CALAIS.- Yuima Nakazato’s work is at the intersection of innovation, tradition and cutting-edge technology. The designer develops sustainable fashion, inspired by the creativity of haute couture and traditional Japanese techniques. His poetic vision of clothing is driven by a desire to render bespoke creations more accessible.

Born in Japan in 1985, Yuima Nakazato graduated from the Antwerp Royal Academy of Fine Arts (Belgium) in 2008. He has won numerous honors and awards in Europe, including the Innovation Award in 2008 for his end-of-curriculum collection, which introduced the origami technique into fashion. Since 2016, he has shown his collections twice a year in Paris during Haute Couture Fashion Week organized by Federation de la Haute Couture et de la Mode as a guest member, thereby becoming only the second Japanese fashion designer, after Hanae Mori, to be part of the prestigious Parisian event.

Since his first collection, Yuima Nakazato has wanted to create pieces of clothes that are progressive, sustainable and able to create an unique emotional bond with the people who wear them. To achieve this, he develops techniques that he creates himself or uses from Eastern and Western craftsmanships. His inspiration, mainly drawn by nature (the song of whales, the red lava of volcanoes, the beauty of landscapes) recall the contribution of Asian thought through his work.

The environmental impact of the fashion industry is one of Yuima Nakazato’s biggest concerns. His couture is a laboratory for a more responsible fashion, incorporating upcycling materials and waste that are not recycled by the industry.

Alongside specialists, researchers and industrialists, he pushes back technological boundaries to develop innovative textiles and manufacturing processes, such as 3-D printing, creating textile fibres using fermented bacteria and implementing novel techniques.

Yuima Nakazato also creates costumes for stage, ballet and opera, including those for the opera, Idoménée, which will be premiered in 2024 at Le Grand Théâtre de Genève.

In a futuristic and poetic universe, created hand-inhand with the designer, the exhibition will present some fifty garments from the YUIMA NAKAZATO brand’s 2016-2024 couture collections. An array of accessories, fashion sketches, technical drawings, fabric samples, fashion photos and videos will explain the creative process behind the design.