CHIKA KISADA

JAPAN

Before becoming a designer, Chika Kisada was a professional ballerina. “I studied classical dance from the age of 3 until I was 19, and when I was 10 I entered the Asami Maki company, which performs in front of large audiences,” says the Japanese talent who was born in the countryside of Mie Prefecture. She adds that her passion for fashion was subsequently sparked by her interest and love for ballet attire, as well as antique clothes: “I wanted to absorb their beauty and surround my whole life with it.” Having never attended a fashion school, Chika learned everything by herself and through work. From her Tokyo atelier near the New National Theatre, she now develops pieces that combine two very di erent worlds: classical dance and punk. “I take the fragile elegance of ballet and merge it with the spiritual and emotional strength that comes from punk,” explains the designer, whose studio is never without candles and a stereo. Her signature colours are pink and black, while her favourite materials are tulle and broad crêpe silk. In her SS 2018 collection she used soft, lightweight, double-weave cotton, checked polyester chi on layered with cotton tape, but also glistening foil denim. Kisada pursues the transient beauty that originates from the movements of the human body: “My dream for the future is to design the costumes for a ‘Swan Lake’ performance,” confesses Chika. “But I even hope that through my creations the Japanese public will get to know classical dance better.” •

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