Starting Point : Japan

The 30 years of Japanese Fashion, Future Beauty Installation at the Barbican, London, was the perfect place for us to kick-start our research and inspiration. The Japanese Fashion scene has been a leader in innovation for decades, with their enthusiasm to embrace culture, technology, architecture and media clear to see.

(exhibition photography supplied by the Barbican website, freehand sketches taken from my notes)
http://www.barbican.org.uk/artgallery/event-detail.asp?ID=10771

The architectural methodology and functionality of the work displayed is amazing. Not only is the ingenuity of the pattern & cutting work worth drawing ideas from but the fabrics used too; from stiff wool felts, sports performance textiles and even paper!

The stand out designers for me were Hiroaki Ohya, Rei Kowakuba with his strong futuristic silhouettes, and Akira Naka. Naka's use of gradation knit, from wool to polyester knit, was genius.... love it. (check out the link)
http://www.bfc-review.jp/news/2009/07/akira_naka_exhibition.html