Finding an artistic home for fashion

May 23, 2013

Finding an artistic home for fashion

by Erik Luebs

Almost everything in the room is transparent. From the ceiling dangle two clear plastic jackets. Against the glass walls are empty glass display cases. Past the jackets on the opposite side of the room are four flat-screen TVs set to static. The room is ...

Edward Steichen's great American Dream

Mar 7, 2013

Edward Steichen's great American Dream

by Mio Yamada

“I don’t think that many people in Japan know who Edward Steichen is,” says curator Miki Tsukada in a surprisingly honest comment about visitors to the Setagaya Art Museum’s current exhibition.

'Erwin Blumenfeld:  A Hidden Ritual of Beauty'

Mar 7, 2013

'Erwin Blumenfeld: A Hidden Ritual of Beauty'

by Tomohiro Osaki

German-born fashion photographer Erwin Blumenfeld (1897-1969) was particularly renowned for his cover shoots for fashion magazines such as Harper’s Bazaar and Vogue. Although his extant works are highly acclaimed by art critics worldwide, they are rarely shown in Japan — mainly because they are ...

The future of fabrics woven with the past

Feb 21, 2013

The future of fabrics woven with the past

by Mio Yamada

The textile work of Junichi Arai is renowned for its complexity and innovation. Often three-dimensional in nature, his fabrics appear as undulating landscapes of puckering, crumpling, puffs, pleats and protruding felted yarns. Many of them glimmer with metallic or translucent sheens, some seem understated ...

Stars test sartorial limits at Grammys

Feb 12, 2013

Stars test sartorial limits at Grammys

U.S. television network CBS may have warned stars not to show too much skin on stage Sunday at the Grammys, but the music industry’s A-listers tested the limits in body-conscious, revealing gowns. Jennifer Lopez, whose plunging barely-there green Versace gown at the 2000 Grammys ...