Today we’ll be shining a spotlight on some of notable designers and their latest collections from New York Fashion Week!

TADASHI SHOJI

WHO IS TADASHI SHOJI?

Tadashi Shoji is an American-based Japanese designer. Founded in 1982, Shoji’s brand focuses on making sure that “every woman, regardless of size and shape, deserves to feel confident, comfortable, and gorgeous.”

FROM ARTIST TO DESIGNER

After a fateful meeting in an art gallery in Tokyo, Shoji assisted Jiro Takamatsu, the leading contemporary artist in Japan. This led to him making conceptual art for 3 years before moving to the United States. After working with a costume designer and noticing the lack of occasion dressing, Shoji launched his own label. He uses stretch fabrics like jersey, lace, and tulle to create high-quality looks without sacrificing comfort.

I’ve covered him before in last season’s fashion week and his website is also available to learn more.

TADASHI SHOJI’S SS19 COLLECTION

His Spring/Summer 2019 collection took inspiration from the skies, specifically the stars and galaxies. The runway was filled with starry prints and metallic finishes, and the makeup looks followed a similar theme with glittery, dark liner.

KOZABURO | DESIGNER: KOZABURO AKASAKA

WHO IS KOZABURO?

Kozaburo Akasaka was born in Japan, studied at Central Saint Martins in London, and moved to New York, where his menswear collections stand their ground. He also earned his MFA at Parsons. He’s enjoyed his time in different cities and finding inspiration in foreign cultures.

COLLABORATIONS AND HIS DESIGN PROCESS

He has collaborated with Dover Street Market, accessories designer Kota Okuda, and he’s also enjoyed working with young talent in his generation. Akasaka enjoys working with different types of textiles, such as denim and wool, and learning creative techniques to manipulate them. He draws from the traditional Japanese hand-weaving technique called “sakiori,” which is recycling old fabrics to create new pieces.

KOZABURO’S SS19 COLLECTION

His SS19 collection is called “Transcend” and the collection was photographed in a small bamboo grove in his backyard. The inspiration came from the cultural and political climate in society today, and he hopes fashion can transcend those boundaries.

He used materials such as linen and burlap to create breathable pieces, and Akasaka’s friend hand-painted the abstract brush stroke print. There was a graphic print tee that was inspired by the mark of a Japanese dojo, but also revealed a combination of the Chinese yin and yang symbol and the Native American medicine wheel.

By combining cultures and fabrics, Akasaka has curated menswear pieces that embody “individual globalism.”

YUNA YANG

WHO IS YUNA YANG?

Yang started off her fashion career with a degree in fine arts from Ewha Women’s University in Seoul and finished her design studies in Milan. She had an opportunity to design evening wear for Milan Fashion Week and later went on to earn another BA in womenswear design at Central Saint Martins in London.

She debuted with a F/W collection and by 2011, was featured in New York magazine. In 2011, Yang designed a collection for the movie premiere of “Water for Elephants.” She has also dressed many Hollywood and Asian celebrities.

YUNA YANG’S SS19 COLLECTION

This collection showed stuck to a pastel and netural color palette with a few pops of color. There was a bird of paradise print that was incorporated into some of the pieces and added pops of color. Overall, the collection was feminine and airy, perfect for spring and summer.

OSCAR DE LA RENTA

WHO IS OSCAR DE LA RENTA?

Oscar de la Renta is one of the most famous designers because of the amount of celebrities that flock to the brand and wear their designs to red carpet events. Oscar de la Renta is known for their immaculate embroidery, luxurious fabrics, and beautiful details that make up their breathtaking designs.

Although de la Renta is a popular brand, I wanted to highlight them because of how much I love their designs and speak about their backstory in recent years.

THE BACKSTORY BEHIND OSCAR DE LA RENTA’S CURRENT CREATIVE DIRECTORS

In 2014, Oscar de la Renta passed away from cancer and named Peter Copping as his successor. However, he left almost 2 years later. In March 2017, Laura Kim and Fernando Garcia became the new co-creative directors of the brand. For people who are unaware of these changes, it might not seem like a big deal, but decisions and changes like these can make or break a brand if the creative vision changes for the worse.

However, Kim and Garcia had worked under de la Renta for several years before his passing. Kim was his studio director and de la Renta brought Garcia onto the team in 2009. Garcia didn’t have any formal fashion training and graduated with an architecture degree, but he had a sketchbook of designs he had been working on since childhood. Kim didn’t like how he was inexperienced, but he quickly learned the ropes with hands-on experience and they grew to work well together.

When Copping became the creative director, Kim decided to launch her own brand and took Garcia with her, much to de la Renta’s dismay. They launched Monse, their new brand, in 2015 and it became an immediate success.

HOW OSCAR DE LA RENTA HAS CHANGED AND STAYED THE SAME

However, now they manage both Monse and Oscar de la Renta. While de la Renta’s signature details are still present, Kim and Garcia have updated the collection with youthful and clean designs as well as strong statement pieces that have taken the brand to another level.

And that ends this post! I hope you enjoyed this and found it insightful. Many times, we tend to focus on the designs and we don’t take the time to learn about the designers behind the collections. However, I personally find their stories fascinating. With that being said, I’ll be covering all the other fashion weeks, even though fashion month is almost over, so be on the lookout for them!

Thanks so much for reading and I’ll see you lovelies soon!