Unit 1: Contemporary Designers: Study Case - Akira Isogawa

Question 1

MOTIFS

Answer 1

• FLORA: flowers, nature, natural environments e.g rainforests, deserts, woodlands.
• PATTERNS: flora, hand made, modern, traditional e.g Japanese prints.
• COLOUR: natural colours according to nature, high contrasting and bright colours, pale and washed out colours.
• SHAPE: mimicking traditional Japanese garments, original shapes, capturing modern garments.
• CULTURAL INFLUENCE: Japan, kimono silhouettes, vintage fabrics, folding, layering, fabric origami.

Question 2

TECHNIQUES:

Answer 2

• SHIBORI: indigo colours, resist patterns.
• HEAT SETTING FABRIC: using heat to set fabric folds, shaping fabric.
• FABRIC CHOICE: natural fibres eg. cotton, silk, wool, re-used fabrics, vintage fabrics.

Question 3

EXPERTISE

Answer 3

SCHOOLING: studied fashion design at Sydney Institute of Technology = able to understand materials and technology effectively, understand government legislation in the fashion industry.

Question 4

FACILITIES

Answer 4

• WORK: full-time assistant whilst the rest of his employees are part time.
• EQUIPMENT: mostly handmade apparel for fashion garments, some manufactured by machine, partially offshore.

Question 5

FINANCIAL BACKING

Answer 5

• INITIAL START: had $1000 to start up business, no financial backing.
  PURCHASES: lenient with fabric as he was under a budget during production of quality garments.
• BENEFIT of EXPERTISE: benefited financial backing through his uni course as he learnt how to maintain budget whilst producing high quality garment.

Question 6

EXTERNAL IMPACTS ON SUCCESS

Answer 6

Political, Social, Ecological, Technological.

Question 7

POLITICAL

Answer 7

Akira used ‘Trade Start’ to expand his business Australia-wide overseas.

Question 8

SOCIAL

Answer 8

• TRENDS: responds to social trends within Aus fashion through designs.
• CULTURE: influenced by his Japanese culture; range of textiles, mediums and fashion.
• DEMAND: use of layered embellished designs reflect society’s demand for creativity and innovation.

Question 9

ECOLOGICAL

Answer 9

• CONSUMER DEMAND: aware of the demands for ecologically sustainable products.
• CULTURE: his Japanese culture influenced fabric choice, using natural fibres eg. cotton and silk, naturally sustainable ways to dye using natural plant based dyes e.g indigo.

Question 10

TECHNOLOGY

Answer 10

• Internet = Global accessibility
• CAD + CAM: increased speed of design producing garments consistently and sustainably.
• TECH DEVELOPMENTS: various developments in fibres, yarns and fabrics = enhance quality, time and price, benefitting visual design, allowing variation.