Dear Shaded Viewers,
It was a pleasure this morning meeting Naoki Takizawa in his showroom. He talked me through his very ‘luxury’ collection. Instead of opting for a show this season Naoki wanted the press and buyers to be able to experience the beauty of his artisanal collection up close.
Since last season, Naoki has been reflecting on what interests him the most and how to express and find his own identity. He discovered what really interests him is the craft and the value and the importance of doing things by hand. Although traditional techniques and precise tailoring are essential to Naoki he has also spent his career researching innovative ways to develop different textiles.
THe black wrap coat is made entirely of nylon
Over the past few years there has been a great debate about whether luxury brands in fact have anything at all to do with real luxury. Naoki exposes real luxury by utilizing artisanal techniques combined with experimentation with innovative textiles. The garments are constructed and finished by hand and Naoki urges you to look at the inside construction as well as the outer finish of the garment. I was impressed by both his passion and his devotion to the craft and construction of each of the garments. Men’s wear techniques are applied to a simple pleated dress creating it’s volume by the use of inserted strips of horsehair. Horsehair is a traditional interfacing used in men’s tailoring. He incorporates it both inside and outside of the garment.
A delicate feather motif is drawn by hand with a metal brush traditionally used in the ancient technique of kimono painting from Kyoto. One jacket made of the finest gauge of polyester is then layered with a transparent veil. In other words, the feathers are not painted on the surface of the garment but are drawn on the layer of fabric under the protective transparent veil.
Naoki explained how a nylon thermal thread was woven into the textile to produce warmth while keeping the fabric light. 80% of the fabrics for the collection have been developed for Naoki in Japan.
Later,
Diane
