Future Beauty

'I know. It's just fabric. But it speaks to us like a world. If it were a desert, and you a traveller, you would talk about its winds, its stars, its sun. You probably will.'

This quote was found at the Barbican, but I don't know who it belongs to. For me it is entirely appropriate; it is just fabric. But in this exhibition of Japanese fashion I see that there is a world these designers have found and which some of their designs have the power to communicate. Surveying Japanese Fashion from the 1980's to the present, the exhibition encompasses figures such as Miyake, Kawakubo and Yamamoto who turned fashion in to art.

It is difficult to believe that these works which challenge construction, experiment with fabric, textile innovation and move towards space age shapes were produced in the 1980's. It is a prophetic flash of the East overtaking the West. Juni'chiro Tanizaki in his1933 text In Praise of Shadows found the essence of the Japanese aesthetic in shadows,. I think that 'shadows' is a beautiful way of describing the quality of these garments. Displayed in front of long drapes of opaque white fabric, it is the silhouette, the shape, the shadow and the inner shadows that are between folds or curves of fabric which are presented to us. This is where I have to mention the Japanese concept of 'ma' 'which views the void between objects as a rich energised space.' Which is one of those astonishing things that my Western eyes just can't quite grasp.

Mintdesigns Spring/Summer 2007

If all of this leaves you feeling dizzy then there is respite in the room devoted to street trends; Harajuku, Kawaii (cute), Hello Kitty and Astroboy might be more familiar icons of Japanese culture. This is the fashion that comes from the street as small groups of youths or Zoku 'have defined Japan's street style and subculture for decades.'

The Barbican always puts on rich exhibitions, and this was no exception. With footage of catwalk shows as well as related material in the form of magazine shoots, photo-collages, design inspiration and some amazing invitations to an Issey Miyake catwalk show handmade by a graphic designer, Future Beauty really explores the status of fashion as art. An art that is culturally engaged, forward-thinking and experimental.

Tao Kurihara/ Tao Comme des Garcons, Spring/Summer 2009

Perhaps it seems obvious to conclude that Issey Miyake was a highlight. His newest project 132 5 is based upon folded polygons in a shimmering plastic fabric which metamorphose in to beautiful garments when worn on the body is an astounding innovation. Like fabric origami these tightly folded shapes become masterful creations. Future Beauty indeed.

Tim Walker-In the land of Fantasy

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This photo was sneakily taken at an exhibition of Walker's photography, sets and sketchbooks at the Design Museum, Shad Thames, years ago when I had only just finished school. I see this letter as a sprawling 'statement of motivation', which introduces and explains all of Walker's vibrant madness and playful twist on fashion photography.

Tim Walker is a fashion photographer who often features in Vogue. In fact he has become part of the Vogue elite when it comes to fashion shoots and it isn't entirely ridiculous that I check each issue for his work before I spend my precious student pounds on it. Finding a Walker shoot fills me with a comforting sense of glee. I spend the month returning to his pages to explore the imaginative spaces of his sets, costumes and the story which usually weaves through his work.

Walker is a story teller who explores the limits and extravagances of the fashion world; inspired by fairytale, folklore and those magical suggestions of other countries and cultures we don't quite understand. He fills country houses with Lily Cole's red hair and giant fish, he dies the fur of Cats and paints elephants. He builds giant toys and spaceships and aeroplanes that subvert our ideas of the clean lines and meticulous attention to the details of clothing which we have come to expect from the pages of glossy magazines. With Walker it isn't about the clothes, but he is just so delectable, Vogue doesn't care!

Walker sells us a fantasy world that has come straight from his heart and his head, which is an integral part of passions and influences that come all the way from bedtime stories and dressing up as a child. And it is a fantasy that I embrace with 'glittering eyes' and avid interest. What will walker do next? Which country's folklore will he ravage? Which memory will he uncover and offer us? Look out for him in Vogue!

I remember coming out of that exhibition at the Design Museum with a sense of elation. I thought that I had never felt such a strong affinity with anything in my life. It was as if those photos were mine, as though they had come from my head as well as Tim's. Damn Walker for getting there first.

Chinese Vogue- 5th anniversary September Issue

My blog got a hit from a google search for Chinese Vogue. I was the fourth search result, this excites me a lot but also made me realise how unsatisfying my first post may have been. Here are some sneak peak scans from the issue to satisfy any searches a little more sufficiently. Here is a sneak peak at some of the pages inside the issue, remember you can click on the scans to see a bigger image.

The issue features some gorgeous photoshoots which really explore asian identity and beauty.

This picture reminds me of some of the numerous fabric markets that were dotted around Beijing, in China tailored clothing is affordable to just about any Western tourist as long as they have savvy bartering skills.

This scan shows the full-range of a make-up shoot featured in the magazine, i love the way the chinese characters look on the page.

This scan didn't come out very well, you can still see the rainbow of the laser as it moves across the page. But I couldn't resist trying to show you this page, the black and white photoshoot of female Chinese celebrities is my favourite in the magazine. It really plays with ideas of western elegance and glamour. I think Asian beauty wins out in the end though.

Vogue China- 5th Anniversary

I'm going to write another retrospective post about China, internet censorship meant that a lot of this wasn't possible while I was there, so there are things to catch up on.




During our last few days in Beijing we tried desperately to get in to the newly opened exhibition for Vogue China's 5th anniversary. One night we were turned away, 'This is just for press!' they chided us and on another occasion they allowed us only a glimpse of the first floor, but eventually we made it in! All of this added to the mystique of the exhibition and the sensation that we were witnessing something vital in Chinese culture. Perhaps you don't think fashion is particularly important, but in Beijing's Chaoyang it is certainly beginning to dominant and direct the cultural atmosphere.



Vogue China is incredibly modern, the exhibition was the ultimate symbol of modernity and the rising power of the East. The exhibition, encased in a kind of space-age pod with white elevators and mirrored walkways, transported you in to a new elegance which celebrated Asian models and the Asian aesthetic. For a country which worships the strange power of western beauty and sells skin bleaching moisturiser at an alarming rate, the exhibition had a powerful resonance.


The exhibition was fabulously curated, so that every display curled in to elegance.

The Western dream may be pasted across the glass shop windows of Sanlitun and occupying empty shops which announce the imminent arrival of Chanel and Dolce &Gabbana, but at the heart of the shopping complex there is a sense of rebellion, of independence. The Chinese fashion industry has a power and momentum of its own.


Computer screens displayed some of the hundreds of photographs from the history of Vogue China's photoshoots.

China's fashion world is ultimately exclusive. As a Westerner I had access to a growing culture which would be completely alien to a large proportion of the Chinese population. 20 kwai or 2 pounds seems like a small price to pay for a fashion magazine in England, but in China it could buy four meals or a new item of clothing for your wardrobe. If you think British Vogue promotes impossible lifestyles then Chinese Vogue is the ultimate hyperbole!


The heavy tomes which tipped my luggage over the limit; Vogue China's 5th anniversary september edition and the special collection of photographs from the exhbition. For four pounds I couldn't resist sacrificing a few ragged clothes and well-leafed books to own two pieces of luxurious China.