Akira Isogawa has spent more than a quarter of a century as one of Australia’s most celebrated fashion designers. His pieces have been worn regularly by the likes of Cate Blanchett, he has shown on the catwalks of Paris and his eponymous label has been sold in high-end department stores around the globe. In recent years Isogawa has focused mostly on artistic collaborations. His latest is the costume design for Love Lock, a work by the choreographer Melanie Lane, which premieres with the Sydney Dance Company on 18 September.
In the early years of his label, Isogawa would source textiles from his native Japan – many of which arrived in kimono form, waiting to be unpicked. Some of those fabrics were used in his work over the decades but others remain in pristine condition in his Sydney workshop. Here, the fashion designer tells us about those cherished textiles, as well as sharing the story of two other important personal belongings.
