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Kansai Yamamoto, from Ziggy Stardust to the Kansai Super Show

7 Feb

Kansai Yamamoto

Kansai Yamamoto ( born February 8, 1944) is one of the leaders in Japanese Contemporary fashion, in particular during the 1970s and 1980s.  Inspired by the colorful art of Japan’s Momoyama period (1568–1615) and traditional Kabuki theater, his exuberant designs contrast with the Zen-like simplicity and deconstructed silhouettes favored today by designers such as Yohji Yamamoto, Rei Kawakubo, and Issey Miyake.

Kansai was born in Yokohama, Japan. After studying civil engineering and English at Nippon University ,got a so-en prise at Bunka Fashion College in 1967 . The following year he opened his first boutique in Tokyo.

1971

kansai yamamoto

Kansai Yamamoto detail

Kansai yamamoto

Kansai yamamoto

Kansai yamamoto

In 1971, he launched his own company, Yamamoto Kansai Company, Ltd., Tokyo. His first collection debuted in London that same year, where his clothing was seen by David Bowie. Bowie later commissioned Kansai to create the wardrobe for his Ziggy Stardust stage persona. His floaty womenswear creations helped cement Bowie’s androgynous look during his Ziggy Stardust tour, and a long-term relationship was born. STOP……

I went to see the documentary film ‘David Bowie Is’ last night, in which Kansai Yamamoto took the stage and he told the actual story : one night he was called by a friend, who kept on telling Kansai he HAD TO GO TO NEW YORK to see something spectacular!! He finally gave in and went to New York to see the concert of David Bowie/Ziggy Stardust, not knowing what to expect. When Ziggy entered the stage, he was wearing an outfit by Kansai. Actually the entire show Ziggy was dressed in Kansai Yamamoto. Bowie had purchased many items of the Kansai Yamamoto collection, which was in fact a womenswear collection…….

They did become friends….

Ziggy Stardust wardrobe

David Bowie and Kansai Yamamoto in Japan, 1973

David Bowie and Kansai Yamamoto in Japan, 1973

David Bowie and Kansai Yamamoto in Japan, 1973

Kansai Yamamoto for Ziggy Stardust/Bowie

Bowie/Ziggy Stardust/Kansai Yamamoto

Ziggy Stardust/ Kansai Yamamoto

Davis Bowie wearing Kansai Yamamoto years after Ziggy Stardust finished

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Kansai’s first collection was sold in the USA at Hess’s Department Store in Allentown, Pennsylvania, a department store known for its controversial fashion shows of American and European styles selected for their potential to influence ready-to-wear clothing designs. (Rudy Gernreich’s topless bathing suit was first modeled at Hess’s in 1964). His 1975 debut in Paris was followed by the opening of his Kansai Boutique in 1977.

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Since his last collection for fall/winter 1992, Kansai has lent his name to licensed products ranging from eyeglasses to tableware. His fashion show spectaculars have become the framework for the grand Kansai Super Shows, the first of which was held in Moscow’s Red Square in 1993. Others held since in Japan, Vietnam, India, and Berlin have drawn audiences in the hundreds of thousands.

KANSAI SUPER SHOW

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Kansai Yamamoto designed the Skyliner train, unveiled in 2010, that connects Japan’s Narita Airport with central Tokyo.

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Vintage Kansai Yamamoto.

Kansai Yamomoto vintage clothing is very sought after. You can find it on : http://www.farfetch.com/nl/shopping/women/kansai-yamamoto-vintage/items.aspx

https://www.etsy.com/nl/search?q=kansai%20yamamoto&ref=auto1

 

Kansai Yamamoto

Kansai Yamamoto

Kansai Yamamoto

Kansai Yamamoto

Kansai Yamamoto

Kansai Yamamoto

Kansai Yamamoto

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Kansai YamamotoKansai Yamamoto

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info:

http://www.philamuseum.org/exhibitions/318.html

Joan of Arc, inspires because she’s a Symbol of Heroism and Strength

31 Jan 
Paco Rabanne design, 1974Paco Rabanne design, 1974
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Who was Joan of Arc?

Joan of Arc, a peasant girl living in medieval France, believed that God had chosen her to lead France to victory in its long-running war with England. With no military training, Joan convinced the embattled crown prince Charles of Valois to allow her to lead a French army to the besieged city of Orléans, where it achieved a momentous victory over the English and their French allies, the Burgundians. After seeing the prince crowned King Charles VII, Joan was captured by Anglo-Burgundian forces, tried for witchcraft and heresy and burned at the stake in 1431, at the age of 19. By the time she was officially given the status holy in 1920, the Maid of Orléans (as she was known) had long been considered one of history’s greatest saints, and an enduring symbol of French unity and nationalism.

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Joan of Arc inspires fashion designers, photographers & magazines to the day, because she’s a symbol of heroism and strength

Alexander McQueen was very inspired by Joan of Arc. He based his fall/winter ’98 collection on her, but in many other collections he produced, you’ll find influences of Joan. And Sarah Burton, who is now head designer of Alexander McQueen, 

McQueen
Alexander McQueen, Joan of Arc collection f/w '98
Alexander McQueen FallWinter 200910
Alexander McQueen fw 98 'Joan'
2009-2010 Alexander McQueen

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Jean-Paul Gaultier

Jean- Paul Gaulthier Joan of Arc dress

Jean- Paul Gaulthier Joan of Arc dress

Jean- Paul Gaulthier Joan of Arc dress 1

gaultier

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John Galliano/ Dior

Haute Couture John Galliano

Lily Cole for Christian Dior

Natalia Vodianova in Christian Dior Haute Couture Fall 2006 by John Gallino

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Portayed as Joan of Arc

Emma Thompson as Joan of Arc - by Annie LeibovitzEmma Thompson, ph.by Annie LeibovitzMichelle as Joan of Arc. Herb RittsMichelle Pfeiffer ph. Herb Ritts
Alexander McQueenAlexander McQueen
044aa8e277426dce4f7fe7440076a5fcMadonna
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Marlies Dekkers

Fall/Winter 2014

Marlies-Dekkers_FW14_1

Marlies-Dekkers_FW14_2

Marlies-Dekkers_FW14_4

Marlies-Dekkers_FW14_3

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W Magazine

Dame of Thrones, ph. Tim Walker, September 2012

Tim-Walker-Dame-of-Thrones-W-MAgazine-Sept-2012-7--600x780

Tim-Walker-Dame-of-Thrones-W-MAgazine-Sept-2012-12--600x779

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My favorite Joan of Arc is Milla Jovovich in The Messenger: The Story of Joan of Arc, 1999.

Directed by Luc Besson.
Milla Jovovich as Joan of Arc from the Luc Besson movie.

https://youtu.be/UXaQKj5hr-0

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Joan of Arc inspired

Joan of Arc inspired

Katharine Hepburn, changed American Fashion

24 Jan

Cecil BeatonKatharine Hepburn, ph. Cecil Beaton
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Katharine Houghton Hepburn (May 12, 1907 – June 29, 2003) was an American actress. Known for her fierce independence and spirited personality, Hepburn was a leading lady in Hollywood for more than 60 years. She appeared in a range of genres, from comedy to literary drama, and she received four Academy Awards for Best Actress—a record for any performer. In 1999, Hepburn was named by the American Film Institute The Number One Female Star of All Time.

Katharine Hepburn

Katharine Hepburn

Hepburn was unparalleled in her ability to invent and maintain her own star image. She signed with RKO and went to Hollywood in the early 1930s when the Dream Factory was fixated on platinum blondes draped in sequins and feathers. But Hepburn was cut from a different template, and from the moment she stepped onscreen in the 1932 film A Bill of Divorcement, her unique image made her a “movie star.” Her highly-stylized personality and lanky physique signaled a radical departure from such screen sirens as Jean Harlow and Carole Lombard. Instead, Hepburn conveyed the essence of modernism—a woman who looked life straight in the eye.

Katharine Hepburn

Katharine Hepburn

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“I was a success because of the times I lived in. My style of personality became the style.”

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katharine hepburn



Book

RebelChic_KatharineHepburn_cover

Katharine Hepburn: Rebel Chic

The first book to celebrate the irreverent and original style of Katharine Hepburn — icon of stage and screen. Glamorous when she wanted to be and tomboyish when she didn’t, Katharine Hepburn developed her personal style and public image as a style rebel. Whether on stage, on screen, or in private life, Hepburn had a firm grasp on the power of her appearance. Rather than submit to studio image makers, she controlled her image and drew on her own proclivities to create a distinct antifashion persona. This book presents the famously headstrong star in a new light: as a style icon. Through images of Hepburn’s on-screen and off-screen wardrobes and essays by top fashion historians, this book reveals how modern Hepburn’s insouciance and idiosyncratic manner of dressing really was and shows her as an inspirational, self-styled counterpoint to the over-managed looks of celebrities today. Full of never-before-published images of Hepburn’s costumes and personal wardrobe, Katharine Hepburn is a refreshing look at a true fashion original..

Katharine Hepburn, ph. Richard AvedonKatharine Hepburn, ph. Richard Avedon

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Linda Evangelista as Katharine Hepburn
Ph. Steven Meisel for Vogue Italia

Linda Evangelista as Katharine Hepburn Ph. Steven Meisel for Vogue Italia

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Linda Evangelista as Katharine Hepburn Ph. Steven Meisel for Vogue Italia

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David Bowie, the Man who Inspired me the Most

17 Jan 
David Robert JonesDavid Robert Jones
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This week David Bowie, the man who inspired me the most, passed away.

I am still speechless, so I’d like to share some photographs …..

David Bowie
David Bowie
David Bowie
David Bowie
David Bowie
david-bowieAs Andy Warhol in my favorite movie 'Basquiat'
David Bowie

David Bowie
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. David Bowie wearing Alexander McQueen                                                R.I.P. 

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Koos Van den Akker, Painted with Fabrics

20 Dec

Koos van den AkkerKoos Van Den Akker (March 16, 1939 – February 3, 2015) was a Dutch-born fashion designer based in New York. He was famed for his unique collaged ‘Koos’ designed clothing and notably the creator of the ‘Bill Cosby’ Sweaters.

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I think of myself as very basic . I am a craftsperson and I sew like that. I sew beautiful clothes. I am nothing more than a worker sitting behind a sewing machine. That’s where I feel most comfortable, that’s where I am the best. That’s what I do best and it’s very basic.    

 Koos Van den Akker

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Short Biography

koosin front of his store, beginning 80ties

Koos Van Den Akker was born on March 16, 1939 in the Hague, Netherlands. He taught himself to sew using a simple sewing machine and his first creation was a dress made from a white bed sheet for his sister. With a broad portfolio at just age 15 he bypassed the 18-year-old requirement age to attend the Royal Academy of Art where he studied fashion and made window displays for a department store until he was 18. He then had to spend two years in the Dutch army where his skills were recognized and a workroom in a basement was set up for him where he made clothes for the officers wives and daughters.

After the two years Koos voyaged to Paris to design window displays for the famous Galeries Lafayette but realizing he needed more formal training, in 1961 he enrolled in L’Ecole Guerre Lavigne which was located in the same building as the Christian Dior workrooms. Every year Christian Dior picked the most gifted students for an apprenticeship and in 1963 Koos was selected. After three years at Dior and learning every detail about crafting beautiful clothes he moved back to the Netherlands and started his own business opened up his first store in The Hague. But the Netherlands wasn’t ready for his designs and anything glamorous or fashionable was shunned by Dutch women so after his father’s death in 1968 Koos took off to New York.

met museum, Koos Van Den Akker

Koos Van Den Akker

1988From a sewing machine on a hotel bed and only $180 in the pocket Koos set up a string of stores including ones on Madison Avenue, Columbus Avenue, Thomson Street Soho, 10th on Bleeker and even one in Beverley Hills, LA. In the mid seventies he even had a wholesale line with a showroom where major upscale stores bought their supplies of Koos’. Overspending and stagnating sales by Koos’ business eventually led it to obtain a tax-debt of a half a million dollars.

In 1998 Koos started a label for television retailer QVC called ‘Koos of Course!’ and presented his own show with the collection selling out in 27 minutes. The line continued on QVC until his final show in February 2006.

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1974, Koos Van Den Akker

Koos Van Den Akker

Koos Van Den AkkerKoos was known for his painterly in mixing colors, patterns, and textures in unusual, often one of a kind, garments. Conservatively styled suits consisting of cardigan jackets and gored skirts might be covered with textured mixtures of fur, quilted fabric, leather strips, or pieces of wool. A dress of lace might be dramatized by bold appliqué.

Until his death Koos had a store at 1263 Madison Avenue, New York, his former location for decades and a studio in the Garment District. Koos maintained a high-profile in New York and LA. He collected a following among celebrities and much press from Vogue, Harper’s Bazaar, L’Officiel, Vice Magazine and I-D.

1985, Koos Van Den Akker

Koos Van Den Akker

 

Koos Van Den Akker

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The Bill Cosby Sweater

bill-cosby-show-sweaters

Josephine Premice, a singer in the 1980s and a good friend of Koos’s, asked him to make a sweater as present for Bill Cosby. She took it to the set of The Cosby Show where Bill immediately put it on and wore it for the taping. It was an instantaneous hit

The attention gained by Cosby’s wearing of Van Den Akker’s wild collaged sweaters on television established the designer’s reputation with the rich and famous.

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 Book

Book cover

This biography and illustrated guide highlights the work of master designer Koos van den Akker and provides inspiration for bold, unique sewing creations. Chronicling the designer’s 30 years in haute couture, this book follows van den Akker from his start in the Paris workrooms of Christian Dior to his rise in the fashion world and the establishment of his own Madison Avenue boutique. Included are demonstrations for duplicating several of his construction and design techniques that offer illustrated sewing instructions and intricate details for home sewers to imitate. The designs, with their richness of texture, generosity of color, and dynamic mix of fabrics, share the full scope of van den Akker’s masterful creations.

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Koos Van Den AkkerKoos Van Den Akker at home in New York

 

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