Ken Okada is a brazen, brazen fashionista. Indeed, she has an unusual conception of fashion, one that is all too often non-existent in other designers.
She searches for the impalpable, the ineffable of being and textile. As a shirt designer, she captures the quintessence of pure elegance in the space of a single textile piece. Working with materials such as cotton organza, she plays with effects of transparency and superimposition.
Each piece becomes a construction, both aesthetic and technical. Trained at the Bunka Fashion College in Tokyo, she designs her collections and makes her own patterns with the same particular approach. Each one is akin to origami, or even painting. As she herself explains, ‘If the pattern isn’t beautiful, the shirt won’t be beautiful’.
Demanding the utmost of herself, she created her Ken Okada brand in 2001, after moving to Paris.
Since then, from exhibitions to store openings, she has forged close ties with Parisians. A recent example is the opening of her new atelier at 1 bis rue de la Chaise, 75007 Paris. In her blog, the designer talks about the special feel of the place. Suspended tulle on the ceiling, immaculate whiteness, everything is
airy. Here, Ken Okada has designed a shirt in homage to Japan, to the determination of this people in the face of the Fukushima disaster. Made from white cotton voile, it features pink tulle embroidery at the heart, a direct allusion to the affected country. Ken Okada is even more committed, donating part of her price to the Japanese Red Cross. An interesting initiative worth encouraging.
Cette publication est également disponible en : Français (French)
