Tailoring for Women

I had a great treat the other day.  A visit from the fashion guru Hirofumi Kurino, Creative Director of United Arrows; one of the biggest clothing retailers in Japan.  Our meeting was arranged by a mutual friend, and what made it all the more special was that he knew well this area of London, Spitalfields, where my studio is based.  So it also gave him the opportunity to visit some old haunts, and pick up some samples of richly coloured African fabrics.

It struck me during our conversation that in order to become a succesful and authentic fashion leader one needs the foresight of a soothsayer coupled with the academic rigour of a social historian.  We spent much time talking about the degree to which one has to anticipate trends and how they are often cyclical in nature,  re-emerging sometimes after years of lying dormant.   He explained how he created his long term view from watching closely the stimuli of everyday events; street culture, political influences, the emergence of new social movements.

He is also a huge music fan with a collection of over 3000 vinyl albums;  another indication of how important it is to him to preserve a solid core of authenticity.  “Fame will lose its appeal and we will be in for simpler times with less fuss” was his prediction.

One of the best three hours I have spent for a long time.

Imagine my surprise when I saw him make an appearance talking to the designer Deryck Walker as part of the superb documentatary about the current demise of the Harris Tweed industry shown recently by the BBC (Trouble Looms).  For those in the UK you may still be able to catch it on the BBC’s  iPlayer.

I said good-bye to one of my assistants this week.  Having graduated with her second degree, an MA in arts administration from Goldsmiths College, she has to fill her suitcase and return to Japan.

Yukiyo (Sugiyama) spent almost 3 years of study and work experience here in the UK during which time she immersed herself in ballet, opera, theatre, museums and galleries.  She still somehow found time to help me in my studio, and in particular with planning my own Japanese trips.  She returns to Tokyo to run the new concert hall at the Ueno Gakuen (a music university in Tokyo) which came to prominence recently when one of its students,  Nobuyuki Tsujii, won the Van Cliburn Piano Competition.

To add to her souvenirs I thought that a light weight business suit would make a welcome change from her customary jeans and t-shirt.  This charcoal grey fresco suit will be ideal for those sticky summer Tokyo days with humidity levels you could cut with a knife (’fresco’ is a type of open weave used particularly for tropical suitings).  This particular fabric is cool to wear and also has a crease resistant quality that can withstand the most rigorous packing regimes!

Ganbatte. Good luck, Yukiyo.  We will miss you very much.

I had something of a surprise last week.  An unexpected visit to my Spitalfields studio  from one of the members of the Japanese Imperial Household.  It also gave me the chance to show the latest treasures in stock.  A selection of superb silk and wool tweeds prepared specially for me by Nicolas Guibauld at Holland & Sherry.

Silk is a natural protein fibre spun by the silkworm as it makes its cocoon…which is perhaps why moths aren’t particularly interested in it!  In cross section, the fibres have a triangular shape with rounded corners which allow light to reflect at different angles, giving the fabric a natural lustre.  Its smoothness and softness of texture belies the fact that it is one of the strongest natural fibres, and it also takes dye extremely well.  I believe also that violinists wrap their instruments in silk cloths in order to equalise in part any changes in humidity.

Holland & Sherry’s Silk Essence range is woven in England with Super 100’s wool.  When silk is included in the weave the natural qualities of the wool are enhanced immeasurably giving the fabric a unique drape and luxurious feel.  What is more, when silk is woven into patterns - dogtooth, herringbone, birdseye or glenchecks - it becomes almost irridescent.

They also stock a range of cashique fabrics; a very special treat indeed.  It’s made from a blend of the highest quality mulberry silk with cashmere and super-fine wool.  Definitely for the connoisseur.

It is not only the properties of the fabric itself however that lend to it its mystique.  It first began to appear in the West almost 2000 years ago and the trade routes that were established for the transport of silk and other commodities from China, the Silk Road, gave rise to a rich reservoir of stories and legends.

Everyone seems to have a ’silk’ story.  What is yours?

I think that you may have gathered from previous posts that I have an interest in things Japanese.  What a surprise to find that in September, in Spitalfields Market (East London) opposite my studio, there will be a daylong event devoted to both the traditional and more contemporary aspects of Japan in the form of a ‘matsuri‘; the Japanese word for festival.  Click here to see just how spectacular it was.

I made my first visit to Japan last year and at the same time had my first experience of ‘o-matsuri’ in an area of Tokyo called Azabu Juban.  A really vibrant street festival with food, dancing, and everyone dressed in their summer yukatas.  The perfect way to blow away the jet lag.  I remember the air being heavy with the summer heat and eating flavoured crushed ice (kakigoori) to keep cool, and munching on octopus balls and grilled fish with a sip or two of sake.

It looks as if this could be a date for your diary.  Check out the website. Japan Matsuri

I can’t wait for my next trip.

Image: thanks to Shimei Okumura

With due acknowledgement paid to Rogers and Hammerstein, I thought this week’s post should be devoted to a garment I am personally becoming quite attached to; the happi coat.

This loose fitting Japanese jacket originated as a lightweight over-garment that became a traditional part of a shop keeper’s uniform. The family crest, shop name or emblem was printed on the back of the coat.   In Japanese restaurants the chefs often wear something similar to a happi coat called a hippari.  However, rather than having the traditional obi tied around the waist it has a small belt that ties inside the foreparts.  Today, happi coats are still used by some shop keepers, however you see them more usually at Japanese festivals.

It is an extremely practical garment that folds, packs and travels well, and no doubt this is in part what lends it such popularity.  The traditional garments can be made in cottons or linens but there is no reason why they couldn’t be made from most any fabric.

I made this one recently for a client.The fabric I used is a hand woven ’shot silk and its irridescence is captivating.

Flattering, as it drapes on all figures with its soft shoulder line and proportion that skims the hipline, its belt can also be decorated with beads or perhaps something similar to the traditional netsuke.

I received this picture recently from Japan.  This particular happi was a small token of thanks I made for a friend who had treated me to a day of kabuki drama at the Kabuki-za followed by an evening of sushi and sake with her family.  Here she models the finished garment with her arms tucked in to show the shape of the sleeves!

It is made from a length of kimono fabric woven by one of her forebears.  The width of the roll of fabric fits within the traditional standard, around 15 inches, whereby one length would make one of the foreparts, two lengths joined together would form the back, and another length would wrap around the arm to form the sleeve.  This foreward thinking in the manufacturing process eleminates much of the cutting.

I think that there is something almost uncanny about these garments that has also been remarked upon by my clients.  It may well be that the feeling of freedom these garments give somehow encourages a different sense of poise when you wear them.  Maybe it is the way in which this garment highlights the character of the person who wears it rather than it becoming the centre of focus.

Whatever it may be, I now wear them all the time as my signature garment when I am working in the studio.

Photo: thanks to Japanese gifts

What an unexpected, and intriguing pleasure it was to meet with Grayson Perry the other night at the opening of the exhibition of works by the artist Kishio Suga.  Suga-san is one of the leading artists of the Mono-ha School (The School of Things); a movement that swept the Japanese art worldfrom the end of the 1960s through the 1970s.  The exhibition was held at the Daiwa Anglo-Japanese Foundation in Regents Park and was timed to complement  the Frieze Art Fair.

Grayson is an admirer of  Suga-san’s work and after the initail presentation we had time to chat.  I have long wanted to talk to Grayson, not only about his work as an artist, but more irresistibly, about his passion for cross-dressing and the role he plays in the design and making of his striking garments.  Luckily there was a photographer close by and we were able to capture the moment before he was whisked away.

We talked in particular about the Art of Savile Row and I mentioned its eponymous BBC TV programme when he was featured commissioning a suit from Richard James.   I remember a fascinating bit of perceptions at play between the customer and his tailor which had to be worked through. A kind of ‘Victor/Victoria moment’ came to mind!.

The designer/maker issue came up and how rare it is for there to be a shared understanding of the actual making side. I told him a story about working with a certain feisty French designer who handed me a set of cartoons – over exaggerated, with proportinally distorted figures in ‘anti-gravity’ poses.  To prove a point, our team of makers decided to build one of his Safari jackets to scale and the result was something of a hibrid, somewhere between  Dan Leno and the corps de ballet.

Very pleasant indeed to have such an exchange over a glass of wine…By the way…he has sensational legs………..!

Photos: thanks to www.peopleplayuk.org.uk and www.commonwealthballet.org

My trip to Japan this year was filled with interesting places and people.  None more so than Mogi-san.  Masayuki Mogi was the first Japanese creative director for Vidal Sassoon, and in the 70’s was considered one of the world’s finest hair stylists with a client list that took him all over the globe.  He returned to Japan to start his own business and his chain of salons grace some of the more exclusive parts of Tokyo.  In particular he developed a signature style emphasising the natural, organic qualities of a person’s hair and he considers his work to be more on a level with sculpture and painting.

In fact his interest in all aspects of the Arts seems to permeate his whole business and social relationships, and his magazine, +ing (plusing), is full of enticing imagery and interesting comment.  He extends this credo to his staff too who are encouraged to write for the magazine and participate in a series of clients’ clubs devoted to food, theatre, music and the arts.

Mogi-san is also passionate about the production of better quality food and along with his wife Yoko-san, an equally accomplished make-up artist, and some of his staff I was treated to a sumptuous meal at his art gallery, The Attic; a unique three tiered space built from welded sheet steel.

To the East side of one of Tokyo’s business shopping districts, Ginza, is one of its oldest theatres; the Kabuki-za.  One of the few remaining venues for this traditional form of drama, people flock to see this elaborate and colourful mixture of theatre, music, dance and costume that originated in the early 17^th century.  On my recent visit to Tokyo I had the good fortune to see it for the first time and it was fabulous.

In some ways it has much in common with Shakespearean theatre with a smattering of pantomime thrown in.  For complex historical reasons the parts are all played by men, even the women’s roles (onnagata), and the actors who take these parts, some of whom can be in their 70’s, are highly admired.  In Kabuki’s early history the costumes worn by the onnagata in performance were quite influential on the fashionable trends of the day

The costumes can be extremely extravagant and in the play I attended, Onna Shibaraku, they extremely exaggerated in order to emphasise the ‘super-hero’ status of some of the characters.

As one might imagine in a theatrical context, there is a certain degree of sleight of hand with regard to the making of the garments.  From the audience’s perspective they look extremely opulent and as was the tradition of the day, they were many-layered.  In fact from a cost point of view it would have been impossible for a theatre company to afford garments made entirely from these expensive materials, so instead, apart from the outer kimono, only the edges of the undergarments that showed were made from these fabrics, a more economical solution being found for the rest.

There are lots of subtleties in design such as the cords built into some of the costumes which enable the technique known as ‘hikinuku’, where outer layers can be removed speedily by the black-clad stage attendants (deshi) by removing the cords which allow the outer sections to fall away.

One particular subtlety is the way in which the kimono fits around the back of the onnagata’s neck, the only place where the white ‘oshiroi’ make-up is not used.  It was considered by the Japanese that this was a highly erotic feature of a woman’s body therefore the collar stands away from the neck in order to emphasise this feature.

Don’t pass up an opportunity to see one of these performances, but make sure to purchase the earphone guide which gives simultaneous commentary.

Earlier this year I displayed a range of kimonos I had been sent from Japan.  They attracted a lot of attention, and no wonder, they have a sense of beauty, style and proportion that is unique.  On my recent visit to Tokyo I met with the person who had sent them to me.  Togashi-san, seen with me here in front of the Kabuki-za with her daughter Taki, is one of the administrators of the Japan Philharmonic Orchestra and she inherited many of her kimonos from her mother.  This is very much a standard practice and one of my friends who was the UK correspondent for the Nihon Keizai Shinbun (also known as the Nikkei - the Financial Times equivalent of Japan) had an equally extensive collection which had been handed down to her and which was shown at Goldsmiths College last year.

The design of the kimono is comparatively simple, however the fabrics from which they are made can be extremely exotic and along with the patterns they contain often relate to the season in which they should be worn.  The kimono shown here is made from linen woven in a style unique to Okinawa.

Dressing in a kimono is not a simple matter and often the wearer will visit a specialist ‘dresser’ in order for the complex layers of the ‘obi‘ to be wound around the waist, something like a corset.  The process can take 40 minutes and when finished contributes to the characteristic way in which a Japanese woman walks. Here is a silk kimono…

…with two decorative obi.

The kimono has a certain element of formality and is not the only traditional garment to be worn.  During the summer season one often sees people wearing a yukata; a lighter and looser version of the kimono.  At some of the festivals I attended (omatsuri) I saw both young and old alike taking advantage of this unisex garment in the humid conditions of Tokyo in August.  In fact I have a number of them myself and I have made several for my clients.  They say that they appreciate the experience of slipping into this elegant garment as they settle down in the evening, or even for more formal occasions.