If you have recovered from your Halloween shenanigans, but your mind is still into costumes, textiles and fashion in general, don't miss today the "Fashion in Motion: Kansai Yamamoto" event at the Victoria & Albert Museum in London.
There are actually some pretty bad and some amazingly good news about this event: the four scheduled catwalk shows are now sold out, but two shows will be screened live on the museum Facebook page today at 1.00 p.m. and 5.00 p.m. (UK time).
The "Fashion in Motion" live events at the V&A are quite interesting as they bring the traditional fashion catwalk show to a wider audience, but the Kansai Yamamoto events will be particularly exciting since they will feature archive pieces spanning Kansai Yamamoto’s four decade career plus specially made pieces.
Born in 1944, Kansai Yamamoto studied English literature at Nippon University before he decided to quit his studies and pursue his dreams.
He entered Junko Koshino's workshop as a stitcher, and, in 1967, won a major designing contest in Japan. Four years later he launched his label and his first collection in London, becoming known as an avant-garde designer.
The designer also became famous for his connection with David Bowie: he created many outrageous costumes that contributed to creating the Ziggy Stardust character.
Many consider Yamamoto the father of contemporary Japanese fashion since he combines in his creations traditional art and dress in striking ways.
Oriole Cullen, "Fashion in Motion" curator, stated in a press release about this event: "Kansai Yamamoto was the first Japanese designer to show in London in 1971, when he presented kaleidoscopic colour and layered garments with incredible energy and theatricality. Yamamoto’s presentation pushed the boundaries of conventional catwalk shows and has had considerable influence on future generations of designers, especially in Japan. We are delighted to have the opportunity to bring Kansai Yamamoto's dynamic display of vibrant colourful designs to a London audience as part of the Fashion in Motion programme."
Yamamoto is also known for his production of "super-shows" (organised in Moscow, New Delhi and Tokyo) which combine fashion with music, dance and entertainment on a large scale. Explaining the concept behind his "Fashion in Motion", the designer said: "In Japan the word BASARA means to dress freely, with a stylish extravagance. BASARA is the opposite of the Japanese wabi-sabi aesthetic, which is underplayed and modest; it is colourful and flamboyant and it lies at the heart of my design. I am excited to present this at the V&A."
There are also some good news for those of you who may find themselves in Venice, Italy, at the weekend or in the next few months: Palazzo Mocenigo, the Museum and Study Centre of the History of Fabrics and Costumes, reopens today to the public after a long refurbishment session.
The museum, directed by Chiara Squarcina, is ready to welcome the visitors to discover restored pieces from its vast archives including rare costumes, textiles, lace and paintings, displayed in 19 rooms.
The refurbished spaces also feature wall hangings and curtains in bright colours but based on original 18th century designs made by Rubelli, plus a new display dedicated to perfumes and essences. The latter is actually particularly interesting since it allows visitors to discover antique items and documents including I Notandissimi Secreti de l'Arte Profumatoria (1555) by Giovanventura Rossetti, the first cosmetics manual published in the West that adopted a scientific approach in cataloguing more than 300 formulae for cosmetics used in the 1500s in Venice.
There is a long list of free events about fashion and textiles that will be taking place between October and December at Palazzo Mocenigo (you can check them out here), so take note of them if you happen to be around Venice soon.
Image credits for this post: Kansai Yamamoto picture © Naoyuki Onosaka
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