Reconstructing Fabrics with Designer HANA YAGI (八木華)
From Hana’s Repair Collection
In an industry dominated by the pulse of fast fashion and mass production, it's all too common to be swept away in the current. So how does 24-year-old designer Hana Yagi orchestrate her own symphony, one that harmonizes with the principles of sustainability and mindful craftsmanship?
Can you introduce yourself?
I was born in Tokyo in 1999. I studied art during high school and later pursued fashion at an independent fashion school called “coconogacco”. In 2019, I became a finalist in a fashion competition called “International Talent Support”. Currently, I’m active as a fashion designer and artist, creating collections that express my roots and themes that interest me.
When working on commission, I create costumes for artists, unique handmade items, and custom-made wedding dresses. My work primarily involves deconstructing and reconstructing old kimonos and second-hand wedding dresses to create unique pieces.
Hana’s personal work - Wedding Dress
Your family background has been very influential in your path as a fashion designer. How did it influence your creative journey?
My grandmother on my mother’s side worked as a pattern maker. As my grandmother was a working woman, my mother grew up in a relatively liberal family in Showa-era Japan. I inherited my independent spirit and fashion sense from my mother.
My father is a craftsman who specializes in crafting sheet metal roofs for Japanese architecture. The family business has been passed down through generations, with my father being the third generation. My father provided the ideal foundation to create my work and taught me the importance of respecting the spirit of tradition.
Good creations are made when the values of my mother and father collide in my mind.
You’ve been in fashion since a young age, how did your creative process develop throughout the years?
I have loved drawing since I was a child. I made my first dress when I was 17. This was because I was selected as a finalist in the “So-en Award”, an old Japanese fashion contest. This experience sparked my deep interest in fashion. However, I am not interested in drawing new patterns or making clothes from new fabrics.
Instead I’m interested in deconstructing and reconstructing fabrics that have already been used up and have a story to tell, to create a new image from there. The fashion industry lends itself to this approach. Unlike paint, clothes are already made in large quantities and various designs. It would be a waste not to use them as materials. My exposure to various forms of art during high school may have influenced my philosophy here.
From Hana’s Repair Collection
How would you describe your visual style?
When I was a little girl I loved dresses that looked like something out of a fantasy world. But such dresses have their roots in Europe, the image of tattered couture. I studied the history of Japanese clothing. The most beautiful piece of textile with Japanese roots in my opinion is the “Boro”.
“Boro” was made in Aomori, during the Edo period. At that time, Aomori was very cold and the people there were poor. As there was no wool in Aomori, they made their own clothes by layering used hemp cloth and sewing it with thread.
The design of “Boro” is deeply related to the fact that Japan is an island country. My work is influenced by the spirituality, visuals, and processes of "Boro," expressing couture and fashion through its unique filter.
How do you experience the atmosphere of Tokyo’s fashion scene?
I find the fashion scene in Tokyo fascinating, especially the originality in the styles of young people. While there have been periods of stagnation in Tokyo's fashion scene, I have a sense that it is poised to become more interesting in the future.
Regarding creativity, I believe designers are mainly active in the creation of wearable garments and ready-to-wear pieces. However, there seems to be a scarcity of designers who engage in creative and dress-making pursuits compared to Europe. It is a pity that there are not many female designers, especially in Japan. I hope that women of my generation and even younger generations will become more active in the creative world.
Nevertheless, there’s no doubt Japan's traditional culture and vibrant pop culture are unique. Designers must strike a balance without relying too much on one or the other, while believing in their own identity to create a new vision.
From Hana’s Repair Collection
What part of the creative process do you value the most?
I value a DIY mentality. The moments when my assumed image and common sense gets challenged are the most wonderful.
How did your “repair collection” take shape, and what was your approach in emphasizing restoration and the communal aspect of craftsmanship.
“Repair collection” is my first collection, created when I was selected as a finalist for International Talent Support 2019. Because it was my first collection, I wanted to fully express my roots. I will not be taking over my father's company, so three generations of craftsmanship will come to an end. I wanted to carry on my father's spirituality by creating this collection.
I was interested in the word “repair”. At the same time I was collecting kimono scraps and vintage dresses. I was also inspired by the hand-stitching process of “Boro”, so I thought that all these elements could be connected by the word “repair”.
“Repair collection” is made from scraps of old clothes and kimonos. I repaired and hand-sewed those materials with 100 people. Again, the “Boro” process during the Edo-period was a great influence. The women, suffering from poverty, healed their spirits by doing manual labour together, in solidarity. I was heavily inspired by that process.
And so I worked with many hands, thinking about the people who were making “Boro” in Aomori at that time, and once again realised the attachment that humans have to cloth.
Can you tell us more about your recent exhibition SETO INLAND LINK with Seiran Tsuno?
In October 2023, Seiran Tsuno and I exhibited in Kurashiki, which is famous for its denim production. Me and Tsuno made our work using denim scraps given to us by a denim factory.
Seiran Tsuno held a denim workshop with children from an after-school day care service on the theme of clothes for loved ones. The clothes made during that workshop were then displayed.
I used denim scraps to make”‘Boro, which is historically blue because blue dye is inexpensive. Denim is also associated with blue. That is why I created the red Boro to break the existing image.
Seiran Tsuno and myself each worked with different concepts and processes. I was very moved when my work and Tsuno's work were placed side by side. My work is one big dress, Tsuno's work is dolls of children, animals and her beloved grandmother. My work is a monodrama and Seiran Tsuno's work is like a group drama.
The work of Seiran Tsuno (left) & Hana Yagi (right) at SETO INLAND LINK│picture by Katsusuke Nishina
What’s next for Hana Yagi?
I have recently become interested in the image of wedding dresses in Japan. In Japan, people often wear a white kimono called “Shiromuku” or a white wedding dress for weddings. Why do brides wear white for their wedding? Here, one story goes that it is to show the bride's intention to be dyed in the colour of the man's house. I think that is a very old value and not a modern story. So I would like to now make punk pieces that break the existing image of wedding dresses. I plan to present it next year.
Follow Hana Yagi on Instagram
SETO INLAND LINK EXHIBITION
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