PARIS--There was a touch of Japonism seen at the Giorgio Armani 2011 fall-winter haute couture collection, with designs and forms inspired by traditional kimono gracing the models walking down the Parisian runway.
PARIS--There was a touch of Japonism seen at the Giorgio Armani 2011 fall-winter haute couture collection, with designs and forms inspired by traditional kimono gracing the models walking down the Parisian runway.
The July 5 show sent a message of "homage to Japan," still reeling in the aftermath of the Great East Japan Earthquake of March 11.
Armani's collection included kimono coats, belts resembling obi sashes, jackets embroidered with traditional kimono patterns such as ume (Japanese apricot) blossoms--all combining traditional and cosmopolitan designs.
Armani told The Asahi Shimbun that over the years he has found much inspiration in the Japanese arts, the spiritualism of the Japanese and the image of the Japanese woman.
In addition to his support for Japan through his fashions, Armani said he is working with the National Federation of UNESCO Associations in Japan to set up a scholarship fund to help elementary schoolchildren and junior high school students in the disaster areas who are having difficulties continuing their studies.