Toronto – The Textile Museum of Canada (TMC) is pleased to announce the upcoming presentation by internationally acclaimed fashion historian, curator and author Akiko Fukai, Director and Chief Curator of the Kyoto Costume Institute.
In her presentation From Kimonos to Comme des Garçons, Ms. Fukai will address the relationships between historical and cutting-edge Japanese fashion and Western haute couture, popular culture and global fashion. “Ms. Fukai’s longstanding engagement with Japanese fashion history and the dynamics of tradition and innovation speak to the heart of our activities at the Textile Museum of Canada,” says Shauna McCabe, the TMC’s Executive Director. “We are excited to present this important curator and thinker to Canadians who have a passion for design and culture or simply love fashion.”
Akiko Fukai has organized several major international exhibitions including Revolution in Fashion, Fashion in Colors, Luxury in Fashion Reconsidered, and Future Beauty: 30 Years of Japanese Fashion and has been Associate Professor of the International Research Center for Japanese Studies (Kyoto), Professor of Shizuoka University of Art and Culture, and a lecturer at the University of Tokyo and Rikkyo University. She is the author and editor of many books including Japonism in Fashion (Heibonsha, 1994), Fashion (Taschen, 2002), The Century of Fashion (Heibonsha, 2005), and Reading Fashion from Pictures (PHP Institute, 2009). Fukai has also been the recipient of a special prize awarded by the Academy of Japonism in Japan (2000), an honorable doctorate degree of the National University of Ochanomizu (2004), and a Commissioner for Cultural Affairs Award, Japan (2008).
Speaking of her recent exhibition Future Beauty: 30 Years of Japanese Fashion that showcased the evolution and changing social role of Japanese fashion design, Fukai says, “For me, fashion in the 80s was a way to present myself, to present my identity, but for younger generations it’s about transforming identity – for example, into a manga character….” In all its guises, Fukai has followed the development of what she calls a “Japanese DNA“ – where tradition, culture and identity come together in design or concept details.
The TMC is pleased to present the April 22 lecture and reception Akiko Fukai: From Kimonos to Comme des Garçons with the support of the Japan Foundation and the Canada Council for the Arts.
More information: http://www.textilemuseum.ca/