Mothe To A Flame

Japanese designer May Kosaka grew up in New York and received a degree in Fashion Design from New York’s Fashion Institute of Technology.

Whilst Kosaka initially gained a Bachelor’s Degree in Computer Science, it was her personal interest in art & the construction of garments that ultimately made her decide to explore fashion design as a career.

Her talent was recognised when in 2005 she was commissioned to design conceptual garments as part of an art installation, Parthenogenesis - a project by Angelo Musco and curated by Ombretta Agró Andruff - for the Armory Show at the Atrium Garden in NYC. Her installation consisted of 11 pregnant women encased in a single dress with 11 separate and beautifully created bodices.

Since it received a hugely enthusiastic response she decided to take the structural ideals of these conceptual pieces and translate them into completely wearable clothes for her label Mothe.

Her collection, entitled Decay of a City, represents the crumbling, peeling and rotting buildings by way of clever slits in clothes which open with metal zips, perhaps representing a city's industry and 'lifeblood' of the population, textured cloth with layered construction.

The colours are vaguely 'urban camouflage', with varying hues of grey interjected with deep plum. The clothes also seem to recognise the human presence by the soft, organic shapes - there are no harsh lines. Each silhouette is smooth and curved, even when the bunching on skirts seems random and angry.

The reason Mothe appeals to me so much is that clothes this constructed can be overwhelming, whereas Kosaka has applied her skill in such a way as to avoid the over powering statement and instead make subtle hints, and that results in a very wearable collection.

Queen Michelle

Comments

[Nadia]

These are stunning! Thank you for posting them.

[Stylefinder]

I love these! Wow, so beautiful...definitely wearable.

[Judith in Umbria]

Wonderful!

[dreamecho]

Fantastic post. You have such a great eye for exquisite design. I think I've vaguely heard of Mothe before, but after reading this post, you can bet that I won't be forgetting May Kosaka any time soon!