Introducing our new range of fabulous leather bags, they have just arrived and are sure to be popular. Stock is limited, so you'll need to be quick! Available in store and online now, all you have to do is decide which are your favourites.....prices start at $169.

Japanese Paper Dolls by Futami Isogawa; now in store 

Exclusive to Yoshi Jones!
Come in to the Newtown store to see Futami Isogawa's beautiful Japanese Dolls.
These exquisite sculptures are available to purchase from $50-150 

Japanese paper, or washi, is perhaps most famous for its use in origami, a traditional Japanese art of paperfolding. The Japanese paper dolls on display in this exhibition are hand crafted using authentic 'chirimen' paper. Chirimen paper is preshrunk and hand made with a luxurious feel.

The dolls are imbued with a sense of movement and natural feminine grace, and each pattern carries a unique meaning. They would make a striking addition to a sophisticated interior space, and are ideal gifts for friends and family.

Yoshi Jones Studio Sale This Saturday Only!
2 Gladstone Street Enmore corner of Wilford Street

Saturday 22 October 9am to 3pm
One day sale clearing out previous season summer, end of lines and samples, prices start at $25!
Dresses, skirts, tops, men's shirts plus fabrics....Come along for excellent bargains 

We have exciting news to share; we've finally taken our first delivery of the cult Warrior Shoes!

Established in 1927, Warrior Shoes are a Chinese heritage athletic sneaker.
The brand's origins, quality and functionality have garnered it a following among the most innovative fashion circles,
being carried by landmark stores internationally, including Collette (Paris), Patta and Restored (Amsterdam)
and WoodWood (Berlin).
The shoe itself is hand finished, extremely well made and durable. Winning numerous industry awards for
production and quality and priced at $79 and $89; these fabulous shoes for men and women will be popular.
Come into our Newtown store to take a look for yourself.

I immediately responded to the work of Amy Jones (no relation!) when I went along to her exhibition at Chrissie Cotter Gallery in Camperdown.

Amy used fabric from my Vintage Kimono collection to construct beautiful artwork; when I saw it I knew that her work would look so fantastic in the Newtown store.

It is excellent timing to display her work as Spring is traditonally an important time in Japan to celebrate new beginnings, it's when the cherry blossom trees come into bloom for a fleeting week; the hanami season. The store is buzzing with new season energy and we are very excited about the new stock which is arriving every week!

I am so pleased to feature Amy's work as she is a Newtown based artist whose paintings and craft based works are influenced by the Japanese landscape. Jones has particularly responded to the deliberate manner of planting, and the sculptural nature of Japanese garden design, seeing an echo of the artistic process – selection and discernment of colour, composition and form.

Jones’ Installation “there are no birdies in my garden”, is a response to inner city life – attempting to recreate part of the whimsical beauty of a garden, whilst surrounded by a concrete jungle.

The sculptures are available to purchase for $19-45 in our Newtown store.

Jones currently teaches painting and drawing classes privately, and at the Hazelhurst Gallery in Gymea.

Vendome Aoyama has released a range of jewelery designed by Kengo Kuma; very simple, beautiful pieces which seem to be inspired by his architectural work. The Oribe range is my favourite.

I've recently discovered a connection between two Japanese artists who I admire;
Tadao Ando the architect and Issey Miyake, my favourite fashion designer.

Miyake is one of the directors of 21_21 Design Sight ; a kind of museum, gallery and research space for design in Tokyo.
Ando was the architect given the awesome brief of "a structure which would represent Japan".

Regarding the design process for the building, Ando explains
"...it was said that, "If there were one nation in the world whose demise would have serious consequences it would be the Japanese." I interpret this statement to mean that we mustn't allow the characteristic Japanese aesthetic to die out. Aesthetics also include things like a sense of responsibility and a sense of justice. They also incorporate a respect for other people and for nature, an appreciation of the gift of life, and courtesy. They even extend to the ability to look at the world around one, properly."
via 21_21 Design Sight



21_21 Design Sight building; the roof is one sheet of folded steel which echoes the single piece of fabric  that Miyake uses to make his garments. So elegant! 

The current exhibition is on til Sunday 31: THE SPIRIT OF TOHOKU: "CLOTHING" BY ISSEY MIYAKE






Pleats Please by Issey Miyake via FIDM

His garments in the Pleats Please range are pleated after being cut and sewn so as to retain their knife pleats to perfection. Miyake is a true innovator of design!

Ando is perhaps best known for his Church of the Light, a small Church in Ibaraki, Osaka Japan. Slits in the concrete reveal a cross shape when the sunlight peaks through. The incredible concrete walls are 15 inches thick, and yet the space is equally defined by the light as the solidness of its structure. 
Simple yet sublime.



photo by Sanghyun Lee via http://www.andotadao.org/

take a look at the website for more info re 21_21 Design Sight
http://www.2121designsight.jp/en/

If only I had a week off and a ticket to London!

The Yohji Yamamoto exhibition at the V&A is on now and continues til 10th July.

 
image used for show via V&A show curator's blog

Yamamoto is the charismatic and talented Japanese fashion designer whose work I very much admire.
His Paris debut in 1981 was quite revolutionary. He uses unconventional fabrics and shapes that are oversized and deconstructed, challenging the usual ideas of femininity, of sexuality and indeed of fashion itself.
He features decorative elements such as embroidery, shibori and yuzen.





  
the V&A space is dotted with life drawings of a woman's body on the walls, which he drew himself over two days from a live naked model. via id-online


I like that his clothes are somewhat contradictory; intellectual yet playful. Strong and seductive yet androgynous. 
Yamamoto designs for Opera yet has partnered with Adidas to make very cool sportswear: Y-3.
He dresses businessmen like vagabonds.




Y-3 F2011 RTW via style.com

He starred in Wim Wenders 1989 film Notebook on Cities and Clothes.
In 2008, he launched a charity called Yohji Yamamoto Fund for Peace to sponsor Chinese fashion students and models.




His involvment in the Wapping Project Bankside entitled Yohji's Women showed the photos of seven artists who have collaborated with Yamamoto to produce images for his catalogues- which are themselves amazing and artistic.

 

Yohji's Women, Inez van Lamsweerde and Vinoodh Matadin for Yohji Yamamoto, Spring/Summer 1999, Wapping Bankside, March 2011

via V&A

What an interesting designer!

I began my label with the idea of using Vintage Kimono Silk in new clothing.
The beauty and craftsmanship of the silk is so precious that i wanted to bring it to a contemporary audience and
reconfigure it into new shapes.


 

D140 Traditional Silk Wrap Dress features Vintage Kimono Silk as obi and tie feature.


Recycling and upcycling is the process of converting a product which is no longer useful into a new product. It saves the original product from going to landfill and saves resources because the new product doesn't require new materials (or less materials) to be produced.

It also helps us to appreciate the value of garments and objects if we focus on what they might become. With some creativity and imagination, the concept of upcycling can be applied in so many ways in our throw-away culture. 
An element of interaction is required to upcycle; its difficult to automate this process.

At our studio, we take time to look at the vintage silk so that each individual peice is used to its full potential.
This is a lot of fun and it is truly exciting to see a piece of silk become a dress worn and loved again.

I've seen lots of examples lately of recycling and upcycling.....





Maison Martin Margiela F/W 10/11,
using vintage clutches and bags to create experimental jackets and pants (via trendstop)




 
Frankenstein Couch Cushions recycled leather scraps to make great big pillows by Patch from Hey Team







Surplus Food being used by FoodCycle to feed the community in London (found via trendhunter)