Hiroko Takahashi
A contemporary textile artist based in Sumida, Hiroko Takahashi works to innovate the Japanese kimono tradition with patterns consisting of the basic elements that make up the universe – circles and straight lines.
Tokyo-based avant-garde kimono designer Hiroko Takahashi doesn’t see herself as a traditional kimono craftswoman. “I’m firstly an artist and designer.” Takahashi is one of the city’s most fascinating cultural figures, not only due to her iconic, attentioncommanding kimono designs, but in large part, to the ideologies she represents as a contemporary Tokyo-ite and a modern, progressive
woman working within a world so entwined with tradition. In Sumida, a traditional downtown corner of the city is where you’ll find Takahashi’s modern, glass-panelled atelier, a redesigned 50-year-old factory.
Inside, she crafts her pieces, predominantly kimonos, which feature bold lines and patterns that traverse the world of retro-pop art and modern simplicity. All of her designs are composed of only circles and straight lines, as she pursues what she calls the “infinite possibilities that arise from constraints”, a perfect metaphor for her mission as an artist channelling her vision within a silhouette so locked within the confines of history.
Takahashi’s interest in the kimono came from her time at art school, where she discovered just how much the garment shaped the nation’s textile history and evolution. “To represent myself as a Japanese artist, I felt it was necessary to study the kimono.
“The simplicity of the kimono creates a unique result for whoever wears it; it triggers my artistic sense,” she says. “You can’t recreate a style perfectly; the kimono comes out different every time. I want to change how kimono is perceived in the modern world by combining the modern style with traditionalist ideas. Tokyo is a great place to do that because it’s a trigger point for the rest of the nation. At the moment, the world is looking at Tokyo as the representation of Japan, and we want to showcase what we can do.”
It’s clear Takahashi is on a mission to redefine Japanese culture and the perspective with which many people view it. For her, the kimono is an item to be respected, but one not so sacred it’s exempt from innovation and reinvention.
While classic kimono studios may be closed off to outsiders, Takahashi’s studio is open to the public and those interested in meeting with her or learning more about her work.
Takahashi’s work and ethos are so representative of Tokyo’s progressive attitude that she has received plenty of attention both locally and across the world – including the Victoria and Albert Museum in London, where her kimonos are featured within the permanent collection.