The Textile Museum

by | Oct 1, 2009

If you are going to be in Washington D.C. plan to go by the Textile Museum and see two exhibitions showing Japanese textiles. The shows run from October 17, 2009 through April 11, 2010

Contemporary Japanese Fashion: The Mary Baskett Collection: In the 1970’s and early 1980’s, Japanese designers Issey Miyake, Rei Kawakubo, and Yohji Yamamoto shocked the fashion world by introducing avant-garde styles that challenged received Western notions of “chic.” Their designs – characterized by asymmetry, raw edges, unconventional construction, oversized proportions and monochromatic palettes – effectively overthrew existing norms and set the stage for the post modernist movement in the fashion industry. Miyake, Yamamoto and Kawakubo remain three of the most successful designers in today’s fashion world, and under their tutelage a new generation of Japanese talent has emerged.

Fabrics of Feathers and Steel: The Innovation of Nuno: The worldwide success of Japanese fashion designers owes much to the talented textile designers and manufacturers who enable their creative visions. Led by artistic director and co-founder Reiko Sudo, Nuno (meaning “functional fabric” in Japanese) integrates the techniques, materials and aesthetics of traditional Japanese textiles with cutting edge technologies in order to create some of the worlds most innovative and influential fabrics. Experimenting with an eclectic array of materials and unorthodox finishing methods, Reiko Sudo and her team have broadened the parameters of contemporary textile design.

For more information go to The Textile Museum website.