<!DOCTYPE HTML PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.01 Transitional//EN"> <html><!-- InstanceBegin template="/Templates/jsyle_top07a.dwt" codeOutsideHTMLIsLocked="false" --> <head> <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=iso-8859-1" /> <meta http-equiv="content-language" content="en" /> <meta name="robots" content="all" /> <meta name="keywords" content="jstyle,japan,australia,japanese,food,living,style,beauty,news cinema,business,information,Sydney,GoldCoast,Brisbane,Perth,Melbourne,Cairns" /> <meta name="description" content="Nichigo Press jstyle is a quarterly English-language magazine that deals with a wide variety of Japan-related topics in an Australian context." /> <meta name="rating" content="general" /> <meta name="author" content="NICHIGO PRESS" /> <meta name="copyright" content="NICHIGO PRESS" /> <!-- InstanceBeginEditable name="doctitle" --> <title>jstyle -The Japan you were looking for is right here!-</title> <!-- InstanceEndEditable --> <SCRIPT language="JavaScript"> <!-- function MM_swapImage() { //v3.0 var i,j=0,x,a=MM_swapImage.arguments; document.MM_sr=new Array; for(i=0;i<(a.length-2);i+=3) if ((x=MM_findObj(a[i]))!=null){document.MM_sr[j++]=x; if(!x.oSrc) x.oSrc=x.src; x.src=a[i+2];} } function MM_swapImgRestore() { //v3.0 var i,x,a=document.MM_sr; for(i=0;a&&i<a.length&&(x=a[i])&&x.oSrc;i++) x.src=x.oSrc; } function MM_preloadImages() { //v3.0 var d=document; if(d.images){ if(!d.MM_p) d.MM_p=new Array(); var i,j=d.MM_p.length,a=MM_preloadImages.arguments; for(i=0; i<a.length; i++) if (a[i].indexOf("#")!=0){ d.MM_p[j]=new Image; d.MM_p[j++].src=a[i];}} } function MM_findObj(n, d) { //v4.01 var p,i,x; if(!d) d=document; if((p=n.indexOf("?"))>0&&parent.frames.length) { d=parent.frames[n.substring(p+1)].document; n=n.substring(0,p);} if(!(x=d[n])&&d.all) x=d.all[n]; for (i=0;!x&&i<d.forms.length;i++) x=d.forms[i][n]; for(i=0;!x&&d.layers&&i<d.layers.length;i++) x=MM_findObj(n,d.layers[i].document); if(!x && d.getElementById) x=d.getElementById(n); return x; } //--> </SCRIPT> <link href="../../../css/style.css" rel="stylesheet" type="text/css"> </head> <body bgcolor=black> <table width="800" border="0" align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" bgcolor="#FFFFFF"> <tr align="center"> <td width="180"><a href="../../../index.html"><img src="../../../img/title_s.gif.jpg" width="180" height="75" alt="jstyle top" border="0" /></a><br><br> </td> <td width="620"><div align="right"><a href="http://event.rakuten.co.jp/borderless/index_en.html" target="_blank"><img src="../../../img/rakuten-en.gif" alt="Nekoma" width="486" height="60" border="0"></a></div></td> </tr> <tr align="center"> <td colspan="2"><hr size="2"></td> </tr> <tr> <td colspan="2" align="center" bgcolor="#FFFFFF"><!-- InstanceBeginEditable name="body" --> <div style="width:800;height:100%;background-color:#FFFFFF;"> <center><br> <img src="http://jstyle.25today.com/topics/img/title.gif" width="762" height="31"> <table width="762" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0"> <tr> <td><p><img src="http://jstyle.25today.com/rc/title.gif" alt="CROSSING BORDERS &amp; BRIDGING CULTURES" width="762" height="38"></p> <div class="sec"> <div class="rc-h1">PEOPLE</div> <h1><br> <div class="NewImg"> <table width="100" border="0" align="right" cellpadding="5" cellspacing="0"> <tr> <td><img src="img/futari.jpg" alt="Yu Konishi and Kyoko Tasaka in their offices" width="300" height="200"></td> </tr> <tr> <td>Yu Konishi and Kyoko Tasaka in their office</td> </tr> </table> </div> Designs on a revolution</h1> <h4>Yu Konishi and Kyoko Tasaka</h4> <p><em>Two Japanese designers based in Australia are preparing to take on the world. After the stunning debut of their fashion label Yu at Australian Fashion Week, Yu Konishi and Kyoko Tasaka are riding a wave of success. After moving to Australia two years ago, they are now reaping the rewards of their many years of hard work in the Japanese fashion industry. Although it has been a difficult road at times, their label has given them an outlet for creative expression, on their terms. jstyle reports on this dynamic fashion duo: </em></p> <p>With the launch of its 2009 spring and summer collection at Australian Fashion Week in April/May this year, fashion label Yu became only the second Japanese entry to make an appearance there since renowned designer Akira Isogawa. Yu burst onto the Australian scene in the category of "New Generation" under the slogan &quot;Transform the Revolution&quot;. </p> <div class="NewImg"> <table width="100" border="0" align="right" cellpadding="5" cellspacing="0"> <tr> <td><img src="img/3.jpg" alt="Australian Fashion Week, held in April 2008 " width="200" height="300"></td> </tr> <tr> <td>Australian Fashion Week, held in April 2008 </td> </tr> </table> </div> <p>According to Yu's designer Yu Konishi, he and pattern designer Kyoko Tasaka were colleagues at design school and their relationship goes back more than 12 years. Tasaka remembers how &quot;out of all the friends at college I felt Konishi and I were moving in the same direction&quot;. However talks of serious collaboration only began three years ago.</p> <p>Konishi first came to Australia 10 years ago where he had the opportunity to view IsogawaÕs studio. This experience opened his eyes to the possibilities of working in Australia. &quot;I think Australia, as a country, is lively and full of possibilities,&quot; he says. &quot;It is a fun place to work and to live. Also in this region, countries like Indonesia and Singapore are becoming more important in terms of fashion.&quot; </p> <p>It was Tasaka's first time in Australia, however her first impressions convinced her that it was the right place for the pair to launch their label. &quot;In Paris or Milan I think it would be very easy to be lost in all the many things that are going on around you,&quot; she says. &quot;In a place like Australia, with a new scene that is growing, there is room for our creativity to be seen.&quot; </p> <p>Although they are excited by their recent success, it has not always been easy. There have been problems with the language, a major obstacle in a place where everything is new. However they are encouraged and surprised by the way their work has been evaluated solely on merit and how they have made many contacts in a very short time. </p> <p>As to whom their designs are for, Konishi says Yu is not specifically aimed at the Australian market. However the pair hopes that the tailoring and attention to detail characteristic of the range will bring an alternative perspective to the fashion scene here. </p><div class="NewImg"> <table width="100" border="0" align="right" cellpadding="5" cellspacing="0"> <tr> <td><img src="img/yu-and-kyoko-1.jpg" alt="Yu's show at Australian Fashion Week " width="200" height="254"></td> </tr> <tr> <td>Yu's show at Australian Fashion Week </td> </tr> </table> </div> <p>Even though they are based in Australia, Yu's entire line is made in Japan. Tasaka says working outside Japan has made them view their country with new respect. &quot;Now that I am away from home, I can see that Japan is a great country,&quot; she says. &quot;In our line of work, where even a compromise in the measurements of 0.05mm can't be tolerated, it helps to be working with people who speak the same language and have the same attention to detail.&quot; Konishi stresses how &quot;it is very important for us that the factory we work with shares our perspective on detail and the quality of the final product&quot;. </p> <p>Yu's garments are born out of a collaborative effort: Konishi comes up with the concepts and designs while Tasaka gives them form through cuttings and modelling. This process requires thoughtful and sometimes heated discussion about how the final product should look. </p> <p>Konishi says he sees Tasaka as &quot;an excellent work partner, best friend and rival. Being able to think about problems together means that there are always two prospective solutions to a problem&quot;. </p> <p>Tasaka says, &quot;There really is no way that we could do this on our own. To me he is like a little brother, a father and a best friend, even though sometimes we fight and spend half the day without talking to each other!&quot; </p> </div></td> </tr> </table> </center> </div> <!-- InstanceEndEditable --> <table width="100%" border="0" align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" bgcolor="#FFFFFF"> <tr> <td><img src="../../../img/spacer.gif" alt="space" width="20" height="20"></td> </tr> </table> <table width="100%" border="0" align="center" cellpadding="5" cellspacing="0" bgcolor="#FFFFFF"> <tr> <td align="center" bgcolor="#FFFFFF"><a href="../../../index.html">Back to top page</a> </td> </tr> <tr> <td align="center" bgcolor="#666666"><font color="#FFFFFF">Copyright &copy; 2006-2007 NICHIGO PRESS All rights reserved.</font></td> </tr> </table> </td> </tr> </table> </body> <!-- InstanceEnd --></html>