IWP 2014/15 Asia Regional Competition Comments from participating designers
2014.7.17 Andaz Tokyo
Below are the comments from the designers who participated in the Asian regional competition of “The International Woolmark Prize,” an international fashion contest held by The Woolmark Company.
【WOMENS】
AMBELL／Bunzo Kadono（Japan）
GREEDIOUS／Younhee Park（Korea）
HEI LAU／Hei Lau（Hong Kong）
JO QIAO DING／Jo Qiao Ding（China）
motonari ono／Motonari Ono（Japan）
NISHE／Polly Siu（Hong Kong）
TOE ／Choon Ho Yoon（Korea）
Vmajor／Victor Zhu & Nicole Lin（China）
【MENS】
Beautyberry／Wang Yutao（China）
HARRISON WONG／Harrison Wong（Hong Kong）
Sise／Seishin Matsui（Japan）
ZSAINT／Jisang Kim（Korea）
WOMENS
AMBELL／Bunzo Kadono（Japan）
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I created this collection without using any materials other than wool such as nylon and silk. My source of inspiration was “cotton” and “Mark Rothko,” and just like Mark Rothko’s method of layering paint on a canvas, I imagined the clothes to be a canvas and drew patterns with our hands using raw wool. Unlike our usual collections, we were able to focus on single material— wool, and limit the number of patterns that we had to design, so we were able to more deeply pursue our theme. It was a great experience. I hope to use this experience to continue to make clothes, with a possibility of entering into foreign markets in the future.
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GREEDIOUS／Younhee Park（Korea）
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GREEDIOUS is a brand with the transparency and purity of diamonds as its theme, and we make clothes that any women would want to wear and allow one to become the person she wants to be. For this competition, I was inspired by the movie “The Last of the Mohicans,” and I created a coat and dress based on the exotic and militant Mohican style. I focused on taking advantage of the plainness and material quality of wool, and I aimed to make the voluminous coat appear light. The judges praised the use of color, technique, and unique idea. 【profile】 |
HEI LAU／Hei Lau（Hong Kong）
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HEI LAU is a brand that focuses on the cutting and drape, and aims to express natural elegance. For the IWP, I was inspired by the botanical garden in London that I visited the other day, and decided to create lines that are unique to plants using organic cutting and draping that fit the curves of the body based on elements such as the form, vitality, and growth of plants. As wool is a heavy material, it is hard to create beautiful drapes, but I focused on creating a silhouette that stayed true to my style by using two fabrics of different thicknesses. I think the judges were interested in the concepts and techniques of my work.
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JO QIAO DING／Jo Qiao Ding（China）
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In my work, I aim to incorporate as much of the beauty of traditional Chinese culture as possible. For this competition, my motif was a rose, and I created a dress with a silhouette of traditional Chinese clothing with the theme of recreating the layers of petals using clothing. I often use wool, and I felt that the material is well-suited for my designs as it is extremely soft and thus makes it easy to recreate the colors and shapes of roses. I think the judges were interested in the dyeing process. I currently have stores in Beijing and Shanghai in China, but I hope to use the experience of participating in the IWP to expand overseas, such as Singapore, in the near future.
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motonari ono／Motonari Ono（Japan）
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I created a collection with the theme of “gradation you see in nature,” linking the beautiful gradation in the natural world, such as the boundary between the sea and the sky, with the natural blessing of wool as a material. For this competition, I created a dress from thread, and by changing the knitted fabric within one piece of fabric, I created a piece in which a story is created around one wool thread. Because this was a contest with a theme of wool, I was able to try my hand at creating clothing from thread and thus making the most of the qualities of the material in a passionate manner, and I think that I will be able to apply my efforts in future clothes-making as well. 【profile】 |
NISHE／Polly Siu（Hong Kong）
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I deviated from the taste of my normal line and created a dress and scarf that could be worn out on a night on the town. I took 100% Merino wool and had it printed based on a painting I did inspired by the “Ocean” after which the wool was coated. The combination of the ocean motif with the wool which is coated symbolizes that we must protect the global environment from global warming. I also made sure not to waste one tuft of wool in consideration of the vast amount of time and labor required to raise sheep and produce such material. Using the IWP as a spring board I hope to distribute to high quality department stores.
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TOE ／Choon Ho Yoon（Korea）
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TOE is a brand whose collections have a classic base with a retro feel added on. For this collection, my source of inspiration was the thatched roof used in traditional Korean houses. I incorporated the motif of thatch, which shares qualities such as heat-retaining properties and thermal insulation properties with wool, in clothing, and I conducted the knitting work myself, focusing on the weaving texture, twists, and the volume, etc. In addition, I was able to create pleats, which are difficult to express using wool, and the judges showed great interest in the technique. Currently, my brand is sold in Asia, but I hope to gain recognition in a broader market in order to grow into a global brand.
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Vmajor／Victor Zhu & Nicole Lin（China）
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After we studied fashion in London together, we returned to China in 2009 and launched our brand. We frequently used wool in our previous Autumn/Fall collections, but we decided to try our hand at weaving in order to do something that we hadn’t done before. As wool products are often wrapped around or loosened, such as cardigans and scarves, we decided to have the reconfiguration of form as our theme, and produced clothes which incorporated patterns of works by artists who drew the Himalayas. We received feedback from the judges regarding business aspects in addition to creative aspects. It made us think about what perspective we needed to have as professionals, and was extremely encouraging.
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MENS
Beautyberry／Wang Yutao（China）
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Beautyberry is a brand that was launched in 2005, and 70% of our clothes is menswear and 30% is womenswear. Recently, we are making a shift towards the high-end market. For the IWP collection, our theme was to link the elegant fashion of Western men in the early 20th century, when men paid attention to their clothes, with the lifestyle of modern Chinese men. Wool normally accounts for about 70% of our usual collections, and we think it is a flexible material that is soft and warm and can be used in a wide variety of ways. This time, we focused on threads, embroidery, and sewing, and we feel that our work for this competition will add to our collection in the future.
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HARRISON WONG／Harrison Wong（Hong Kong）
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I design clothes based on the idea that having limited elements becomes a source of creativity. For this competition, I created clothing using just one type of thread with the theme of “protective equipment of Asia.” We were only allowed to produce one style, so I thought that it would be effective to limit myself to just one material while conveying a texture and technique that made it not feel that way. I also was able to create a silhouette that followed the theme while keeping in mind the need to make a product that was commercially viable as well. I got positive reactions from the judges, and this competition was an extremely good opportunity for my brand. 【profile】 |
Sise／Seishin Matsui（Japan）
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My theme was “THIS MOMENT,” and I decided to put into shape what I thought was nice and cool right now, while also picking up things that interested me out of the massive amount of news surrounding me. I always liked wool and so I am good at working with it, but this was the first time I designed clothes while thinking so much about the material. For this competition, I decided to express the sports mode style that I have always liked, by respecting the Merino wool material but also adding about 10% of manmade fiber to change the expression of the fabric. I was never interested in competitions from when I was a student, but I was able to get down to the core of my expression while working among designers from various countries, and it was an extremely precious experience for me.
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ZSAINT／Jisang Kim（Korea）
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ZSAINT is a brand with the concept of “modernique,” which is based on modernism with a moderate touch of uniqueness. For this competition, my source of inspiration was the art of Salvador Dalí, and I aimed to incorporate the distinctive spatial layers of surrealism into my clothes. I also wanted to respect the functional elements of wool as a natural material, such as its texture and heat-retaining properties, so I focused on making the most of the good qualities of wool without using any special techniques. I am extremely honored to have been able to participate in this competition as a representative of Korean menswear designers. In addition, it was a valuable experience to be able to meet designers from other countries and to work with the global Woolmark Company.
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