Philosophical Fashion 3: mintdesigns "happy people"

2013.12.7(Sat.) - 2014.5.18(Sun.)

Information

Period:

2013.12.7(Sat.) - 2014.5.18(Sun.)
10:00 - 18:00 (until 20:00 on Fridays and Saturdays)

Venue:

Design Gallery / 21st Century Museum of Contemporary Art, Kanazawa

Closed:

Mondays, December 24, 29 to January 1, and January 14
(Open on December 23, January 13, and Feburuary 10)

Admission:

Free

For More Information:

21st Century Museum of Contemporary Art, Kanazawa
Phone: +81-76-220-2800
Facsimile: +81-76-220-2802
E-Mail: info@kanazawa21.jp

"Philosophical Fashion"—a series inquiring into the meaning of clothing today, when trends change with dizzying speed, driven by the phenomenal rise of "fast fashion." Featured in this series are creators who consistently propose new fashions on the basis of an enduring concept.
Our third exhibit in this series looks at "mintdesigns."
Fashion brand mintdesigns is known for clothing designs that give play to unique textiles developed by the brand’s creators, Hokuto Katsui and Nao Yagi. Besides fashion, mintdesigns actively pursues collaborations in other fields, such as dinner ware, furniture, and Japanese confections, so its design territory is continually expanding. Not stopping at clothing, Katsui and Yagi seek to impart richness to our everyday lives through product design. Their activities, as such, explore the possibilities of "fashion" far beyond what is "fashionable."
This exhibit will take "happy people" as its theme in an experimental endeavor to deploy mintdesign clothing actively in everyday life. People living in Tokyo and Kanazawa will encounter mintdesigns in their own everyday spaces, and the moment of their encounter will be displayed.

HIRABAYASHI Megumi, Curator

Related Projects

Artist Talk

*Japanese language only
mintdesigns designer KATSUI Hokuto and YAGI Nao will discuss the brand’s concept and activities.
Date/time: Saturday, December 7, 2013 14:00-15:30 Venue: Lecture Hall, 21st Century Museum of Contemporary Art, Kanazawa Capacity: 60 Admission: No charge

Message from the Designers

  • Installation view: Philosophical Fashion 3: mintdesigns "happy people"
    photo: OSHIO Kentaro

    mintdesigns "happy people"

    This exhibition's "happy people" project started from the thought, "Designing clothing is like designing people, and people are part of the urban landscape."
    How do people encounter mintdesigns clothing in their everyday spaces and meld into the urban landscape when they wear that clothing? Taking people living in Kanazawa and Tokyo as our subjects, we styled them using clothing carefully selected from mintdesigns’ past archives, as well as their own mintdesigns items. We then photographed each of them in the office, shop, studio, or other everyday space familiar to and expressive of them individually. Looking closely at the relationships between person, space, and clothing, we endeavored to see how the designs fit into everyday space. To do this, we photographed the same landscapes two ways—with and without the people in them.
    Please compare the landscapes and see how the people and their clothing affect the landscape.

    KATSUI Hokuto and YAGI Nao, mintdesigns Designers

Designer Profiles

  • Photo: OSHIO Kentaro

    KATSUI Hokuto
    
Born in Tokyo in 1973. After studying at Parsons School of Design (New York), graduated from Central Saint Martins College of Art and Design (London).

    YAGI Nao
    
Born in Osaka in 1973. Graduated in Fine Arts from Doshisha University, then went to London and graduated from Central Saint Martins College of Art and Design.

    mintdesigns
    2001 mintdesigns launched
    2002 Participated in the 2003 Spring and Summer Tokyo Collection
    2005 Won the 7th Moët et Chandon New Designers’ Award
    2007 Opened "mintdesigns garage store" (Shibuya Parco)
    Group exhibition "THIS PLAY!" (21-21 DESIGN SIGHT, Tokyo)
    2008 Featured in the opening show of 2009 Spring and Summer Sao Paulo Fashion Week
    2009 Debuted "to be someone" at "TOKYO FIBER '09," Milano Salone (Milan, Italy)
    2010 Won the 28th Mainichi Fashion Grand Prix (Tokyo)
    2011 Solo exhibition "Happy Mistake! Pattern on Pattern" (Museum of Contemporary Art, Taipei, Taiwan)
    Solo exhibition "Happy Mistake! Pattern on Pattern - in Kyoto" (Osaka Seikei University, Art Department Gallery "space B," Kyoto)
    Group exhibition "Feel and Think: A New Era of Tokyo Fashion" (Tokyo Opera City Art Gallery, Tokyo)
    2012 Debuted "Fall in Pop" at "NEOREAL in the FOREST / Canon," Milano Salone (Milan, Italy)
    Group exhibition "Future Beauty: 30 Years of Japanese Fashion (Museum of Contemporary Art Tokyo)
    Currently, visiting professors in the Faculty of Art and Design at Osaka Seikei University.

    http://mint-designs.com

Images

Credit

Organized by:

21st Century Museum of Contemporary Art, Kanazawa (Kanazawa Art Promotion and Development Foundation)

In Cooperation with:

OSHIO Kentaro (Photographer)
Seio Printing Co., Ltd.