Celebrating traditional Kyo-Yuzen kimono craft and aiming to bring it to a more streetwise global audience, Tatras designer Masanaka Sakao expanded his canvas for fall. Instead of the bomber jackets of Reveal Project’s first offering, Sakao delivered a colorful display of 10 silk spring coats, each echoing the kimono shape and handmade in a series of elaborate steps by skilled craftspeople in Kyoto.
The back of each design was adorned with an array of traditional Japanese motifs chosen for their symbolism, with the creations presented in the sun-drenched garden of the Musée de la Chasse et de la Nature in the Marais, their hand-painted patterns seeming to grow out of the low-lying topiary maze.
Among them, a dusty pink design featuring graphic motifs from the tachibana tree, a citrus native to Japan that is symbolic of prosperity, was particularly striking, while another displayed a more graphic combination of traditional drums and waterfall patterns on a black background.