Sourcing the Muse

FASHION LABEL: AKIRA
DESIGNER: AKIRA ISOGAWA

Photo of Akira Isogawa in his studioBorn in Japan, Isogawa came to Australia on a one-year working holiday in the mid 1980s and, entranced by the blue skies and vast spaces decided to make it his home.

He studied fashion design at East Sydney College, worked many jobs to save money, and in 1993 opened his boutique, Akira Isogawa, in Woollahra. Of his east-meets-west fusion clothes Isogawa comments 'The beauty of living in Australia is the mixing of cultures; in a way, I think my designs are like 'cross cooking', I'm just mixing Asian ingredients with European ones.' (Source: The Sydney Morning Herald, 16 February 1999.)


Akira's design for Sourcing the Muse
 © Cotton dress trimmed with beads, ruched silk-velvet shawl by Akira Isogawa

Akira's design concept - ruching
 Detail of ruching from c1870 bustle dress'I tried to reinterpret the turn-of-the-century hand-ruched silk taffeta frock in a way that would be more contemporary, while still maintaining a vintage quality. The elements I chose to focus on were the positioning and the type of fabric used for the ruching. I realised that ruching could enhance the feminine shape or could, if used without regard to volume and texture be most unflattering. In light of this, I made the shawl from silk velvet because it could afford to carry the weight of the ruching detail, whilst the dress, made from cotton, was better left without.' - Akira Isogawa

The garment from the Powerhouse collection that inspired Akira
Interview with Akira Isogawa