Akira Isogawa, one of Australia's most celebrated designers, embeds timeless beauty and femininity in his exquisite contemporary design.

In the early 1990's when Akira Isogawa's name first appeared in print as a new comer to Australian fashion, many remembered him as someone with the same first name as the legendary film maker Kurosawa.

Back then, Akira's modest beginning did not make a deep mark in the media as much as that of the old master's. Fast forward a few years, you still see the same slight framed, unobtrusive man with a clear vision, who has become much more celebrated and is now a popular culture force in his own right.

In Australia Akira is known by the first name just like a pop star. He is one of the most successful Australian designers with an impressive list of international retail clients. His work has been regularly featured in exhibitions both as fashion and art. Akira has won many awards which include the prestigious Australian Womenswear Designer and Designer of the Year (1999). He now shows his catwalk collections in Sydney, Melbourne and Paris.

So far, to the general public, the information on 'how' Akira has conceptualized and accomplished such remarkable creations has been kept under wrap. That is, until his latest exhibition in The National Gallery of Victoria in Melbourne, Australia. Named simply, Akira Isogawa: Printemps-éte, the exhibition covers 2 dimensional and 3 dimensional records of processes that took place from concept to finished collection for the Spring/Summer Collection 2005 to be shown in Paris.

 
The combination of material and paper together with found objects of antique paper dolls becomes a catalyst that takes Akira from inspiration, collaboration, proportion, construction to execution. The audience can venture through the labyrinth of Akira's thought processes that covers laborious and time consuming experiments in the 5 months prior to the collection.

For us it is a journey into the mind of a designer. It is material evidence that creativity may be an enormous gift for Akira but one can never underestimate his focused mind and the willingness to achieve triumph with sheer hard work.

It has been 20 years since Akira's arrival to Australia. Fresh from Kyoto, the 21 year old was alone and could not communicate in English. Seeking his own path to 'freedom'- the word he often used in many of his previous interviews, Akira's early years were a complete challenge with small income and no permanent home.

Nevertheless, the wide open space and the new way of living without a sense of conformity convinced the former cultural tour guide to stay. In the nomadic existence he once shared a modest home with the well acclaimed artist, Christiane Lehmann who since became his friend and muse.

 
Akira has always been interested in Fashion and took formal training at the East Sydney College of Sydney Institute of Technology in Darlinghurst just off Oxford Street. In the late 80’s, the whole length of Oxford Street was a showcase for all the small independent fashion labels and alternative lifestyles. There were other fashionable places like the sophisticated Martin Place in the center of town and the exclusive Double Bay for the society ladies.

But Oxford Street was unique. Running through Paddington and Darlinghurst, the street was cool, quirky, historical, full of cultural and income diversity and was somewhere to be seen. The character of this street still remains much the same today. So it was no surprise that Akira chose the location of his first boutique in Woollahra off the eastern tip of Oxford Street in 1993.

Right from the beginning of his fashion career, Akira chose to remain autonomous. He played his cards right by participating in a group show for the inaugural Mercedez Australian Fashion Week in 1996. By his second show on his own in 1997, Akira's work drew great coverage and recognition so much so that the media and buyers touted him as the next big thing.

The timing of Akira's arrival on the scene was pivotal. By then people were completely tired of the big shoulder pads, skin tight spandex, fluffy hair and loud colors of the 80's. People tried the grunge look of the early 90' as a substitute but soon became overwhelmed by the deglamorised, drab, dressing down designer frocks that still cost the earth. They were thirsty for something 'new' that sits between the two looks that could fulfill the New Age attitude of eastern spirituality, synergy, sensuality and global wisdom. Artistically, no one could fit the bill more than Akira.

Politically, the Australian government's campaign for multiculturalism was much stronger and proactively enforced than ever before. It did not matter at all that the Fashion Week was in Australia instead of the usual Paris, Milan, New York or London. The Akira brand was born at the same time as Information age and it took on the world.

What Akira has presented through his work was the feminine ethereal quality that although quite delicate to behold, has a powerful monastic impact on the viewers and wearers alike. He represents a blend of east and west that is like no other with tucks and folds that form asymmetric lines. The silhouettes are fluid and often unstructured with the same concept as the kimono although his designs have undergone various evolutional processes away from it. There is a feeling of youthfulness but his clothes do not define any particular age group.

What the dresses speak for are the attitude of the wearers who are often sophisticated, intelligent and confident women who are widely read like curators, film directors, writers and artists. Akira plays with the paradox of calming purity and drama by using predominantly creamy colors and layers of transparent fabrics with a jolt of dramatic colors and asymmetrical Ikebana-like composition.

It is obvious that Akira does not wish to be identified as the cloning of the Japanese's predecessors, Miyake, Yamamoto and Comme des Garcons. His own work is unique. But like those designers, the Japanese cultural influences appear in Akira’s work in many forms. In the exhibition one can see his adaptation of Origami techniques, patchwork and embroidery. He reconstructed them with western tailoring techniques until they become his own handwriting.

 
In Akira’s previous collections, he has used pieces of antique kimono fabrics that he had unpicked from the finds through numerous trips to Japan. Old kimonos are considered to contain the souls of the former owners. The very traditional Japanese avoid buying second hand kimonos.

Not Akira. He sees it as a way of giving new context to the kimono and makes it aesthetically ready for new owners. There is a hint of the New World attitude here. At one stage Akira was a proud owner of 50 complete kimonos and up to 100 that have been unpicked and stored with tissue paper.

So he is a reluctant recycler and a vintage fan on top of everything else.Another dimension to Akira is his collaboration with other talents to create an even more enriched collection. One of his long time collaborators is Lehmann who found him the antique paper dolls for Akira Isogawa: Printemps-Ete collection.

Then there is a fabric printing company in Sydney, Signature Prints. He also works with artisans in Bali and India for the handwork on the fabrics. The collaboration has given Akira a lateral stimulation and provocation to discover new methods and looks.

Akira has given some of his time to diversifying his creativity by collaborating with the Sydney Dance Company. It began in 1998 with the show, Salome. Then came The Air and Other Invisible Forces and most recently, Ellipse. Through costume designing Akira gained a greater understanding of the dramatic power of fabrics and the significance of clothes as seen from all angles-front, back and side. He was able to bring back with him a new structure that would later impact on his work.

Street smart but reticent man that he is, Akira is a subject of fascination for those who know him. We are fortunate to have Akira’s exhibition here in Bangkok’s Queens Gallery in March this year. The exhibition which has done a bit of traveling to Manila and Singapore on its way to Thailand has earned great reviews.

There will be many positive messages from the exhibitions and for many exhibition goers, Akira illustrates that anything is possible. No doubt it will inspire renewed enthusiasm for others to embark on their own creative passage.

http://www.akira.com.au/