Three Layer Cake

From Kyoto Kimonos to Stardom in Oz:  Interview with Akira Isogawa, Fashion Designer (Sydney/Paris)

A question we all ask ourselves:  How do you know if you’re really good at what you do?  An athlete wins a medal in the Olympics, an actress wins an Oscar, an author a Pulitzer, a scientist a Nobel.  A fashion designer?  Akira Isogawa was honored with a postage stamp.  But not just any postage stamp.  In January 2005, the Australian Post selected six designers, among whom Akira Isogawa was one, based on their contribution to the evolution of contemporary Australian fashion as well as their influence on Australian national identity.  “They have inspired generations of Australians and are admired both here and abroad for their creativity, ingenuity, daring and entrepreneurial spirit.  Through their work, they have helped to shape our nation’s identity, culture and sense of self,” the press release read.  How did it make him feel?  “It was unbelievable at first.  I thought that no living person could be honored with a stamp.  And after all, I’ve only been in this country 19 years, a short time.  At first I was uncomfortable because I thought that people would recognize my face when I walked on the street, but then it was ok.  It was great.  Really great,” he said with a shy but satisfied tone.  No small feat for an Australian, if only he were Australian, but he’s not.  He’s Japanese.  Very Japanese, and he’s every bit as nice as the smile in his picture suggests. 

Very early in his career, Akira Isogawa joined the ranks of the small group of Japanese ‘élite’, like Rei Kawakubo (Comme des Garcons) and Yohji Yamamoto, who have made their mark on the western world.  (Akira avidly follows the work of both Kawakubo and Yamamoto.)  He came to Australia in 1986 for personal and professional freedom.  But he came ready with a purpose.  He knew that he wanted to have a career in fashion, and he went to school for training in the technical aspects he knew he would need in order to complete his skills as a designer.  The beginning was not smooth, but he persevered, unafraid to work around the clock, go door to door to sell his collections in department stores abroad, and make financial sacrifices.  In 1999, only six years after opening his boutique in Sydney, he was named Designer of the Year and Womenswear Designer of the Year at the Australian Fashion Industry Awards.  Today, his floral, flowing, very feminine designs are available on almost every continent.  He divides his time between Sydney, Paris (where he shows his collections) and his home, Kyoto.

Just as he has created a distinct signature with his mastery of clothing textiles, he has carried this through in his rug designs. His rugs designs are often floral, always crisp, and the colors very vivid.  The inspiration for his rug designs, like his clothes, still has a firm grounding in his Japanese heritage.  For the patterns, he has drawn on the basic elements of the kimonos he collects, many from markets during trips home to Japan.  Whether it’s the repeat of a design, isolated to its most singular element and magnified, or it’s the inspiration of a pattern he found in a vintage fabric, the kimono remains his point of reference.  Designing for wool is a welcome challenge for Akira.  With each design he has imposed upon himself the criteria that it has to be something you’d like to see every day, so it can neither be too much nor too little.

His ascent to stardom has not been based on luck, but on determination and skill.  He knows where he wants to go and he has built a path to get there.  Fortunately for himself and his ‘fans’, turning back on that path has never been an option.  Where does he see himself in five years time?  “I'd like to be inspired so that I can design something fresh and new, as inspired as I am now,” he said.  As I listen to his pause, then his carefully articulated answer, I feel a bit worried about a fashion horizon without him.  It’s clear from his answer that if he ever runs out of ideas and inspiration, he will not recycle.