Sourcing the Muse

TRANSCRIPT OF INTERVIEW WITH AKIRA ISOGAWA
FASHION LABEL: AKIRA

My background it's - well, the fact is I was born in Japan and raised in Japan, and I came to Australia fifteen years ago. Though I appreciated fashion since I was young, really, I never thought of creating one.

I guess that fashion has always been a passion for me. I seriously got involved when I opened my store, which was in 1993. And back then I used to actually do everything - buying fabric, and making patterns, cutting samples, as well as sewing, and then, a few months later, I had a part-time machinist/seamstress, who helped me in production.

My appreciation is really in fabric first of all. And then construction comes later. I guess the same thing can be said with traditional Japanese costume - such as a kimono. The patterns are all similar - or in fact they are all the same, really. The square piece of cloth made into sleeve as well as front bodice and than back bodice. That's all it is. And what I appreciate is it's not really a shape of garment but textile within colours within texture; woven fabric or jersey, really, it doesn't matter. I love the idea of actually using specially commissioned fabric, even overseas.

Well, I started actually buying kimono when I came to Australia because I had the opportunity to go back to Kyoto and see my family. And I used to bring bits and pieces back to Sydney. And I used to actually unpick all of them and then press them and then recut them into western styles such as little shift dresses and things like that. But then it evolved. It's really to do with evolution. I started actually to be interested in more creating textiles rather than just purchasing what's already been designed. So the passion has become actually - it's not just cut and sew - but in fact it starts right at the beginning.

Seeing where the silk comes from. Seeing where cotton grows and where it is spun. And if it's hand-woven, where it's hand-woven, and by whom. And that's where I start now. The idea could have come from travelling maybe, seeing books or magazines, or even by just being in an art gallery - that could be inspirational. Really, what you do every day. You can't really predict when inspiration arrives; you just have to be ready for it.

I was invited to see the archival collection at the Powerhouse Museum. And I didn't really take notice of - though I appreciated it so much - but I didn't take much notice of really what would be the best for me to actually choose. I realised that the original piece also was actually hand-smocked and, when I say I realised, I mean like realising where inspiration was or where it came from after actually having it made.

And then that's really often the case. I found out later I don't really actually take much notice when I see something could be inspiring but then it comes out anyway.

I collect vintage fabrics and this is one of the vintage silks, in fact, actually, it comes from Kyoto. It's a lining of a kimono, that's what it is. I like to see fashion as an art form but it's not really, to be honest. It can be considered a craft but it should have some…. it has to have functionality. Within garments, comfort seems to be very important, especially nowadays. And so, my style is really extreme. That's all I can say. (Laughs.)

- Akira Isogawa