hands, neck and face. In the same way Miyake, Kawakubo and Yamamoto constructed garments that did not reveal sexuality but rather concealed it just like the kimono.

Miyake, Kawakubo and Yamamoto looked on Western fashion from a different perspective. Vinken (2010:33) suggests that is why they succeeded in disfiguring and refiguring the fashion system. Fukai (2010:11) acknowledged

50 five reasons that contributed to the three designers being revolutionary during the 1980s:

(a) Introduction to deconstructed clothing.

(b) The use of Japanese aesthetics such as wabi-sabi, rna and lki.

(c) Reshaping the symmetry of clothes by introducing asymmetrical cut clothing.

(d) Introduction of monochromatic clothes.

(e) Creating clothing by allowing the fabric to respond to the body's shape and movement.

The designers from Tokyo were able to draw on a wealth of alternative sartorial encodings of the relationship between the sexes, as well as on a fundamentally different play between body and fabric. For example, while the decollete was the classic female erotic zone in Europe until the nineteenth century," in Japan it was the back of the neck. Yamamoto's white felt dress of the AutumnlWinter 1996-97 collection exposes the neck as the erotic zone, as depicted in Figure 8 (Vinken 2010:33).

22 Decollete French, from past participle of decolteter to give a low neckline to, from de- de- + collet collar, from Old French co/et, from co/collar, neck, from Latin co/lum neck (Collins English Dictionary 2009:34).

51 Figure 8: Yohji Yamamoto (designer), AutumnlWinter 1996-1997. Yamamoto's white felt dress exposing the neck, (Mcinerney 1997).

Vinken (2010:30) suggests that displacing convention might be the secret of every great designer. Miyake, Kawakubo and Yamamoto have managed to achieve outstanding success by displacing convention. Mears (2010:163) suggests that fashion at its best deconstructs the systems that it has itself created. Vinken (2010:30) pursues, borrowing from Nietzsche's'" The Re­ evaluation of All Values, in which Nietzsche states:" ''fashion is not a game without limits but a game with its own self-imposed limits, a disruption dependent on a set of rules". Vinken (2010:30) explains that the self-imposed limits refers to haute couture, which developed as a commentary on the limits set by and through clothes, is a discourse in clothes about clothes and the displacement of boundaries of gender and class established by clothes. Mears

23 Friedrich Nietzsche: (born October 15, 1844, died August 25, 1900, Weimar), German classical scholar, philosopher, and critic of culture, who became one of the most influential of all modern thinkers (Collins English Dictionary 2009:47).

24 The Re-evaluation of All Values: Shortly after his death Friedrich Nietzsche's sister collected his last unpublished writings under thetitle The Will to Power. Nietzsche had considered using this title for a work he was writing, but later abandoned it in favour of Re-evaluation of All Values. which he was unable to complete before his death (Vinken 2010:45).

52 and demonstrated that clothes from non-European spheres can have universality. By exoticising the Japanese collections and praising them, Paris positioned itself as the fashion capital that transcended all boundaries of the world (Niessen et al 2003:217).

Kawamura (2004:143) suggests that belonging to the French Fashion System was part of the designers' image.27 Therefore Miyake, Kawakubo and Yamamoto continue to present their shows in Paris in order to keep it as their symbolic capital. What these Japanese designers have done is perceived as the deconstruction of high fashion that signifies a collapse of symbolic

hierarchies." 29 Kawamura (2004:145) also states that Miyake, Kawakubo and Yamamoto may have deconstructed the system of clothing and redefined fashion, but with legitimation and recognition in Paris. Issey Miyake, Rei Kawakubo and Yohji Yamamoto became part of high fashion and members of the elite designer group. The Japanese designers continue to seek the approval of the French fashion system even twenty years later. It is clear that Yamamoto wanted to be included in the haute couture organisation by showing his pret-a­ porter during the Haute Couture week (Women's Wear Daily 2002a:15). His Spring/Summer 1999 Collection was a major shift from his earlier designs to something closer to couture, as seen in Figure 9.

zr French Fashion System: was an organisation that contained ranks among those who design and make clothes. It was a combination of institutional factors, such as the formation of trade organisation which elevated the status of a couturier to fashion producer, social arrangements of seamstresses and a hierarchy amongst designers (Kawamura 2004:2t-34).

28 Deconstruction of high fashion: By deconstructing the Western convention of high fashion, the Japanese designers suggested the new style and new definition of aesthetics. Some French took it as an offense not only against their aesthetic but also against their exlstinq arrangement of ranked statuses, a stratification system in fashion or the hegemony of the French system (Kawamura 2004:136).

29 Symbolic hierarchies meaning the arrangement of ranked statuses amongst European designers in the French Fashion System such as Chanel, Dior and Saint Laurent (Kawamura 2004:35-43).

54 (2010:164) concludes that fashion is nothing other than the crossing of boundaries.

This section discussed how the Japanese designers blended Eastern thought with Western form. The next subsection examines the role that Paris played as the leading fashion capital in the world.

3.9 Paris as the fashion capital

This subsection discusses Paris as the world's fashion capital that could have assisted in the success of the Japanese designers. While each of these reasons presented above argue the notion that the three designers, Miyake, Kawakubo and Yamamoto, actually did something different, there is another view that perhaps the Japanese revolution was merely an orchestration by the Paris fashion industry to stamp Paris as the leading fashion capital in the world by accepting and giving recognition to designers that were non-Western (Niessen et al 2003:217). Barthes (1990:3) illustrates the distinction between image clothing and written clothing. Barthes (1990:3) explains that photographed and drawn garments, defined as image clothing, elicit a very different perception to a garment described in words, defined as written clothing. When applied to the Japanese trend in the 1980s, the image clothing represented clothes with technically novel conceptions that ignored conventional dressmaking techniques, while the written clothing conveyed the story of exotic Japan." 26 According to Fukai (2010:22) Japanese fashion revealed the benefits of ceasing to perceive Japan as an exotic marginal culture

25Technlcally novel conceptions meaning Rei Kawakubo's approach of reducing everything to zero and attempting to create in a completely new way (Kawamura 2004:94).

26 Conventional dressmaking techniques: Issey Miyake, Rei Kawakubo and Yohji Yamamoto ignored conventional dressmaking techniques by introducing deconstructed clothing, Japanese aesthetics, reshaping the symmetry of clothes, introducing monochromatic clothes, and let wrapped garments respond to the body's shape and movement (Fukai 2010:12).

53 Figure 9: Yohji Yamamoto (designer) , Spring/Summer Collection 1999.Yamamoto's couture wedding gown, (Mcinerney 1999).

According to Vinken (2010:36), Kawakubo's AutumnlWinter 1984-85 evening dress mocked the sex appeal of Western clothes. The torso, which emerges naked in the Anadyornene," is emphasised by the dynamic spiral of the upward movement of the fabric in the dress she created. Yet Kawakubo's dress does not allow any flesh to shimmer seductively through : it wraps the body. Vinken (2010:36) emphasises that the art of classic European tailoring , focused on elaborate revealing and veiling, is skilfully surpassed in Kawakubo's dress to achieve an opposite result. Though a completely new technique of drapery on the body, with invisible seams and stitching, the technique held the fabric in place, preventing it from swirling around the body. Where, in antiquity, high art was demonstrated by the ability to create the effect of textiles in marble and stone, here the quality of work is shown in the textile imitation of stone; the

30 Anadyomene is ("Venus Rising From the Sea") was one of the iconic representations of Aphrodite, made famous in a much-admired painting by Apelles, now lost, but described in Pliny's Natural History, with the anecdote that the great Apelles employed Campaspe, a mistress of Alexander the Great (Collins English Dictionary 2009:19).

55 transformation of stone into veils is undone through a petrifaction of the fabric. The dress deliberately and satirically overthrows the foundation of Western fashion (Vinken 2010:39). Davis (1994) and Kawamura (2004:94) also described Miyake, Kawakubo and Yamamoto's collections as unconventional, and viewed them as a sartorial revolution in Paris that set the stage for the breaking of boundaries between the West and the East.

Miyake, Kawakubo and Yamamoto have been able to transcend time and continue to this day to reinvent themselves by pushing the boundaries of innovation in design (Quinn 2002:142; Gale 2004:15).

This subsection discussed the role of Paris as the leading fashion capital in the world. The next subsection discussed the unconventional tools and techniques used by the Japanese designers that conflicted with craft standards.

3.10 Using new tools and techniques

This subsection discusses the Japanese designers' unconventional ways of creating clothes. According to Steele (2010:21), the construction of Miyake's, Kawakubo's and Yamamoto's garments were not conventional. The Japanese designers had to train factory seamstresses in new ways of sewing the pieces together that conflicted with craft standards (Kawamura 2004:133; Steele 2010:21). Kawakubo was not a trained fashion designer, therefore her creative process was individualistic (Steele 2010; Mears 2010), unlike designers who sketch and drape, approaching the construction of a garment through the established conventions of dressmaking and tailoring. Kawamura (2004:133) explains that from a design and technical perspective, Kawakubo's works are beyond our comprehension and also unbelievable for those who were professionally trained in fashion schools. Kawamura (2004:133) explains that students were taught to always fold a hem about one inch in the case of a straight or semi-straight skirt, and about half an inch or even less for a flared

56 skirt. Kawakubo would let the edge of the skirt unravel without a hem and used it as part of her style, thus conflicting with craft standards. This posed difficulties for those trained in fashion to break the mould of conventions that defined a quality garment (Mears 2010:172).

Kawamura (2010:133) states that Kawakubo's clothes challenged notions of perfection. Ayre (1989:11) quotes Kawakubo as saying that perfect symmetry was ugly and that she always wanted to destroy symmetry. Kawamura (2010:133) and Sudjic (1990:80) state that Kawakubo wanted to question the notion of perfection as something positive and beautiful. Kawakubo created a black knitted top by loosening screws on the machines to ensure that the knitting machine would skip stitches and create holes in the fabric. The flawed texture gave the black knitted sweater a sense of volume and imperfection that Kawakubo strove for (Vinken 2010:14).

Kawamura (2010:133) explains that there are no laws to regulate the production process of clothes. We do not live in an era where the production process of clothes is implemented by the guild system. Fabrics have become a very crucial element in the Japanese designs, and the Japanese avant-garde designers experiment with materials by bonding rubber to fabric, or mixing natural and artificial fibres. According to Kawamura (2010:134) there are no rules for what can be or should be used as fabric.

Frankel (2010:68) mentions that for Kawakubo, textile manufacture played a significant role in the making of a collection because the distinctive character of her clothes can be traced back to the selection of the thread used to weave the fabric from which the collection will be made. According to Kawamura (2010:130) Kawakubo's method of communication was ambiguous and abstract. Sudjic (1990:28-9) explained that Kawakubo worked with her textile manufacturer as early as four to six months before a collection. Kawakubo expressed her idea in a single word or a particular mood that she required to be reflected in her work, and left the textile manufacturer to rely on his intuition to

57 understand Kawakubu's abstract theme and create sample swatches (Kawamura 2010:136).

Like Kawakubo, Miyake focused his attention on the fabric. In the 1970s, he collaborated with his textile director, Makiko Minagwa, to develop new textiles using modern technologies. Frankel (2010:85) confirmed that Miyake developed and refined his revolutionary pleating technique, in which polyester was cut into the shape of a garment several times the desired final size and then heat­ pressed to create permanent pleats (Sato 1998:23). Traditional pleats are permanently pressed before a garment is cut, but Miyake created his pleated garments by first cutting the garment a few sizes larger and then permanently pleating the garment in a pleating press. This was Miyake's most commercially profitable collection, known as "Pleats Please".

As early as 1976 Miyake began his concept of "A Piece of Cloth" (A-POC) that was based on clothes made out of a single piece of cloth that would entirely cover the body (Sato 1998:60). Miyake's objective was to minimise waste. In his endless search for new concepts and modes of production, he returned to the original starting point for his designs. The A-POC collection was officially launched in 1999. It represented an idea of what a designer can do with a single piece of fabric. Miyake spent years researching and developing A-POC in collaboration with textile technologist and designer, Dai Fujiwara.

Frankel (2010:81) confirms that Miyake and Fujiwara's textile innovation was to develop a weaving process that produced fully finished garments without the use of sewing. A-POC consisted of long tubes of double-knit fabric with yarns linked in a fine mesh of chain stitches, all produced on a computer-controlled loom. The shape of the dress or skirt, for example, was pre-embossed with the perforated outline of a garment into the fabric, leaving the wearer to remove the clothes from the tube by cutting along the marked lines depicted in Plate 13c. When the garments were cut free, the bottom and layer of stretch mesh would shrink and stop the fabric from unravelling.

58 Frankel (2010:146) elaborates on Miyake's concept of the wearer playing a role in completing the design process. The consumer is given traced guidelines, by which she is actively encouraged to adapt the design to her own taste. Mears (2010:151) also states: "Miyake's introduction of seemingly endless numbers of identically laser-seamed dresses attached to one another and rolled into bales of tubular jersey knit, allowed each customer to customize her garment as it was cut away from the others."

This subsection discussed the unconventional tools and techniques used by the Japanese designers that conflicted with craft standards. The next subsection discusses the Japanese designers' use of the colour black and what black symbolises.

3.11 Use of the colour black

This subsection discusses the Japanese designers' use of the colour black and what black symbolises. Menkes (1983) reported that Kawakubo tended to brush off questions about black, saying that she only liked the colour (Steele 2010:20). However, numerous sources claim other reasons for the use of black in fashion. Koren (1984:5) quotes Kawakubo as stating: "I've always felt very comfortable with the colour black. I don't know why. But my feeling for black is stronger than ever these last ten years." Koren (1984:5) also mentions Yamamoto's dislike of and boredom with bright, light, cheery colours.

As indicated by Frankel (2010:41), an article in the Washington Post in October 1982 by Nina Hyde, "Japan's Runway Look", stated that Kawakubo's and Yamamoto's choice of colour, free by any Western paradigm, was perceptively singled out by as the distinguishing feature of the designers style, along with the purity of their aesthetic.

Frankel (2010:41) mentions that the French newspaper Liberation compared Kawakubo's and Yamamoto's creations to the intense black and white films of

59 Kenji Mizoguchi, while French Vogue compared them to calligraphy scrolls, which symbolise a beauty devoid of colour.

Mears (2010:171) states that no colour in the fashion vocabulary has been more important than black in the work of Kawakubo and Yamamoto. According to Mears (2010:171), Kawakubo's and Yamamoto's severity of the black-on­ black aesthetic earned devotees of Kawakubo and Yamamoto the nickname Karasuzoku, meaning "members of the crow tribe". In the United States, particularly in New York City, Kawakubo's and Yamamoto's reliance on the colour black was adopted by the Soho-based arts community as a trendy, downtown "uniform." Journalist Jeff Weinstein of the Village Voice argued that for Kawakubo particularly, "black becomes a full spectrum, an examination of the relationship between fibre and dye" (Mears 2010:171).

Frankel (2010:43) suggests that the expansive presence of the colour black in the creations of Kawakubo and Yamamoto carried the weighty symbolism of centuries of black garb for the journalists viewing their work for the first time. For these journalists black related to the colour's western historical associations, which had been processed through various self-conscious modernist and post­ modernist theories and assumptions. Mears (2010:172) states that as a result of such a historical re-contextualisation, by the last quarter of the twentieth century the colour black had become associated with a number of meanings: implying poverty and devastation to some and sobriety, intellectualism, chic, self- restraint and nobility to others.

According to Mears (2010:171) black had been the power colour for many centuries in Europe. During the 1600s members of the Spanish nobility and the Spanish Catholic hierarchy wore the colour black. The Burgomasters and

60 Protestant extremists of the Northern Lowlands also wore the colour black." Academics and monks wore black to signify scholarship, combined with a billowing silhouette. Black worn by widows and nuns was a sign of piety, and sexual inaccessibility. Black robes, academic or clerical, concealed the shape of the body. The same can be said for the chador or burqa worn by women in some Islamic countries. 3233 Steele (2010:20) states that by the nineteenth century, the colour black was used more in the arena of anti-establishment intellectuals, and tattered black clothes were worn by romantic artists and bohemians. A century later the beatniks and the punks adopted the colour black (Mears 2010:172).

Frankel (2010:41) suggests that Kawakubo's and Yamamoto's black was often an unassuming, harmonious shade, reminiscent of Japanese ink painting. Menkes (1983:34) and Steele (2010:20) suggest that the constant use of black in new Japanese fashion was frequently interpreted in terms of depression and deconstruction. As per Steele (2010:20), Kawakubo shunned all the traditional signs of elegance and eroticism by using black, because it did not clearly define masculine or feminine.

Steele (2010:5) notes that costume curator Harold Koda describes the austere black and imperfect looks of late twentieth-century fashions of Kawakubo as being related to the Japanese aesthetic of wabi-sabi. Although this is an interpretation that Kawakubo herself rejected, many influential Japanese

31 Burgomaster: Burgermeister is German for Mayor, literally master of the town, borough or master of the tortress.. The chief magistrate or chairman of the executive council of a sub-national level of administration. he principal magistrate, comparable to a mayor, of a city or town in the Netherlands, Flanders, Austria, or Germany (Collins English Dictionary 2009:48).

32 Chandor: A loose, usually black robe worn by Muslim women that covers the body from head to toe. (Collins English Dictionary 2009:30).

33 Burqa: a loose garment covering the entire body and having a veiled opening for the eyes, worn by Muslim women. (Collins English Dictionary 2009:21).

61 scholars, such as Akiko Fukai, believe that wabi-sabi is an important component of the Japanese aesthetic worldview.

Kawakubo's and Yamamoto's expressive use of a black palette also partook of qualities celebrated in Juni'chiro Tanizaki's book In Praise of Shadows (1933), which finds in shadow the essence of the Japanese aesthetic and speaks of the Japanese skill with light and shade (Figure 10) (Frankel 2010:41).34

Figure 10: Yohji Yamamoto (designer), Spring/Summer 1983. White cotton cut-work jacket and dress, (Sugimoto 1983).

Mears (2010:173) suggests that Juni'chiro Tanizaki's seminal work is one of the most important expressions of the role of darkness in the contemporary realm.

34 Junichlro Tanizakl (1886-1965) was an acclaimed Japanese author whose seminal work was In Praise of Shadows. Originally published in a literary journal in late 1933 and early 1934 it was described as an essay on aesthetics. Tanizaki had a deep, even scholarly, interest in the traditional elements that pervaded everyday life in contemporary Japan. Tanizaki wrote this work at a crucial time in modern Japanese history. Although the nation had been officially opened to the west only eighty years earlier, it had already undergone a dramatic transformation. Japan was the most westernised nation in Asia, at least in terms of adopting new technologies. Tanizaki was Jess concerned about the influx of technology than he was about the Joss of aesthetic meaning in daily life (Mears 2010: 23).

62 Despite the fact that the writer published his essay before Kawakubo and Yamamoto were born, there is an arguably viable similarity between Junichiro Tanizaki's assessment of woman in their kimonos and that of Miyake, Kawakubo and Yamamoto. Mears (2010:175) quotes an illustrative passage from the book in this regard:

The body, legs, and feet are concealed within a long kimono ... To me this is the very epitome of reality, as a woman of the past did indeed exist only from the collar up and sleeves out; the rest of her remained hidden in darkness. A woman of the middle and upper ranks of society seldom left her house, and when she did she shielded herself from the gaze of the public in the dark recess of her palanquin. Most of her life was spent in the twlliqht of a single house, her

body shrouded day and night in gloom, her face the only sign of her existence ... women dressed more sombrely ... daughters and wives of the merchant wore astonishingly severe dress. Their clothing was in effect no more than a part of the darkness, the transition between darkness and face. Mears (2010:175)

In Tanizaki's mind the woman is shielded from the world as much as she is shielded from light. Certainly this does not parallel the presentation of modern fashion. The aesthetic attributes of traditional Japan and contemporary culture and the role that black fashion plays can be seen in black's association with "poverty". For some it was an illusion - or perhaps an allusion - to rusticity, simplicity and un-self-conscious restraint. In Japan, black dyes may have rural as well as noble warrior connotations (Koren 1984:120).

According to Mears (2010:175), 300 years ago black was the colour of the farmer and the lower-class samurai. It wasn't exactly black but an indigo blue dyed so many times as to be close to black. Mears (2010:177) mentions that the samurai spirit inspired Yamamoto's use of black. In Japanese tradition the samurai must be able to throw his body into nothingness, the colour and image of which was black. The Japanese farmers liked black or very dark indigo

63 because the indigo plant was easy to grow, and the dye was believed to be good for the body and kept insects away (Mears 2010:175).

While black was traditionally associated with death and mourning in the West, Western designers like Cristobal Balenciaga, Christian Dior and Thierry Mugler had favoured black for its erotic and elegant connotations (Stegemeyer 1996:98). Coco Chanel was the first to introduce black as a fashion colour by creating the IIlittle black dress", which became a Chanel trademark and an enduring fashion standard (Baudot 1996:20).

Mears (2010:175) suggests that a key connection between black and the symbolic association of old Europe, traditional Japan and the modern urban landscape may also have derived from the works of mainstream couturiers. As mentioned earlier, Balenciaga and Dior were the two most important figures in the post-war world of couture (Stegemeyer 1996:98). According to Stegemeyer (1996:98) Dior and Balenciaga created day suits and coats, ball gowns and opera costumes devoid of any ornament. While it is widely believed that Dior especially opted for soft, muted tones and remarkably complex yet delicate embroideries, Mears (2010:176) suggests that many museum collections from the late 1940s show a vast majority of dark-coloured preserved garments. Charcoal grey, navy blue and, of course, black woollens were often moulded and manipulated into pure sculptural forms that accented the wearer's silhouette while displaying engineering and tailoring techniques as well as a love of dramatic form (Mears 2010:176).

Mears (2010:173) also concludes that since there is no concrete evidence that Miyake, Kawakubo and Yamamoto drew solely from one source, and since most design styles are derivative, it could be speculated that they received far more inspiration from their contemporary environment than from the ideas of antiquity. Their black, oversized, asymmetrical garments are contemporary hybrids: distillations of select traditional aesthetics.

64 This subsection discussed the Japanese designers' use of the colour black as well as what the colour black symbolises. The next subsection discusses the role that the media played in the Japanese designers' success.

3.12 The use of media

This subsection discusses the role that the media played in the Japanese designers' success. According to Fukai (2010:22) photographs and articles played an enormous role in drawing attention to the existence of fashion in the '80s. The distribution of images of designers' clothing by various means, (including publicity photographs, catalogues and pamphlets), remains an important strategy in fashion. Kawamura (2004:67) suggests that newspapers and magazines serve the function of diffusing fashion.

According to Fukai (2010:22), the interest in Japanese fashion, which had featured in the pages of many Western magazines since the 1980s, had aided in promoting the designers Miyake, Kawakubo and Yamamoto. Kawamura (2004:70) explains that this was crucial in the image-making of these Japanese designers.

In 1978 Miyake published his first book, Issey Miyake: East Meets West, in which he widely publicised his own collections. By publicising his own collections he appealed to a wider audience. This demonstrated the importance of print media. Since then he has continued to publish books, often featuring the work of renowned American photographer, Irving Penn. In addition, Yamamoto has worked with such photographers as Nick Knight, David Sims, Ferdinando Scianna, and Inez van Lamsweerde and Vinoodh Matadin produce photographs that have fixed his clothes in the minds of viewers (Fukai 2010:21). Kawamura (2004:71) suggests this helped promote his collections worldwide.

65 Kawakubo, from the very beginning of her career, had also paid close attention to print media as she strove to express her image of fashion. After she began showing in Paris she published a book of photographs titled Comme des Gercons (1986) featuring work by, among others, Hans Feurer and Peter Lindbergh, whose images have since been reproduced extensively in books and magazines (Koda 1987:31). Kawakubo's ambition was to express herself outside of fashion. From 1975 to 1981 she had issued her own monthly PR magazine consisting solely of black and white photographs featuring her clothes. Kawakubo then proceeded to publish a biannual magazine, Six, from 1988 to 1991. The folio-sized (38.2 x 30.5cm) pages of Six were filled with mysterious shapes with recurring curves and rectangles, over which were coliaged photographs of Native American female figures or nostalgic landscape photographs. Six also incorporated photographs of works by Gilbert & George and Enzo Cucchi, and portraits of John Malkovich, Issey Miyake and Jean Paul Gaultier. This overlapping of dramatic images of work by artists and photographers from various genres was presented in a bold layout, confusing the reader but at the same time arousing the senses, stimulating what Kawakubo obliquely referred to in the title of her pubflcatlon as the sixth sense (Frankel 2010:161; Fukai 2010:21).

Kawakubo, quoted in an interview by Yoshiko Ikoma in 2009, said: "By no means does the expression of things I imagine reach completion through fashion alone" (Fukai 2010:25). She continued to produce a direct mail order catalogue to send a strong message to people everywhere. The use of print media gave a new perspective on femininity as a symbol of strength - both intellectual and graceful. Kawakubo's new female figure had transcended the conventional femme objet. Her direct mail for Comme des Garcons in 1994 featured photographs by Cindy Sherman. Sherman dealt a clear blow to the cliche of "woman as objects" as seen in fashion photography at the time.

66 Initially the Western media often described the clothes of Kawakubo and Yamamoto as nun-like. This resulted in the designers' determination to go beyond the narrow framework of creating clothes to make woman appear beautiful (Vinken 2010:35). Rather than appealing directly to consumers through pure advertising, Japanese designers Miyake, Kawakubo and Yamamoto, have sought to create images or other vehicles that convey their own creative concepts (Fukai 2010:21). Miyake, for example, was one of the first Japanese designers to adopt the exhibition as an expressive medium, beginning with the Issey Miyake: Bodyworks in 1983, followed by Energies, presented at the Stedelijk Museum, Amsterdam in 1990. Miyake then produced an installation called Making Things, first shown at the Foundation Cartier pour I'art contemporain, Paris in 1998. In 1989 Yamamoto collaborated with Wim Wenders on the documentary Aufzeichnungen zu Kleidern und Stadten (Notebook on Cities and Clothes), which was commissioned by the Centre Pompidou to give insight into Yamamoto's clothes, Yohji Yamamoto the designer, his approach to design, and his work environment in Tokyo (Lindbergh 2002:275). From October 2010 to June 2011 Miyake, Kawakubo and Yamamoto (among other Japanese designers) were invited to exhibit in London and Munich for Future Beauty: 30 years of Japanese Fashion (Fukai 2010:13).

Japanese designers interpreted contemporary fashion intellectually, viewing it as but one in a range of fruitful expressive media available to them. This approach found expression in their active intervention in the creation and dissemination of images outside the fashion conventions of their time (Kawamura 2004:67). In the 1980s and beyond, when the boundaries between fashion, design and art were being severely shaken, this attitude created the opportunity for Japanese fashion to attract the attention of art critics, curators and other art professionals (Fukai 2010:22).

67 This subsection discussed the role that the media played in the Japanese designers' success. The next subsection concludes the chapter.

3.13 Conclusion

This chapter concluded that the intention of undertaking the literature review was to establish a framework to develop the sub-themes for visual analysis. In order to achieve this, areas most pertinent to the research motivation were examined. The literature review revealed that the combined presence of Miyake, Kawakubo and Yamamoto challenged the established Paris fashion capital. In doing so the Japanese designers reinforced the French supremacy of fashion. The reviewed literature also revealed that the Japanese designers may have been key players in redefinition of clothes, as they reinterpreted and destroyed the Western definition of clothing. The creation of avant-garde and deconstructed clothing and the introduction of new tools and techniques are also factors that ensured the Japanese designers' success. Rather than isolating these Japanese designers the French establishment labelled them as creative and innovative, giving them the status and privilege that formerly only Western designers had acquired. The literature research confirms that journalists and fashion critics played an important role in introducing, promoting and reinforcing the Japanese designers in Paris, helping to ensure their success. Chapter Four will present and discuss the findings of the research undertaken in the study.

68 CHAPTER 4: PRESENTATION OF VISUAL ANAYLSIS RESULTS

4.1 Introduction

This chapter presents the results extracted from the study. Following the five signs identified in Chapter Two, the chapter will be divided into five sections: fit and form, construction techniques, textile and trimmings, fabrication, and use of colour. Each of the sections focuses on analysing what the three Japanese designers did differently from their European counterparts and the results are presented in the section that follows. The commonality between the criteria and what they represented defines the motivating factors that set these designers apart from others of their time.

4.2 Fit and form

Fit and form as defined in Chapter Two is an integral element of how the design effectively portrays the shape of any body. A review of the designs of Miyake, Kawakubo and Yamamoto highlights how they effectively manipulated fit and form to create new shapes.

While the Western standard of tailoring was based on a form that fit the contours of the body, the Japanese designers instead focused on the space between the body and the garment (Steele 2010:5). The space between the body and garment gave the wearer the possibility of inhabiting the garment naturally, without being restricted by a predetermined form (as discussed in 3.6). The space created between the body and cloth is a Japanese aesthetic referred to as rna, which translated means "space" (Fukai 2010:9). Fit and form have been divided into two sections: Reshaping the body, and unisex clothing, which are expanded on in the section that follows.

69 4.2.1 Reshaping the body

Miyake created an inflatable pair of pants in AutumnlWinter 1981 and used the idea of the kimono with its simple construction for his Spring!Summer 1985, creating an anti-structural shell coat (Plate 1a). Miyake's shell coat disguised the shape of the women's body, similar to the effect of the kimono that simplifies a women's figure into a willowy column, completely hiding the curves and beauty of the female form. Seen through European eyes, where clothing contoured the shape of the body, Miyake's clothing was perceived as loose-fitting, shapeless and allowing maximum freedom.

Yamamoto's Autumn! Winter 1982 collection (Plate 1b) consisted of oversized clothes. The trousers, shirts and coats designed were oversized and the shape of the wearer dictated how the layers fell on the body, creating space between the body and the clothing. Another example of reshaping the body is Yamamoto's Autumn! winter collection 2009 (Plate 2d) where he created a moulded two-tone felt coat with multiple folds, which exaggerated the shoulders, hips and thighs.

Kawakubo in Autumn! Winter 1983-84 (Plate 1c) and Spring! Summer 1984 (Plate 1d) presented a range of garments created with irregularly braided wide-knit panels that twisted around the torso to create volume and exaggerated the shape of the wearers body.

In the eighteenth and nineteenth century, fashionable European women wore bustles and pads to manipulate their busts and bottoms to fit the feminine ideal of the time represented by accentuated curves of the female torm." However, in 1997, Kawakubo deviated from this ideal by introducing bumps

35 A bustle is a type of framework used to expand the fullness or support the drapery of the back of a woman's dress, occurring predominantly in the mid- to late 19th century. Bustles were worn under the skirt in the back, just below the waist, to keep the skirt from dragging (Collins English Dictionary 2009:34).

70 and lumps in unusual places like the neck, back and thighs to distort the body. Kawakubo used unfamiliar pattern pieces to create body-altering shapes. Kawakubo's aim was to explore new body forms and to make new clothes, so that the body and the dress became one (Plate 2a). Her dresses had pockets into which down-filled pillows were inserted on the neck, upper back, hips, and bottoms that distorted the body forms and created extreme silhouettes that had never been seen on the catwalk (Plate 2b).

For Autumn/winter 2007 Kawakubo revisited lumps and bumps, incorporating padded bows, flowers and pairs of 3-D hands that looked as if they were grasping the hips of a skirt. Again in her AutumnlWinter 2010 (Plate 2c), padded sections were added to the clothes to distort the contours of the body including the shoulders, back and hips. She explained it as 'rethinking the body'. For Kawakubo "the body becomes dress becomes body", distorting the notion of the perfect female shape and breaking the stereotypical design of women's clothing.

71 PLATE 1 FIT AND FORM: Reshaping the body

Plate 1a: Issey Miyake (designer) , Spring/Summer 1985,lssey Miyake 's shell coat, ______,(Penn 198 8 : ~6) .

Plate 1b: Yohji Yamamoto (designer), AutumnlWinter 1982, Yohji Yamamoto's oversized coat and jacket, (VadukuI 1982).

Plate 1d: Rei Kawakubo (designer), Spring/Summer Plate t c: Rei Kawakubo (designer), AutumnlW inter 1983-84. 1982 , Black irregularly knitted dress , Black irregularly knitted dress , gathered with rubbe r (Frankel 2009:46). belt, (Frankel 2009:47). 72 PLATE 2 FIT AND FORM: Reshaping the body

Plate 2b: Rei Kawakubo (designer), Spring/Summer 1997. Plate 2a: Rei Kawakubo (designer), Spring/Summer Padded gingham dress creates distortion 01the body, 1997. (Comme des Garcons via Rei Kawakubo 2012). White dress with lumps in unusual places, (Shinoyama 1997).

Plate 2c: Rei Kawakubo (designer), AutumnlW inter 2010. White padded dress. (Madeira 2010a).

Plate 2d: Yohji Yamamoto (designer), AutumnlWinter 2009. Red voluminous jacket, (Feudi 201 1:25). 73 4.2.2 Unisex clothing

Clothing represents a major symbol of gender that allows other people to immediately discover the individual's biological sex. However, by drawing on Japanese traditions where both men and women wore the kimono, the Japanese designers challenged the normative gender specificity characteristic of Western clothes on the Paris fashion scene. Miyake, Kawakubo and Yamamoto often experimented with gender-neutral or unisex clothing. By examining the oversized clothes created by Miyake for Spring/Summer 1985 (Plate 3a) and again in Miyake's AutumnlWinter 1987 (Plate 3b) collection, the gender of the person wearing the garments was concealed, blurring the line between menswear and womenswear.

Kawakubo's designs in the early '80s were also unisex and shapeless, concealing the body (Plate 3c). Universally, female's jackets are buttoned right to left, but in some of Kawakubo's collections, oversized coats for woman were unconventionally buttoned from left to right (Plate 3d).

Yamamoto also often designed clothes outside of gender stereotypes as featured in his AutumnlWinter 1984-85 collection (Plate 3e). His signature collection consisted of large pieces of stiff fabric draped and folded around the body, thereby concealing the sexual identity of body.

Yamamoto frequently created Western business suits without padded shoulders or lining and expanded the armholes creating a softer, more comfortable and feminine fit. In his AutumnlWinter 2002 collection (Plate 4a) female models were presented with dirty faces and matted hair in oversized men's suits; this made the models look like thin men. For his Spring/Summer 2012 (Plate 4b), draped skirts for men replaced pants, crossing gender barriers. While gender roles are conventionally defined by social rules and regulations and substantiated by the clothing worn, Yamamoto challenged these norms by interchanging traditional designs for each gender. He created

74 softer shapes and baggy fits that questioned the ideal masculine angularity, while his skirts questioned the Western sexual silhouettes.

In Autumn! Winter 2004 Kawakubo returned to concepts she had explored in the past of eliminating boundaries between masculine and feminine. The designer achieved this by juxtaposing tailored trousers dropping at the waist to reveal mannish underpants and flat brogues with feathers." bows and flowers as decorations on the skirts with lacy mesh socks (Plate 4c).

Again in Kawakubo's AutumnlWinter 2006 collection (Plate 4d), models wore Venetian carnival masks,disguising their sexual identity. Each outfit was a combination of traditional formal gentleman's clothing coupled with romantic feminine puffs, ruffles and corsetry.

In AutumnlWinter 2011 Kawakubo's Men's ready-to-wear (Plate 5a) collection featured female models. The collection included tailcoats and elongated shirts in liberal proportions with loose tailoring and clashing patterns. This made the collection unisex, and it was difficult to tell the female models from the male ones.

For her AutumnlWinter 2011 ready-to-wear collection Kawakubo took a step further in creating a collection that depicted clothes that were half menswear, half womenswear (Plate 5b). When the collection was viewed from one side it featured a schoolboy jacket and pants; viewed from another side the same garment featured a silk blouse with a sheer front with frilly bottoms, or a trench on one side and frilled shorts on the other making gender ambiguity limitless.

35 Brogues are a style of low-heeled shoes or boots worn by men. Traditionally brogues are characterised by multiple-piece, sturdy leather uppers with decorative perforations referred to as brogueing and serration along the visible edges. Brogues were traditionally considered to be outdoor or country footwear not otherwise appropriate for casual or business occasions (Collins English Dictionary 2009:30).

75 PLATE 3 FIT AND FOR M: Unisex Clothing

Plate 3a: Issey Miyake (designer),Spring/Summer 198 5 . Plate 3b : Issey Miyake (designer),AutumnlW inter 1987. Oversized unisex coat, Unisex suit with long pleated shirt, (Penn 1988:3). (Penn 1988:1).

Plate 3c: Rei Kawakubo (designer),AutumnlWinter 198 1. Plate 3d : Rei Kawakubo (designer), AutumnlWi nter 1988 . Two ladies in balloon pants and oversized jackets, Ladies coat buttoned from left to right, (Rei Kawakubo 80s 2011) (Seismic Shifts 2011 ).

Plate 3e:Yohji Yamamoto (designer), AutumnlWinter 1 9 84/85, Stiff coat concealing the sexual identity of the body, (Vad ukuI1985) 76 PLATE 4 FIT AND FOR M: Unisex Clothing

Plate 4a : Yohji Yamamoto (designer), Autumn lWi nter 2002. Western bus iness suit without padded shoulders. Plate 4b: Yohji Yamamoto (designer) (Vogue Italia 2002). SpringlSummer 2012. Draped skirt on male model, (Vogue fashion shows 2012)

Plate 4c : Rei Kawakubo (designer),AutumnJWinter 2004 . Plate 4d : Rei Kawakubo (designer), AutumnlWi nter Models in ma nnish pants with feminine deta ils of lace and 2006. bows, Mode l wearing Venetian carnival mask to disguise (Madeira 2004) sexual identity, (Madeira 2006)

77 PLATE 5 FIT AND FORM: Unisex Clothing

Plate Sa: Rei Kawakubo (designer), AutumnlWinter 2011 Mens wear. Female models featured in mens wear collection, (VIamos 2011a)

Plate Sb: Rei Kawakubo (designer), AutumnlWinter 2011. Models featured clothing that is half menswear and half womenswear, (Vlamos 2011b) 78 4.2.3 Summary of analysis: Fit and form

In this section it can be concluded that while all three designers consistently manipulated fit and form by applying the Japanese concept of rna. Ma refers to the "space" between the garment and the body (Fukai 2010:16), they each interpreted this concept in a different way in their designs. Miyake used oversized clothes in his ranges, while Kawakubo deformed the natural shape of the female form and Yamamoto blurred the boundaries between menswear and womenswear by creating unisex clothing. The manipulation of fit and form in the aforementioned ways distinguished these designers' collections from their Western counterparts, bringing to the fore a new dimension to clothing design. The next section discusses how the Japanese designers constructed clothes.

4.3 Construction

This section discusses how the Japanese designers constructed clothes. Construction is the foundation of clothing and of fashion design that involves creating a three-dimensional garment from a two-dimensional design or pattern in order to create a shape and fit on a moving body. Garment construction involves both technical and design application. When creating a garment the designer decides on the construction lines, dart position, seams, pockets, collars, edge finishing, volume and structure.

Making clothes is about how to relate flat fabric to a three-dimensional figure in the form of the human body. European-style couture involves giving three­ dimensional form to fabric by using curved lines and darts to fit to the body. The Japanese designers were free from European couture methods because their designs were based on the notion of the kimono. The kimono, in contrast to the construction of Western clothing, is an assemblage of rectangular pieces of fabric, which is flat when not worn. The space between the body and

79 garment is most important therefore, for Japanese designers seek to create a new relationship between clothes and the body.

Flat construction refers to a garment being constructed in a two-dimensional form, free of guided seams or darts that are traditionally used in creating form­ fitting garments and may include draping a piece of flat fabric over the body. All three of the Japanese designers under discussion used flat construction.

Miyake used flat construction and drapery in his 'A Piece of Cloth' concept in 1976. The concept of rna - excessive space between the body and the fabric ­ was used in the 'Shell Coat' he designed in Spring/Summer 1985 (Plate 1a). Miyake's Spring/Summer 1988 (Plate 6a) used a single piece of cloth with no darts and minimal seams to create a synthetic raincoat.

Kawakubo's experimentation with flat construction can be seen in her earlier works in the photographs taken by Naoya Hatakeyama (Plate 6b; Plate 6d). Kawakubo's beige wool felt coat (Plate 6b) and dark blue rayon dress of AutumnlWinter 1983-84 (Plate 6d) were comprised of two-dimensional sections that become complex when laid out on a surface. The construction of the coat is such that, when folded, the poncho-like coat creates a geometry of straight lines. The coat is free of any formal seams or darts and has no buttons or fastenings, much like traditional Japanese travelling coats, which were simple and practical.

Yamamoto's use of flat construction can be seen in his wool and felt coat of AutumnlWinter 1996 (Plate 9b) and AutumnlWinter 1989-90 collection. Yamamoto constructed a cape by imagining that the body was round; this resulted in the cape being wrapped around the body.

The Japanese designers' construction techniques involved a comprehensive Japanese aesthetic that comprised two concepts: wabi meaning "rustic simplicity" and sabi meaning "beauty that comes with age". When applied to

80 human-made objects, wabi also refers to imperfections and incompleteness arising from the process of construction.

Characteristics of wabi-sabi include asymmetry, simplicity and modesty that were frequently featured in Kawakubo's work. Her work included asymmetry, misplaced garment details and "unfinished" looks, as if to emphasize the imperfect and incomplete quality of the garments, consistent with the wabi aesthetic. The wabi-sabi aesthetic can be seen in Kawakubo's 1981 collection in which trousers incorporated sweater cuffs around the ankles (Plate 3c). The oversized overcoats and shapeless boiled knitwear constructed with holes for Autumn/Winter 1982 (Plate 10a) and the asymmetrical, torn blouses of Kawakubo's Spring/Summer 1983 collection (Plate 1Db) also featured characteristics of wabi-sabi.

For Spring /Summer 1998, Kawakubo constructed a dress of twenty sheets of fabric with only two darts at the left side and one large cut made into a sheaf of binding twenty layers thick. A single continuous stitch was then made along the horseshoe-like contour, sealing the layers so that they resembled a sleeping bag. The holes for head and arms became slots and only once worn did the dress pull into shape. The stitch does not function as a conventional seam that holds two pieces of fabric together. Instead the stitch forms a ridge detail dividing the garment equally from front to back creating a ruffle along the bodice (Plate 6c).

Similarly, Yamamoto, in his 1983 collection (Plate 9a), featured blended wool coats with edges of the wool left raw and unfinished. The coats were loosely constructed and held together with metal rings. The pockets were constructed like bags and placed on to the back of the coats with minimum detail exhibiting characteristics of wabi-sabi.

For these Japanese designers, the starting point of construction was to extensively study the relationship between the way the fabric hangs and the gravitational force of the earth. Kawakubo's black rayon jacquard dress with a

81 wide rectangular skirt (Plate 6d), featured in the AutumnlWinter 1983 collection, resulted in asymmetrical and indeterminate forms through experimentation with weight of the fabric.

Rei Kawakubo's garments consisted of ragged edges, irregular hemlines, crinkled fabrics, and loose-fitting layers that fell across the body. Rather than following the British punks, who chose to cut and slash inexpensive, readily available clothing to achieve aesthetic pauperism, Kawakubo maintained a healthy respect for her craft. She deliberately designed the garment to look unfinished and worn (Plate 6e) and in doing so she challenged Western notions of perfection.

Kawakubo's skill in construction is evident in the brocaded coats and cocktail dresses for her AutumnlWinter 1997-98 collection (Plate 7a). Kawakubo used unique construction techniques to sew bonded wool with sheer inserts that revealed flesh. Kawakubo incorporated polyester organdie fabric without the use of support materials such as backings and fusing traditionally used when constructing different fabrics together.

The polyester organdie dress formed the foundation of the garment. Another dress constructed in bonded wool was layered over the organdie base to create a new layer. A transparent base layer reveals an unexpected pair of leggings. The mass of stiff bonded wool contrasts with the gold foil: cord stitching with the transparency of the base layer, demonstrating K?wakubo's unique construction of juxtaposing different materials, textures and forms.

Yamamoto merged masculine tailoring and unique pattern construction for his AutumnlWinter 2003 ready-to-wear collection (Plate 9c). The coats and jackets made of black and white houndstooth fabric varied from bold checks to finer menswear woollens with no use of traditional construction of collars or fronts of the coats.

82 In AutumnlWinter 2007, Kawakubo presented a range of deconstructed and reconstructed dresses. As explained in Chapter Two, "construction" in clothing refers to a set of traditional rules for tailoring and fashion, while "deconstruction", in these disciplines, is to dismantle the form. "Reconstruction" is to reassemble. Kawakubo demonstrated this technique by first constructing child-sized dresses, deconstructing them and reconstructing them into adult-sized dresses (Plate 7b). Kawakubo's deconstruction of Western tailoring routinely questioned the necessary symmetry of a garment, be it hemline, waistline, shoulder or lapel, or the correct placement of a sleeve or seam.

In Spring/Summer 2008 Kawakubo returned to the theme of deconstruction and reconstruction, this time experimenting with tailored menswear. The jackets were deconstructed into fragments of vertically sliced half jackets and then reconstructed with ladies blouses. The skirts and hemlines were unevenly constructed and held together by knotting (Plate 7c).

Similarly to Kawakubo, Yamamoto's AutumnlWinter of 2001 (Plate 9d) also featured jackets with complex construction techniques, which trapped the wearer's arm in its folds resulting in only one functional sleeve. The voluminous coats with asymmetric lengths had misplaced collars constructed toward the shoulders. This contrasted with traditional collar construction where collars are positioned at centre front of a coat or jacket.

Kawakubo, in her AutumnlWinter 2009 collection called Wonderland, where nothing is as it seems, featured tented coats constructed with diagonal fronts, multiple layers of flesh-coloured tulle and painted silhouettes of military jackets. Traditionally, inside seams of unlined jackets are edged with bias binding to neaten and enhance the quality of jackets. The jackets and coats Kawakubo constructed instead featured the bias binding on the outside giving the impression that jackets were turned inside out with bias binding edging the details of pockets and collars, as shown in Plate 8a.

83 Kawakubo used deconstruction in her Spring/ Summer 2010 catwalk show, Tomorrow's Black (Plate 8b). The asymmetric sleeveless mini-dresses were made of numerous small pieces of textile stitched together to create uneven hemlines, and asymmetrical and meticulous construction. The shoulder areas of different tailored jackets were cut out, restructured and sewn back together to form protrusions. The protrusions were placed in various places on the dress, similar to her 'Lumps and Bumps' of the 'Body Meets Dress, Dress Meets Body' collection of Spring/Summer 1997 (Plate 2a).

In Spring/Summer 2011 Kawakubo experimented with complex construction and created clothes that appeared to be constructed upside down (Plate 8c). Kawakubo created coats that had sleeves hanging to the ground, or jackets that had pieces of other jackets constructed to the backs, expressing complicated construction techniques and non-conformity.

84 PLATE 6 CONSTRUCTION

Plate 6a : Issey Miyake (designer), Spring/Summer 1988. Coat make with no darts and minimal seams , (Penn 1988:45)

Plate 6b: Rei Kawakubo (designer),AulumnlWinter 1983/84. Plate 6c : Rei Kawakubo (designer), Spring/ Coat Iree 01any darts or seams, Summer 1998. Dress made 01twenty sheets (Hatakeyama 2009 :70-71) of lab rie, with two darts, (Hatakeyama 2009:69)

Plate 6d: Rei Kawakubo (designer), AutumnlWinter 1983-84. Plate 6e: Rei Kawakubo (designer), Dark blue rayon dress with 01two-d imensional sections become complex when laid out. Autumn lW inter 1984. Garment designed to look unfinished and worn, (Hatakeyama 2009:73). (Seismic Shilt s 2011). 85 PLATE 7 CONSTRUCTION

Plate 7a: Rei Kawakubo (designer), AutumnlWinter 1997-98 . Bonded wool dress, with organdie base, (Simms 1997).

-:

Plate 7b: Rei Kawakubo (designer), AutumnlWinter 2007 . Deconstructed child-size dressed, (Madeira 2007a ).

Plate 7c: Rei Kawakubo (designer), Spring/Summer 2008. Vertically sliced half jackets reconstructed with ladies blouses, (Madeira 2008). 86 PLATE 8 CONSTRUCTION

Plate 8a: Rei Kawakubo (designer), AutumnlW inter 2009. Coats constructed with bias binding on the outside and diagonal fronts. (Madeira 2009b ).

Plate 8b­: Rei Kawakubo (designer), Spring/Summer 2010. Asymmetr ic garments made of numerous pieces of different textiles stitched together meticulously. (Madeira 2010b).

Plate 8c: Rei Kawakubo (designer). Spring/Summer 2011. Garments with hanging sleeves, constructed to look upside down. (Vlamos 2011c ) 87 PLATE 9 CONSTRUCTION

Plate 9a: Yohji Yamamoto (designer), AutumnlWinter Plate 9b: Yohji Yamamoto (designer), AutumnlWinter 1983. Blended wool coats with edges left raw and 1989-90. unfinish ed. Flat constructed wool and felt coat. (Yamamoto Inc. 1983:79) (Walker 2011:68)

Plate 9c: Yohji Yamamo to (designer), AutumnlW inter 2003. Coats with m asculine tailorin and uni ue altern co n ~t r uc t io n , (Madeira 2003).

Plate 9d: Yohji Yamamoto (designer),AutumnlW inter 2001. Comp lex construction techniques, featuring trapped arm and coats with misplaced collars. (Villareal 2001) 88 4.3.1 Summary of analysis: Construction

The employment of flat construction methods, which eliminated the use of traditional darts or seams, combined with unfinished looks and asymmetrical forms, were based on the Japanese aesthetic of wabi-sabi. It can be concluded that the Japanese designers used these techniques to deconstruct and reconstruct their designs, thereby creating new forms that defied traditional sartorial construction methods. The next section discusses the Japanese designers' use of textiles and trimmings.

4.4 Textile and trimmings

This section discusses the textiles and trimmings the Japanese designers used. Textiles are the building blocks of all garments and can be defined as a type of cloth or woven fabric, produced by weaving, knitting, or felting. Trim is defined as the additional decoration, typically incorporated along the edges of a garment and sometimes in contrasting colour or fabric.

Miyake pioneered the use of less fashionable textiles in his early work with the use of fabrics that had a rough-sewn look akin to those that were handmade by rural people. Whether Miyake used actual indigenous materials or versions woven to evoke traditional cloth, his clothes favoured pleats and exposed stitches.

Miyake's experimentation with textiles in his early years led to jackets made of heavy linen and mud dyed cotton skirts for Spring/Summer 1983, and coats made of abura-gami (an oil-soaked handmade Japanese paper that was often used for umbrellas) for his Spring/Summer 1984 collection. In Spring/Summer 1985 collection (Plate 10a) he used airbrush-dyed pleated cotton to add dimension to an apron dress. Miyake experimented with light nylon to create a balloon raincoat for Spring/Summer 1987. His dresses made of kaya, a Japanese mosquito linen gauze, and veils made of pineapple gauze in

89 Spring/summer 1988 are some examples of the extent of his experimentation with textiles.

While traditional Japanese clothes have been made of natural fibres such as cotton, silk, and paper to create warm linings, the Japanese designers addressed textiles by collaborative experimentation with textile engineers. Miyake for example, frequently worked with Makiko Minagawa, a textile engineer. Miyake has been known to give Minagawa vague instructions such as "Make me a fabric that looks like poison" (Handley 2008:23). Miyake emphasised the ancient interest and importance of industrially-produced fabrics such as synthetic materials, effectively making use of the past, present and future with such textile breakthroughs as multi-directional pleating, metallic skin encasement and coliaged quilt material.

The use of permanently pleated polyester in his Spring/Summer 1982 collection (Plate 10b) resulted in experimenting with more innovative three­ dimensional pleated creations (Plate 10c).

Miyake made simpler, permanently pleated polyester garments when he launched his Pleats Please line in 1993. He introduced artistic images on the surfaces of the fabric to draw more attention to the fabric. Miyake started a guest artist series in 1996 to 1998 to complement his "Pleats Please" design collections.

Four artists were invited to collaborate with him on the creation of prints to ornament the fronts of his new dresses. Miyake chose artists who in their own works often used the body as a conceptual entity. One of these artists, Yasumasa Morimura, known for his gender-bending photographic

90 I impersonations, created a series of dresses that drew on Jean-Auguste­ Dominique Ingres's painting of a female nude (Plate 10d).37

Fabric was central to the design concept of the garment for these three Japanese designers. Kawakubo's design process always began with collaboration with the textile designers and experimentation with textiles.

Kawakubo, known for her collaborative methods and cryptic instructions, provided her textile designer, Hiroshi Matsushita, with a crumpled piece of paper, or a single word for inspiration. To produce loom-distressed weaves in their textiles, Matsushita loosened bolts on the looms to deliberately drop stitches and create irregularities in the fabric. By AutumnlWinter 1982, Kawakubo's sweaters were intentionally produced with holes or dropped stitches in the knitting so they would appear as rips and tears (Plate 11a). Tampering with the computer-controlled looms allowed her to create a variety of random "flaws" in order to escape the uniformly produced textiles, with interesting surface textures. She created a padded skirt made of double layers of quilted jersey fabric that was deliberately washed-out leaving the fabric looking aged. By doing so Kawakubo reinforced her anti-commercialisation of a fashion that relied on the conventional and precise uniformity in design.

Kawakubo in Spring/Summer 1983 created volume and texture by knotting, tearing and slashing fabrics that were already crinkled and creased - this involved 80% of the work in making the overall garment (Plate 11b). The creased cotton blouse with applique ribbons gave an uneven texture that emphasised the garment's distressed and ragged quallttes." Her continuous experiments with fabric deliberately led to fabric appearing aged or flawed,

37 Jean-Auguste-Dominique Ingres (29 August 1780-14 January 1867) was a French Neoclassical painter. Ingres's portraits, both painted and drawn, are recognised as his greatest legacy (Schneider 1969:72).

38 Applique in the context of sewing refers to a needlework technique in which pieces of fabric, embroidery, or other materials are sewn onto another piece of fabric to create designs, patterns or pictures (Collins English Dictionary 2009:23).

91 derisively referred to by some fashion writers at the time as the "beggar look'" or the "Japanese bag-lady look".

Kawakubo's AutumnlWinter 1990-91 (Plate 11 c) wedding dress was made with three layers of soft, non-woven fabric, trimmed with ribbon around the hem, reminiscent of a Victorian-era crinoline dress. The non-woven fabric is conventionally used as fillers in pillows or bedding, or in qUilting. This unconventional use of fabric gave the wedding dress a modern look.

Kawakubo's AutumnlWinter 1995-1996 collection featured acrylic knitted sweaters, knitted bustle-like tubes sewn to backs of skirts with tulle petticoats. For her spring/summer 1997 Bump collection, padding was sewn into the stretch synthetics fabrics, nylon/ polyurethane plain weave printed gingham check garments and stretchable fabrics, demonstrating Kawakubo's rejection of the elitist fabrics common in high fashion.

For Spring/Summer 2005 (Plate 11d), Kawakubo's collection Swan Lake was dubbed "ugly ducklings". Models wore ballerina tutus and sculpted leather and neoprene jackets lashed together and trimmed with giant saddle stitching, worn over bike shorts or netted pants with ruffles below. This juxtaposition of materials, with tough leather used on the jackets combined with use of soft ruffles, was a metaphor for Kawakubo's philosophy of women being portrayed as gentle yet strong.

Yamamoto presented a collection called Shrouds at Paris Fashion Week in 1981. Unprepared Westerners dubbed the distressed look the "aesthetics of poverty". Yamamoto grew up in the poverty of post-WWII Japan and perhaps saw beauty in that poverty. His use of creased and aged fabric could also be the aesthetic of wabi, meaning unadorned objects and architectural space, and sabi, meaning worn, weathered, or decayed. Yamamoto embraced the art of everyday living and rejected everything shiny and new that represented the Paris Fashion at the time.

92 Yamamoto's Spring/Summer 1983 (Plate 12a) tunics, made of distressed white cotton with intentional holes and white cotton trousers, looked as if they were "bombed to shreds". The anti-glamorous look was unexpected and threatening to the industry at the time.

In Wim Wenders' 1989 film, Notebook on Cities and Clothes, Yamamoto explained: "I liked used clothes, things that are old and worn". Yamamoto described his work as being contradictory to the commercialism of Western fashion. For his Autumn/ Winter 1984-85 collection he wanted to create clothing that had universal appeal and timeless quality. His idea was to create clothes that were meant to last a lifetime (Plate 3e). Yamamoto often compared an old coat that was needed for warmth to an old friend or a family member, which to him are both indispensable. In AutumnlWinter 2009, Yamamoto created aged knitted brown/grey sweaters with grey trousers and coats, which were deliberately made to look lived-in and second-hand (Plate 12b).

Fabric is everything. Often I tell my pattern makers, just listen to the material. What is it going to say? Just wait. Probably the material will teach you something. (Baude 1997:29)

Yamamoto's skill in twisting and wrapping fabric can be seen in his silk and wool blend dresses of Spring/Summer 1998 (Plate 12c). His pleated silk crepe dress of Spring/Summer 2005 (Plate 12d) also featured a large pleated braid

39 draped around the model's neck as homage to couturier Madame Gres •

39 Madame Gres, Germaine Emilie Krebs (1903-1993), also known as Alix Barton, launched her design house under the name Gres in Paris in 1942. Formally trained as a sculptress, she produced haute couture designs for an array of fashionable women. Her signature was cut-outs on gowns that made exposed skin part of the design, yet still had a classical, sophisticated feel. She was renowned for being the last of the haute couture houses to establish a ready-to­ wear line (Mears 2008:15).

93 Yamamoto's skill was showcased in not letting fabric look or feel forced into the shape.

Yamamoto also had a deep interest in textiles from the outset of his career. He worked in close collaboration with Japan's textile crafts industries to create fabric that had been precisely engineered. Yamamoto decided the exact balance between the warp and the weft of the fabric and dyeing, the type of embroidery or knitwear, as well as the number of washings required to achieve the perfect balance between new and old with all his fabrics, which were specially created in Japan.

Although Yamamoto sometimes used Japanese textiles in his work, he did not present the traditional dyeing techniques such as yuzen and shibori in a traditional way.40 This can be seen in his Autumn/Winter 1994 and Spring/Summer 1995 (Plate 13a) collections, when he used shibori,41 a traditional dyeing technique, on modern silhouettes and only in certain sections of the garment - thus presenting it in a contemporary way.

A similar approach can be seen in Yamamoto's Spring/Summer 2002 collection (Plate 13b), where the yuzen dyeing technique, in which designs were applied to textiles using stencils and rice paste, was created on a full skirt combined with a loose grey folded top, rather than on a more traditional Japanese dress.

In his Autumn /Winter collection of 1996, Yamamoto created an evening dress made of wool and compressed felt as he preferred to use exceptionally heavy

40 Yuzen are designs on textiles applied using stencils and rice paste, in the paste-resist method of dyeing. The yuzen method provided an imitation of aristocratic brocades, which were forbidden to commoners by sumptuary laws (Nobuhiko 1993:12).

41 Shibori is a Japanese term for several methods of dyeing cloth with a pattern by binding, stitching, folding, twisting, compressing it, or capping. Some of these methods are known in the West as tie-dye (Wada 2002:7).

94 fabrics and textiles, which were not commonly used in high fashion or even clothing in general (Plate 13c).

Again in his AutumnlWinter 2000 collection, Yamamoto incorporated coats made of heavy hand-stitched quilting, which was decorated with traditional patterns of Inuit culture." The hoods and collars were trimmed with faux wolf fur (Plate13d).

42 Inuit describes the various groups of indigenous peoples who live in the central and North-Eastern Canadian Arctic, as well as in Greenland. The term culture of the Inuit, therefore, refers primarily to these areas; however, parallels to other Eskimo groups can also be drawn (Collins English Dictionary 2009:56).

95 PLATE 10 TEXTILES AND TR IMMINGS:

Plate lOa : Issey Miyake (designer), SpringlSummer Plate lOb : Issey Miyake (designer), SpringlSummer 1982. 1985. Three-dimensional permanently pleated dress. Airbrush-dyed pleated colton apron dress. (Penn 1988: 24) (Penn 1988:28)

Plate lOC: Issey Miyake (designer)1985 . Permanently pleated pull over cocoon coal. Plate lOd : Issey Miyake (designer), SpringlSu mmer 1997. (Penn 198 8:29) Printed. pleat ed dress from guest artist series. (Powerhous e Museum Collection Search 2.53 2012).

96 PLATE 11 TEXTILES AND TR IMMINGS :

Plate 11a: Rei Kawakubo (designer), Plate 11b: Rei Kawakubo (desig ner), Spring/Summer 1983. AutumnlWinter 1982. Sweater intentionally Garme nts created by knotting, tearing and slas hing fabrics. produced with holes, (Lindbergh 1988). (Lindbergh 1988).

Plate 11c: Rei Kawakubo (designer). AutumnlWinter 1990. Plate 11d: Rei Kawakubo (des igner), Spring /Summer 2005. Wedding dress was made with three layers non­ Models in ballerina tutus, scu lp ted leather and neoprene woven fabric. jacke ts. (Rossi-Camus 2010). (Madeira 20 05a).

97 PLATE 12 TEXTILES AND TRIMMINGS:

~=--~=--:~~~~~ Plate 12a: Yohji Yamamoto (designer), Spring/Summe r Plate 12b: Yohji Yamamoto (designer), AutumnlW inter 1983. 2009. Brown/grey sweate rs with grey trousers and Tunics, made of distressed white cotton with intentional coat, deliberately made to look second-hand. holes. (Fischer 2009). (Yamamoto Inc 1983:49).

Plate 12c: Yohji Yamamoto (designer), Spring/Summer 1998. Plate 12d: Yohji Yamamoto (designer), Spring/Summer Twisted silk fabric dress. 2005. Silk crepe dress with large pleated braid draped around the model's neck. (Hatakeyama 1998). 98 (Madeira 2005b). PLATE 13 TEXTILES AND TRIMMING

Plate 13 a: Yohji Yamamoto (designer). Plate 13 b: Yohji Yamamo to (designer), Spring/Summer SpringlSummer 1995. Traditional dyeing techniques 2002. on Modern silhouettes. Yuzen dyeing technique applied to textiles using stencils and (The Genius of Yohji Yamamoto 2011). rice paste on a full skirt (Hatakeyama 2002).

Plate 13 c: Yohji Yamamoto (designer), Plate 13 d: Yohji Yamamoto (designer), AutumnlW inter 2000 AutumnlWinter 1996. Evening dress made of thick Quilted coats made with traditional patterns of Inuit culture . wool and compressed fell. (Villareal 2000 ). (Hatakeyama 1996).

99 4.4.1 Summary of analysis: Textiles and trimmings

This section concluded that the Japanese designers' design process always began with collaboration with the textile designers and experimentation with textiles. Miyake's permanently pleated polyester experimentation resulted in innovative three-dimensional pleated creations called his Pleats Please line. Kawakubo's tampering with knitting machines lead to intentionally flawed fabrics used in her designs and Yamamoto's precisely engineered anti­ glamorous weathered and washed-out fabrics reinforced the anti­ commercialisation of fashion idea. This contrasted with the conventional designs promoted by other designers that relied on precise uniformity in fabrics and trimmings. The next section discusses how Miyake utilises advanced technology to create clothes.

4.5 Fabrication

This section discusses the use of advanced technology to create clothes. Fabrication in fashion refers to the manufacturing processes relating to cutting, bending, and assembling of clothes with the use of technology.

Miyake is one of the most experimental designers with ~ the use of materials, experimenting with iron, paper, cane, bamboo, silicone and stones. In his 1980s collection called Bodyworks, Miyake collaborated with Nanasai, a mannequin manufacturer, and experimented with shiny silicone to create one of his most prominent designs, which featured a plastic bustier moulded on a human form (seen in Plate 14a).

Miyake's fascination with innovation led to the rattan bustier of 1982 woven by Shochikudo Kosuge, a bamboo and rattan craftsman (Plate 14b).

Miyake is particularly renowned for his work with technologically driven textiles. From as early as 1976, in his Making Things exhibition Miyake showcased the design innovation of 'A piece of cloth' (A-POC).

100 "A piece of cloth" was essentially square or rectangular in shape, which covered the entire body and had sleeves attached - similar to the idea of the kimono. Miyake's objective was to create new techniques of sewing garments by using heat taping and cutting garments using ultrasound, to minimise waste.

Miyake, in collaboration with textile technologist and designer Dai Fujiwara, developed a weaving process that produced fully finished garments without the use of sewing. A-POC, made from high-tech fibres woven by a computer­ instructed machine, consisted of long tubes of Raschel-knit material which created a warp knitted fabric that resembled hand-crocheted and lace fabrics and nettings produced on a computer-controlled loom. The shape of the dress or skirt was pre-embossed, either by heat-punch or by extreme cold-punch methods, to create the perforated outline of a garment into the fabric, leaving the wearer to remove the clothes from the tube by cutting along the marked lines depicted in Plate 14c. When the garments were cut free, the bottom stretch layer of mesh would shrink and stop the fabric from unravelling (Plate 14c). .. Miyake also collaborated with his textile director, Makiko Minagwa, to experiment with paper-like pleating in linen crepe, woven cotton, polyester, and jersey, seeking functionality with interesting textures and to develop new textiles using modern technologies. By 1988 Miyake developed and refined a revolutionary pleating technique, in which polyester was cut into the shape of a garment several times the desired final size and then heat-pressed to create permanent pleats. For his 1991 Fete collection, Miyake's fabrics were cut into complex patterns using ultrasonic waves that emitted heat and vibrations that created intricate pleats, evident in his colombe dress (Plate 15a).

Miyake's use of technology is particularly evident in the 'Minaret' dress (Plate 15b) of Spring/Summer 1995. Miyake experimented with a plain polyester weave, pleated with heat and pressure and then set and bound to plastic

101 hoops in a design that resembled a Japanese hanging paper lantern that folds down into a flat circular shape when not being worn.

In 1993 Miyake revised Fortuny's Delphos and Peplos gowns of the 1930s in his Pleats Please collection by incorporating more sculptural origami pleating effects into the distinctly Grecian dress.43 For Sprlnq/Sumrner 2010 (Plate 15c), he recreated the pleated dresses using advanced technology, with many different openings for the head and the arms, allowing the wearer to decide how to wear the dress.

Miyake collaborated with computer scientist, Jun Mitani, who created a software program that generates formulas to construct three-dimensional, geometric shapes out of single sheets of paper. Miyake and his design team adapted the process to fabric resulting in flat, folded shapes (Plate 16a), which open into wearable garments (Plate 16b). Rather than cutting and sewing, the fabric is held in place by a series of strategic, permanent creases.

Miyake set up a research laboratory called the 'Reality Lab' to examine alternative methods for garment production. His 1325 collection is based on outputs from the Reality Labs research, and highlighted the use of a polyester fibre made from chemical recycling. Using this revolutionary recycled material, the Reality Lab came up with original ideas by which to further improve the fibres to yield more comfortable clothes. The recovered polyester fabric items can be broken down at the molecular level and reprocessed into pure raw materials over and over. The resulting materials do not fall in quality or degrade even after repeated processing. Compared to making new polyester materials from petroleum, the process of recycle fabric reduced energy

43Mariano Fortuny Madrazo, (11 May 1871 - 3 May 1949) was a Spanish fashion designer who opened his couture house in 1906. Fortuny created the Delphos dress, a shift dress made of finely pleated silk weighed down by glass beads that held its shape and flowed on the body. The pleating that he used was all done by hand and no one has been able to recreate pleating that is as fine as his or has held its shape like his dresses have for many years (De Osma 1980:11).

102 consumption and C02 emissions by approximately eighty percent. This work was done in conjunction with the textile-producing factories that have long been associated with Miyake's work.

103 PLATE 14 FABRICATION:

Plate 14 a: Issey Miyake (designer), Bodyworks 1983. Plate 14 b: Issey Miyake (designer), 1982. Plastic bustier moulded on a human form. Rattan bustier of 1982 woven by Shochikudo Kosuge. (Jouanneu 1983). (Issey Miyake: Body Works 1984 ).

Plate 14 c: Issey Miyake (designer) A POCoComposite image by Roulin depicts A-POC the weavi ng process thai produced fully finished garments without the use ot sewing. (Roulin 1997)

104 PLATE 15 FABRICATION:

Plate 15b: Issey Miyake (designer), Spring/Summer Plate 15a: Issey Miyake (designer), SpringlSummer 1995. 1991. 'Minaret' dress pleated with heat and pressure. Intricate pleats on colombe dress (Kitamura 2000) (The cutting edge: fashion from Japan, 2005).

Plate 15c: Issey Miyake (designer), SpringlS ummer 201O.The pleated dresses with many different openings for the head and the arms. (Japanese Fashion Designers 2012).

105 PLATE 16 FABRICATION:

Plate 16a: lssey Miyake (designer), 1325 co llection 2010. Three -dimensional,geometric shapes in flat, folded shapes on fabr ic. (Iwasaki 2010).

Plate 16b : lssey Miyake (designer), 1325 coll ection 2010. Three-dimensional, geometric shapes open into wear able garments. (Iwasaki 2010). 106 4.5.1 Summary of analysis: Fabrication

This section concludes that Miyake, who is continuously inspired by the global environmental crisis, focused on utilising environmentally-friendly fabrication techniques that have laid a foundation for new innovations in design. Miyake's idea of the recycling of fabric coupled with computer-aided design, supports the drive to a more sustainable future. The next section discusses the Japanese designers' use of a monochromatic colour palette.

4.6 Use of colour

This section discusses the monochromatic colour palette used by the Japanese designers. Conventionally, colours are used to convey moods that attach themselves to human feelings and our psychic make-up in an almost subliminal fashion. Colours have a variety of cultural associations, such as white being associated with purity and purple signifying bravery. The field of colour psychology has long been established to identify the effects of colour on human emotion and activity.

In the 1980s, European designers such as Karl Lagerfeld and Gianni Versace used bright colours with bold patterned textiles that were the prevailing trend of the time. French designer Yves Saint Laurent's flamboyant ensembles were based on mixing fabrics with mUltiple colours.

The Japanese designers instead focused on using a monochromatic palette in their collections. The deliberate use of unbleached fabric in Kawakubo's and Yamamoto's collections portrayed the idea of the incomplete that relates to the Japanese aesthetic principle of wabi-sabi. Kawakubo and Yamamoto have experimented with shades of natural colour fabric in their collections over the last three decades. Kawakubo expressed subtle degrees of difference in shades using four different types of white fabric, which hung

107 loosely on the body, creating soft drapes and folds for her Spring/Summer 1983 (Plate 11 b), followed by her off-white coat of AutumnlWinter 1983-84.

Yamamoto created monochromatic dresses for Spring/Summer 1998 (Plate 12c) and ivory dresses of Spring/Summer 2009, which were pieced together from irregularly shaped swatches of white and cream fabrics.

No colour has been more important in the work of Kawakubo and Yamamoto than black. In the West, black was traditionally the colour of death and mourning until the 1960s when Coco Chanel introduced the little black dress. Her portrayal of the black dress as evening wear created a new association of black with elegance and sexiness. Subsequently many Western designers, including Cristobal Balenciaga, Christian Dior and Thierry Mugler favoured black because of the colour's erotic and elegant connotations. Yamamoto and Kawakubo deliberately avoided using all the signs of elegance and eroticism associate with black. In place of "sexy" black, Kawakubo and Yamamoto's use of black was abstract. They created clothes that were androgynous with no formal signs of male or female attire (Plate 18d).

Yamamoto also used black to portray restraint and dignity. He drew inspiration from Japanese samurai who were highly respected yet fierce warriors in the seventeenth century. The darker palettes and inky shades of the samurai kimonos were associated with self-discipline and alluded to the status of warriors in society. Yamamoto's AutumnlWinter 2003-2004 (Plate 18c) was an example of his use of black as powerful colour that exuded self­ control.

Kawakubo's and Yamamoto's dominant use of the colour black in their early collections earned their devotees the nickname Karasuzoku, meaning "members of the crow tribe", portrayed in a photograph by Hans Feuer in (Plate 18a).

108 For Kawakubo particularly, the use of the colour black was the experimentation between fibre and dye. Her AutumnlWinter 1992-93 collection (Plate 17a) included a dress with three shades of black. The use of different fabrics that absorbed the inky dye differently created slight differences in the colours of the different pieces of the dress. The constant presence of this inky hue in Kawakubo and. Yamamoto's collections (Plate 18b) also symbolised the centuries of black garb worn by Japanese. For the journalists viewing their work for the first time, black related to the colour's Western historical associations with death and mourning as discussed in detail in Chapter Three.

In Kawakubo's Autumn Winter 1992-93 collection, the subtle play of light and shade is created when the garment is worn. Yamamoto's expressive use of the black palette took on the qualities celebrated in Juni'chiro Tanizaki's book In Praise of Shadows (1933) (as discussed in Chapter Three), highlighting the essence of the Japanese aesthetic and their skill with light and shade.

Kawakubos' AutumnlWinter 2002 collection was almost completely black, with grey and a tint of blue. She revisited the purity of the colour black in AutumnlWinter 2004-2005, in a collection called Witch. For Spring/Summer 2009 her collection was made up of black-on-black hexagonal cutting inspired by deconstructed soccer balls (Plate 17b).

109 PLATE 17 USE OF COLOUR:

Plate 17a: Rei Kawakubo (designer), AutumnlWinter 1992-93. Dress with three shades of black. (Hatake ama 1990).

Plate 17b : Rei Kawakubo (designer), Spring/Summer 2009. Black-on-black hexagonal cutting inspired by deconstructed soccer balls (Madeira 2009a). 110 PLATE 18 USE OF COLOUR:

Plate 18a : Yohji Yamamoto (designer), AutumnlWinter Plate 18b : Yohji Yamamoto (designer), AutumnlW inter 1983-84. Dom inant use of the colour black , nicknamed 1986. the members Karasuzoku crow tribe. Black wool dress es with chiffon bustles. (Feurer 1984) (Kni ght 1986)

Plate l8c : Yohji Yamamo to (designer), AutumnlWinter 2003-04. Darker palettes and inky shad es inspired by samurai kimonos . (Madeira 2003).

Plate l8d: Yohji Yamamoto (designer), SpringfSummer 2007. Use of black was abstract with no formal signs of male or female attire . (Madeira 2007b). 111 4.6.1 Summary of analysis: Use of colour

This section concludes that Kawakubo and Yamamoto's use of the colour black relates to the Japanese aesthetic of wabi-sabi and qualities celebrated in Juni'chiro Tanlzakl's book In Praise of Shadows (1933), respectfully. This was in contrast to European designers at the time, who used black as an erotic colour. The table that follows summarises the results of Chapter Four.

4.7 Summary of the results

Issey Miyake Rei Kawakubo Yohji Yamamoto Fit and form Rejected structured Explored new body Desiqned oversized designs of the forms by deforming the clothing that reshaped Reshaping the prevailing European natural shape of the the natural form of the body fashion, created human body and human body by loose-fitting shapes adding padding to exaggerating that allowed unusual areas of the shoulders, hips and maximum freedom. body like the neck, thighs. Created ironed pleats back and arms, and in that changed the doing so challenged (Plate 1b; 2d) dimensions of the the normative Western dress, making the definitions of beauty. fabric project from the body thus (Plate 1c; 1d; 2a; 2b; , changing the natural 2c) shape of the human body.

(Plate ta)

112 Issey Miyake Rei Kawakubo Yohji Yamamoto Fit and form Focussed on the Eliminated boundaries Experimented with space between the between masculine oversized clothes, Unisex fabric and the body and feminine by concealing the sexual clothing to create anti- combining traditional identity of the person structural oversized formal gentleman's wearing the garment clothing that clothing with romantic and blurring the concealed the curves feminine puffs, ruffles boundary between of the female form and corsetry making sexes, creating unisex gender ambiguity resulting in gender clothing. Created limitless. neutral or unisex clothing that crossed clothing. gender barriers by (Plate 3c; 3d; 4c; 4d; experimenting with 5a; 5b) (Plate 3a; 3b) softer tailored suits for men resulting in a feminine fit and draped skirts for men.

(Plate 3e; 4a; 4b)

Construction Used flat Experimented with flat Used flat construction construction and construction, coupled with draping drapery to create his geometric shapes and and wrapping concept of A-POC. straight lines to eliminating the use of Eliminated the use of construct clothes with seams and darts. darts and minimised minimal use of seams the use of seams or darts. (Plate 8b) used in garments to construct clothes. (Plate 6b; 6d)

(Plate 1a; 6a)

113 Issey Miyake Rei Kawakubo Yohji Yamamoto Reinterpreted Garments consisted of Embraced the Western sartorial various slots or anomalies of conventions by openings for the head construction by suggesting different and arms. Introduced creating ways of wearing a asymmetrical cut deconstructed, garment and creating clothing with flawed unfinished clothing garments that fabrics and raw edges. with deliberately aged consisted of two neck or flawed fabrics, as openings instead of Experimented with design concepts. one, or three sleeves complex construction instead of two, and deconstruction Misplaced collars and leaving the wearer to techniques. This led to reshaped the decide which hole or finished garments symmetry of clothes by sleeve to use when appearing to be introducing wearing the garment. constructed upside asymmetrical cut down and inside out, clothing. (Plate 15c) thus challenging the notions of perfection. (Plate 9a; 9b; 9c; 9d)

(Plate 3c; 6c; 6e; 7a; 7c;8a;8b~10a;10b)

Textiles and Used less Produced loom- Pioneered the use of trimmings fashionable textiles distressed weaves that anti-glamorous textiles that were hand- featured deliberately created with intentional made. Made use of dropped stitches to holes, with a faded actual indigenous create irregularities in and second hand look materials or versions the fabric. By doing so that had not been seen woven to evoke reinforced her stance on Paris fashion ramps traditional cloth. His of anti- before. clothes favoured commercialisation of pleats and exposed fashion that relied on (Plate 12a; 12b) stitches. the conventional and precise uniformity in (Plate 10a; 10b) design.

(Plate 11a)

114 Issey Miyake Rei Kawakubo Yohji Yamamoto Industrially produced Created volume and Experimented with synthetic materials, texture by knotting, Japanese textiles in like permanently tearing and slashing his work, but did not pleated polyester fabrics that were present the traditional fabric to garments for already crinkled and dyeing techniques in his Pleats Please creased. This traditional ways. line. deliberately led to fabric appearing to be (Plate 13a; 13b) (Plate 1Dc) aged or flawed, to Worked in close demonstrate her collaboration with Experimented with rejection of the elitist Japan's textile crafts textiles and fabrics common in industries to create collaborated with high fashion. textile engineer fabric that has been precisely engineered Makiko Minagawa (Plate1c; 1d; 11b; 11c; to look lived-in and and textile artists to 11d) second hand. create unique fabrics. Collaborated with (Plate 12a; 12b) (Plate 10d) textile designer Hiroshi Matsushita to escape uniformity and produce textiles with interesting surface textures.

(Plate 11a)

115 Issey Miyake Rei Kawakubo Yohji Yamamoto Fabrication Utilised innovative Preferred creating Incorporated a lot of textile technologies clothing designed hand-stitched quilting, together with aspects through heavy weighted fabrics of traditional experimentation and and delicate silks, Japanese clothing conceptualisation which require skilled culture to create rather than using labour rather than seamless clothing. fabrication. fabrication.

(Plate 14c) (Plate 7c; 8b) (Plate 12c; 12d; 13c; 13d) Revolutionised the way clothes were made by minimising cutting and sewing, thereby reducing waste. These techniques have laid the foundations for eco-friendly clothing designs. . (Plate 16a; 16b)

Use of colour Experimented with Use of the colour black Used monochromatic naturally dyed fabrics as an experimentation palettes and favoured (Plate 3a; 6a; 10c) between fibre and dye. ecru-coloured fabrics. but preferred the use The expressive use of Drew inspiration from of bright primary the black palette could the dark palettes and colours. partake of qualities inky shades of samurai celebrated in Juni'chiro kimonos, which were (Plate 14a; 14c; 15b) Tanizaki's book In associated with self- Praise ofShadows discipline and alluded (1933). She to the status of popularised the colour warriors in society. black as a powerful and androgynous (Plate 12c; 12d; 13c; colour. 18a; 18b; 18c)

(Plate1c; 1d; 6d; 7c; 11a; 11d; 17a; 17b)

116 4.8 Conclusion

The analysis of visual data describes the key innovations that Issey Miyake, Yohji Yamamoto and Rei Kawakubo have introduced in their collections over the last thirty years. They all manipulated fit and form to create new shapes for the body. Their contribution to innovation in fit and form was based on experimenting with the space between the body and clothes, challenging gender ambiguities and reshaping the human body. Their unique construction techniques of minimising seams, changing traditional sartorial construction and creating asymmetric garments differed from traditional construction methods of the West. The Japanese designers also collaborated with textile designers to create new fabrics that looked lived-in, second hand and flawed. They experimented with traditional Japanese dyeing techniques, created different textures and permanently pleated fabrics. Furthermore, they removed the notions of eroticism and elegance that were conventionally associated with the colour black. Moreover, Miyake's use of alternative methods for garment production along with the use of eco-friendly textiles has placed him at the forefront of environment-friendly fashion. The unique contributions of these three Japanese designers will be guiding factors when recommendations for the study are made.

117 CHAPTER 5: CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS

The purpose of the study was to investigate what were the principal factors that have sustained the success of Issey Miyake, Yohji Yamamoto and Rei Kawakubo in innovative design from the 1980s to the present day. The findings and recommendations generated from the study aim to provide insights into a way forward for designers attempting to push the boundaries of fashion and wanting to achieve lasting success. The research study was based on an interpretive paradigm whereby knowledge was constructed through a process of qualitative data collection that was scrutinised and/or endorsed by others. This method of research was specifically suited to this study as the objective is based on understanding the commonalities between these designers through multiple sources of information to determine what laid the foundation for their success in design innovation. The research was collated and synthesised, clearly articulating the findings related to the success factors of the aforementioned designers. A discussion related to each finding was presented based on a collation of all the information reviewed and acquired through the research process. In doing so the study hopes to contribute positively to design practitioners.

The research was guided by the following research objectives:

1. Analyse the collections of Issey Miyake, Yohji Yamamoto and Rei Kawakubo in order to clearly define what they did differently in Paris in the 1980s. 2. Determine what were the principal factors that distinguished them from their peers in the 1980s. 3. Discover what innovations in design they have contributed in the past three decades. 4. Compare their design techniques and approaches to design from the

118 1980s to the present day to determine if there are any commonalities. 5. Extract the findings and document them for use by fashion designers striving to create their own niches in the market.

The subsequent section included a synopsis of the various chapters of the dissertation.

5.1 Summary of chapters

5.1.1 Introduction

Chapter One commenced with an introduction to the research topic. The chapter included the research rationale along with aims and objectives for the study. The fundamental research question as well as the research methodology and the outline of the chapters were provided.

5.1.2 Research methodology and design

Chapter Two explained in detail the research methodology and design of the study. The following is an outline of the selected research method.

The study was grounded within an interpretive paradigm. As described by Henning et al (2004:19), the methodology associated with interpretive research is based on qualitative data collection processes such as unstructured observation followed by detailed analysis. The chapter explained how, gUided by the research paradigm, the purpose of the study and the chosen research design, choices regarding sampling of the designers' collections, data collection methods and methods of analysis were made.

This research utilised a subset of a purposive sample, which was constructed to serve a very specific need or purpose (Trochim 2006:27) of snowballing, so named because the visual samples were selected along the way. The study

119 provided an analysis of the publicised collections of the three designers' collections over the last four decades. At least two design collections per decade per designer were analysed to ensure sufficient sampling of their work.

The data collection method utilised two instruments: literature review and visual content analysis of the three Japanese designers' collections. The literature review assisted in clarifying the central issues and sub-themes of focus within the study and the visual content analysis included a comparative analysis of selected images of past and present collections by the three designers. The analysis was aimed at documenting the visual similarities and differences between the various collections based on five criteria that represent the key elements of clothing design as per Winifred Aldrich (1997:5). The five elements "are as follows: fit and form, construction techniques, textile and trimmings, fabrication, and use of colour.

The data was collated and analysed using the system of signs referred to as semiotics. Semiotics was initiated by Ferdinand de Saussure (1916). According to De Saussure, there are two levels to the sign: the 'signifier' and the 'signified'. Together they create the sign. By applying Gaimster's (2011) visual research methods to the Japanese designers' clothing, their collections were analysed in terms of the following key parameters: fit and form, construction techniques, textile and trimmings, fabrication, and use of colour. The five key parameters represented the signs that are analysed within each collection of the designers in this study. The signs provide the key elements that distinguished the Japanese designers from their peers. According to Julia Gaimster (2011 :144) this technique is referred to as visual literacy: the ability to interpret images and understand the ideas conveyed by them. The results of the analysis of the five signs and what they signified for each designer provided the basis of the material that was evaluated to deduce the commonalities. These commonalities represent the motivating factors that were discussed to support the hypothesis of this research.

120 The chapter concluded by explaining how issues concerning the constructs of credibility, transferability, dependability and confirmability, as well as ethical procedures were dealt with as part of the research process.

5.1.3 Literature review

In Chapter Three, literature pertinent to the purpose of the study was reviewed in order establish a solid theoretical framework for the study. The chapter focused on presenting all data gathered from the various literature sources.

The chapter included various concepts related to the study in terms of revolutionary design, avant-garde and anti-fashion. Chapter. Three (3.2:25-63) provided a snapshot of the Paris fashion landscape during the 1980s and the prevailing trends, such as the European designers' style, structure and use of colour in their designs. The study explains how European fashion in the 1980s was regarded as the universal fashion. according to Fukai (2010:23); Kawamura (2004:16); Steele (2010:45), and how the Japanese designers rejected the structured designs of the prevailing European fashion (Kawamura I' 2004:137; Jones 1992:72). Kawamura (2004:137) emphasised that the I intention of designers Issey Miyake, Rei Kawakubo and Yohji Yamamoto was > to never reproduce Western fashions, which have historically been fitted to expose the contours of the body. The research suggests that belonging to the French Fashion System was part of the designers' image (Kawamura 2004:143). Therefore Miyake, Kawakubo and Yamamoto continue to present their shows in Paris in order to keep it as their symbolic capital.

The study reveals how the Japanese designers had to train factory seamstresses in new ways of sewing the pieces together that conflicted with craft standards (Kawamura 2004:133; Steele 2010:21). This made it difficult for those who were trained in fashion to break the mould of conventions that defined a quality garment (Mears 2010:172). The reviewed literature also revealed that the Japanese designers have been key players in the

121 redefinition of clothes, as they reinterpreted and undermined the Western definition of clothing. It became apparent that the Japanese designers explored the use of media and that media aided in promoting the designers. Kawamura (2004:70) explains that this was crucial in the image-making of these three Japanese designers. The study shows how cultural traits of the Japanese designers are embedded in their design work, providing a cultural richness and meaning that defies and deconstructs the notion of a globalised fashion industry.

5.1.4 Discussion of the visual analysis findings

Chapter Four presented and discussed the findings of the research study. The chapter related to the reasons why the three Japanese designers were, and are still regarded as, revolutionary. A discussion related to each element was presented based on a collation of all the information reviewed and acquired through the research process.

The purpose of this study was to identify the key factors that differentiated Miyake, Kawakubo and Yamamoto from other designers of the time and contributed to their sustained success and innovation in design (Chapters: 3.8; 3.9; 3.10; 3.11). This chapter discussed the results of the study, contributions and limitations experienced during the course of the study, and implications for future research.

An in-depth visual content analysis was conducted in Chapter Four on Miyake's, Kawakubo's and Yamamoto's collections over the last three decades. Based on the theory of semiotics, five signs were selected for the visual analysis: fit and form, construction, textiles and trimmings, fabrication, and use of colour, as per Aldrich (1997:5).

The study revealed how the Japanese designers manipulated fit and form to reshape the body. Miyake, Kawakubo and Yamamoto revolutionised and re­ contextualised sartorial objectives by rejecting the structured designs of the

122 prevailing European fashion. While European fashion at the time was centred on moulding of the body, the Japanese designers instead focused on the space between the fabric and the body to create oversized clothing. This point is discussed in the analysis of fit and form (refer to chapter 4.2:69-73). Miyake's trademark ironed pleats changed the dimensions of the dress, making the fabric project from the body. Kawakubo challenged the normative Western definitions of beauty by deforming the natural shape of the human body and adding padding to unnatural areas of the body like the neck, back and arms. She explored space and volume to create new body forms and to create new shapes. Kawakubo and Yamamoto consistently experimented with oversized clothes, concealing the sexual identity of the person wearing the garment and blurring the boundary between genders, which had previously not been seen in Paris. This was discussed in the analysis of fit and form chapter 4.2:73-79).

The Japanese designers embraced the anomalies of construction creating deconstructed, unfinished clothing with deliberately aged or flawed fabrics, as design concepts. Kawakubo and Yamamoto reshaped the symmetry of clothes by introducing asymmetrically cut clothing. Miyake and Kawakubo reinterpreted Western sartorial conventions by suggesting different ways of wearing a garment, such as creating garments that consisted of two neck openings instead of one or three sleeves instead of two, leaving the wearer to decide which hole or sleeve to use when wearing the garment. While in traditional European tailoring darts and seams were used to create garments, the Japanese designers eliminated the use of darts and minimised the use of seams in their garments to construct clothes. Kawakubo often made her garments look as if they were constructed inside out or upside down, expressing complicated construction and non-conformity. This was discussed in analysis of construction (refer to chapter 4.3:79-89).

Miyake, Kawakubo and Yamamoto pioneered the use of less fashionable textiles that were hand made and had a rough-sewn look to them, which had

123 not been seen on Paris fashion ramps before. Fabric was always central to the Japanese designers' design concept as they experimented with textiles and collaborated with textile designers and textile artists to create unique fabrics discussed in analysis of textiles and trimming (refer to chapter 4.4:89­ 100).

Miyake utilized innovative textile technologies together with aspects of traditional Japanese clothing culture to create seamless clothing. He revolutionised the way clothes were made by minimising cutting and sewing, thereby reducing waste. As discussed in analysis of fabrication (refer to chapter 4.5:100-107), Miyake's minimal cutting and sewing techniques laid the foundations for eco-friendly clothing designs, driving a more sustainable future for clothing production.

With regards the use of colour, Kawakubo and Yamamoto used monochromatic palettes and popularised the colour black as a powerful and androgynous colour, unlike their Western counterparts who used black primarily in sexy and seductive collections, discussed in analysis of use of colour (refer to chapter 4.6:107:112).

While the analysis of the five signs highlight key attributes that were interpreted and implemented differently by the Japanese designers, the study reveals that these designers' approach to fashion design was holistically different to their Western counterparts. They not only focused on creating incremental changes in design by changing one attribute, be that fit and form or colour or construction, but instead looked at design from the ground up, changing all elements. This combination of change to all attributes of their design allowed them to create collections that have led to their success and also sustained their innovation in design.

From the 1970s, a period when European clothing traditions were unquestioningly recognised as being universal, the Japanese designers started to transform fashion. This was more than just a temporary shock. The

124 Japanese designers' concepts were different, original and new compared to the rules of fashion set by orthodox Western designers such as Chanel, Dior and Saint Laurent. The media and fashion professionals were equally shocked by the perception that these clothes were apparently not intended to make women more "beautiful". At a time when most Western fashion was aggressively sexual and body-conscious, avant-garde Japanese fashion was body concealing, asymmetrical, and overwhelmingly black.

Both Kawakubo and Yamamoto had taken a great risk by challenging the existing Parisian fashion and while there was room in Parisian circles for the avant-garde, there was no room for anyone who challenged the French fashion system. Fortunately, the press dubbed their collection a "sartorial revolution" rather than a declaration of war on institutional values. The media hype around the Japanese designers' collections, which was created through various means (including publicity photographs, catalogues and pamphlets, and articles written by fashion critics in newspapers and magazines), led to them being recognised as representing something completely new. Chapter 3.12:64-67 discussed Miyake's, Kawakubo's and Yamamoto's use of media, which can be considered a strategic plan in sustaining the designers' success as it aided in promoting the designers.

Chapter 3.9:52-55 discussed the Japanese designers' success, which is also due to them all showcasing in Paris at the same time. Although Miyake had been showing in Paris since the mid 1970s, Kawakubo's and Yamamoto's first shows were in 1981 and the impact of the three designers showing in Paris simultaneously was far greater.

All three Japanese designers collaborated with a number of artists on their design collections, which raised their status from fashion designers to artists.

Findings extracted from the study that could be used by fashion designers striving to create their own niches in the market:

125 1. Design should not be constrained by the shape of the human body 2. Consider new ways of constructing clothing 3. Experimentation with textiles and textile artists or collaborations can lead to creating interesting textures and finishes on clothing

The study concludes that the Japanese designers Issey Miyake, Yohji Yamamoto and Rei Kawakubo have had an impact on the direction of fashion design over the past 30 years and have contributed to innovation in design.

5.2 Suggestions for further research

One of the key findings presented in this study related to the Japanese designers' use of textile designers and textile technology to create new fabrics and textures. The ability -of Japanese designers to demonstrate unconventional creative talent is owing to both Japan's modern textile sector and an enduring commitment to finding new forms of expression. Fabric technology in itself has become part of the ritual of Japanese textile development. Japan's history of textile development started in Kyoto, which was the ancient centre for textile experimentation, with the aim of reviving and replicating ancient methods of weaving. They created looms based on the 1200-year-old technology that originated in the Tang Dynasty (7th- to 9th­ century China).

More recently, Tokyo has developed into the primary textile producing city in Japan. The textiles produced here are eco-friendly and incorporate new fibre materials. The textiles have evoked a global interest because of their eco­ friendly nature.

Another key development in the textile production industry has been the rise of individual design workshops, such as the Miyake Design Studio (MDS). This studio has experimented with textiles and explored new elements of textile production techniques to establish itself as a niche textile producer.

126 Further studies in the techniques of textile production and their effect on design would reveal more insight into the subtleties of Japanese design, which relies on the effect of the fabric on the design itself. Furthermore, this research could also potentially provide the basis for exploring the effect of textile production techniques on creating new materials and fabric for design.

Another area for further research would be the effect that these Japanese designers have had on modern designers. While this study reveals the key elements that differentiated them from their peers, a whole new generation of designers are now employing their techniques to their own designs. Next­ generation fashion and textile designers who show the impact of Miyake, Kawakubo and Yamamoto in their work include: Naoki Takizawa, Dai Fujiwara, Junya Watanabe, Tao Kurihara, Jun Takahashi, Yoshiki Hishinuma, Junichi Arai, Reiko Sudo & the Nuno Corporation, Makiko Minagawa, Hiroshi Matsushita, Ann Demeulemeester, Martin Margiela, Walter Beirendonck, Dries Van Noten, Dirk Bikkembergs, the late Alexander McQueen, Hussein Chalayan, Viktor & Rolf and Helmut Lang. The range of designers spanning East and West and their different styles showcases how each interpreted and utilised the design techniques postulated by Miyake, Yamamoto and Kawakubo. The result of that research may prove the universal approach of the design techniques.

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