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Oversized garment craftsAt Mesa College, students hang gracefully from tall poles in Balboa Park’s historic Japanese-style buildings—and there’s more to these clothes than just beauty.
Decorated with azaleas and garden plants, the Lower Garden’s Japanese Friendship Garden Path ends at the Inamori Pavilion, where the “Kimono Reimagined” exhibit is located. “Mixing Culture, Fashion and Textile Art” This project challenges students of the fashion program to transform traditional Japanese clothing into new clothing that reflects 21st century fashion. Each of the 16 teams, consisting of one student designer and one from Vision Museum, will display their results in the Pavilion showroom.
Text boards on the east wall detail how each product was conceptualized. Students draw inspiration from a variety of sources – from gender inclusivity to high fashion brands such as Comme des Garçons. It was important to each team that the integrity and spirit of Japanese culture remained intact with their finished product. Learning how each team draws inspiration provides a rich insight into the designer’s fashion knowledge and creative process.
The San Diego Museum of Modern Art donated kimonos and haoris that will be turned into intricate pieces. Designers blindly go into bags, and whatever clothes they draw, it will be based on the material they are sewn from. Once the blueprints were locked in, the designers sewed most of their own pieces before handing them off to their peers for finishing. Embellishments such as ribbons, jewels and patchwork are added with stitching to draw the eye and make the pieces more personal.
Mesa College fashion student Hayden James combined Japanese tradition with tribal motifs and even took inspiration from the movie Black Panther. Although he’s traditionally into women’s fashion, James stepped out of his comfort zone by going with menswear for this project. The relatively plain, dark colored kimono that James pulls from his secret bag poses a challenge for James as he tries to create unusual pieces. It was important to him to always maintain his signature style – the boldness and sparkle that make each of his pieces uniquely “Hayden James”.
“Incorporating elegance into my menswear is very important to me,” says James. “I let people see. I let them wonder. His piece for “Kimono Reimagined” definitely has a flare – asymmetrical cut, with logo-like embroidery and a contrast of dark and light colors.
James’ piece is one of several pieces of art featured in the “Kimono Reimagined” exhibit — all of which showcases the incredible talent not only at Mesa College, but also at the Vision Museum of Textile Art. James says that while the city has a vibrant community of artists, San Diego doesn’t have a reputation for creativity. “San Diego is not known for its artistic influence. I want people to know there is it. The talent is here.
If you stop by Japan’s Friendship Garden before February 24th, you’ll be amazed by the designs of Mesa College’s fashion program, filled with handicrafts from the Vision Museum of Textile Art.
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