The person who takes the visual photos for ``HaaT'' is Yuriko Takagi, a world-renowned photographer. She has been in the fashion industry for a long time, and then turned into a photographer. Utilizing her experience and her unique sensibilities, Yuriko Takagi expresses HaaT's particular textiles with photographs that can only be taken by Yuriko Takagi. go. She said that Takagi fell in love with her at first sight, and she heard her story at her home nestled in the landscape of Karuizawa. Her photo shows Takagi's home in Karuizawa shrouded in fog.
Story: Yuriko Takagi
I have photographed visuals for "HaaT" several times since it started, and I have photographed them every time since the 2017 fall/winter collection. However, my relationship with Mr. Minagawa goes back even further. In the 1980s, when Ms. Minagawa was running a brand called "ASHA BY MDS," she was allowed to shoot the visuals.
ASHA BY MDS Visual photos from that time.
What I aim for in visual photography is "portraits of clothes." Rather than the model being the main character, the question is how to make the clothes themselves photogenic. The question is how to capture the texture of textiles, which Minagawa values most. I always keep this in mind when photographing.
Texture, technique, three-dimensionality.
What it means to take a “clothes portrait”
The Fall/Winter 2019 collection includes wonderful textiles that incorporate a technique called "Surihagashi" created by Kyoto craftsmen. I heard that each piece is made by hand. It takes so much time and effort to complete a job that you would be surprised to find that there are jobs that are so unprofitable these days. This is the appeal of HaaT, and I believe it is the core of Mr. Minagawa's creation.
From the Fall/Winter 2017 collection. Inspired by the prints of painter and ornithologist John James Audubon. Reversible design.
Every season at HaaT, there are textiles created using these kinds of handiwork techniques, and we are showing them on video while listening to Mr. Minagawa's explanations. When you learn about the craftsmen working silently and the wonders of their handicrafts, the way you view the textiles will change. My process of creating photographic images begins from there.
From the Fall/Winter 2018 collection. The tulle fabric is decorated with olivine and delicate embroidery reminiscent of colorful prisms to create a three-dimensional texture.
This is not limited to "HaaT," but what I keep in mind is to take "portraits of clothes." I don't feel like the model is being dressed up, and the clothes don't stand out too much, I look for a fusion point between the person and the clothes. It's not about separation, it's about finding and creating just the right points of interaction. In order to make this stand out, I think about what each piece of clothing represents, whether it is more attractive when it moves, or whether it is more beautiful when it is transparent. We believe that by finding those points of interaction, we can take attractive portraits of the clothes.
2019 Fall/Winter Collection. XNUMXD patchwork using a jacquard weave that creates three-dimensional ridges by using highly twisted yarn for the weft.
What Mr. Minagawa wants to express with "HaaT" is the absolute charm of textiles that Mr. Minagawa is particular about. and traditional techniques from Japan and India. Mr. Minagawa's sensibility collaborates with this. I want you to feel this stance in the visual book as well. I think HaaT's challenges each season are a manifestation of her spirituality, which is always searching for new things and trying them out with curiosity.
The other day, I traveled with you to Kochi for the first time. The purpose of this trip was to visit Kochi's ``yamacha,'' a type of tea that grows wild in the mountains. Mr. Minagawa is very wild. She can sleep anywhere, go anywhere, and is curious about everything from food to shopping, and is like a little girl. I'm getting more and more attracted to her.
→ Next time, it's Yumiko Hara (stylist).
(Titles omitted)
Profile
Photographers
Born in Tokyo in 1951. After studying graphic design at Musashi Art University, he moved to England. He studied fashion design at Trent Polytechnic and worked as a freelance designer in Europe before switching to photography. Currently based in Japan, he is actively engaged in photography while continuing to travel to Asia, Africa, South America, and the Middle East. His works, which pursue the ``existence of people'' through fashion and the human body from his unique perspective, are delicate yet overwhelmingly strong, exposing the unique atmosphere of the place and the life hidden deep within. He regularly holds exhibitions in Japan and Europe. His major works include ``Nus Intime'' (Yobisha), ``Confused Gravitation'' (Bijutsu Publishing), ``IN AND OUT OF MODE'' (Gap Japan), and ``Skin YURIKO TAKAGI×KOZUE HIBINO'' (Fusosha). be. "sei" (Xavier Barral)
https://www.yurikotakagi.com
Text by Yoshiko Takahashi
Lounge
Premium Salon
Makiko Minagawa's world view of textiles
Premium Salon
