Akira - Designer

Akira Isogawa, extraordinary fashion designer .....
It has been an absolute privilege and most rewarding experience to have been styling women in Akira's creations for some years now and as each new collection arrives I revel in the art form that is an Akira creation.

Akira was born in japan in 1965, he emigrated to Australia in 1986 and studied fashion design at East Sydney Tech, which has been the starting ground for many successful Australian designers, including Michele Jank.

Making clothes started as a bit of a hobby for Akira, until in 1993 he found a shop in Woolarah with low rent and an amazing chain of events led to Naomi Campbell wearing one of his dresses on the cover of an international fashion magazine - this of course, in turn, got him noticed. Akira showed his first collection at Fashion Week in 1996 as part of the New Generation Parades, where the collection's elegant use of layered silks sparked national interest in Akira as an emerging Australian designer.

The following year saw the famous Joan Burstein of the prestigious fashion boutique, Browns in London buy Akira's entire collection and drew favourable reviews from leading media outlets, including the New York Times.
The Powerhouse Museum selected Akira to feature in it's Fashion
of the Year Retrospective which was very revealing, with Akira openly displaying his patterns and methods behind his designs for all to see. A gracious gesture for what would normally be closely guarded secrets, but this is the essence of Akira - a true artist in all the meanings of the word, not someone caught up in himself, but someone totally dedicated to his chosen art form, which happens to be fashion!

The 1998 collection was purchased by Barneys of New York cementing Akira's presence internationally, this led to his first private showing in Paris at Royal Saint Honore. Akira also took on some new projects for the Australian arts sector, including exhibiting in the Museum of Contemporary Art in Sydney and collaborating with the Sydney Dance company to design the costumes for 'Salome' and has since designed the costumes for S.D.C's 'Air and Other Invisible Forces' and 'Ellipse', which I just happened to catch while in Sydney and thought the costumes were just stunning. Akira has also designed the costumes for the Australian Chamber Orchestra.

In 1999 Akira took two collections to Paris, both were warmly received and attracted new buyers globally, the rest as they say is history - Akira now travels to Paris twice a year, is internationally recognised as a true design visionary, his ethereal mix of east meets west blending perfectly with fabrics and climates, is now legendary.