Rie
/Show Day
October 22, 2023
/Social Media
"Rie" provides mainly designing costumes for performance including pattern-making and sewing totally by hand. Also we suggest coaching for individual clients to use their minds more effectively if they want to achieve their goals and realize their true potential. The director, Rie was born in 1986 in Hyogo, Japan. Her first work was a crochet muffler when she was five. She always carried the sewing set wherever she went. It was so much fun for her to sew and make things by hand such as patchwork, knitting, beadwork, embroidery and tatting lace.
She majored in psychology at university and got "Certifed Psychologist" which leads to her career. After marriage, she took classes at ESMOD JAPON to brush up her skill of dress making for two years and launched her own brand in 2017. Her first work as a costume designer is Japanese-western mixed costumes for the hair show.
The costumes got good reviews and she received more orders from various professional fields. She has designed costumes from children to adults all over the Japan and most of them won the prize at dance contests or hair dresser contests. They said, "The costumes Rie worked on can help push us forward." In 2021, she launched her 1st collection "gray zone" and Yukata collection next year. Both collection's themes were the ideas of "IKI"(chic) and she proposed mix of Japanese-western designs by using western fabrics (organdy, frills and tulle) and traditional Japanese textiles(Kamedajima). This time, her idea remains the same, but she especially focused on subtle and natural colors loved by Edo people. In addition, she made fabrics by herself with traditional Japanese weaving methods. Rie is going to show her specialty to blend such Japan's unique creativity and modern fashion taste.
PREVIOUS COLLECTIONS
What inspired you to become a fashion designer?
Rie’s work grew from costume creation, where she developed an interest in turning emotions and personal stories into clothing. She later expanded this approach into her own collections, combining handcrafted design with Japanese cultural influences.
How would you describe your design style?
Her designs combine traditional Japanese craftsmanship with contemporary fashion, often bringing together contrasting Eastern and Western elements. Each piece is created by hand, from design and pattern making through to sewing.
What can people expect from your Vancouver Fashion Week collection?
The SS24 collection explores Iki, a traditional Japanese sense of understated sophistication, through the theme “48 Browns and 100 Grays.” Subtle colours inspired by the Edo period are combined with traditional Japanese textile techniques.
What traditional Japanese techniques are featured in the collection?
The collection incorporates traditional techniques including Hataori weaving, Kumihimo braiding, and Sashiko stitching. Rie also creates some fabrics by hand, bringing traditional craftsmanship directly into her contemporary designs.
How do Japanese and Western materials come together in your designs?
Traditional Japanese textiles are combined with Western materials and details such as organza, frills, and tulle. This contrast allows Rie to reinterpret Japanese craftsmanship through a contemporary fashion perspective.