A graphic design-based clothing line, exploring the intersection of traditional and modern Japanese art.
After spending a summer traveling throughout different regions in Japan, I loved seeing the juxtaposition of traditional motifs and pop culture in Japanese art and society.
Both facets are heavily represented in Japanese culture—the most evident comparisons existing in districts like Tokyo’s Harajuku, where time-honored shrines exist alongside crowds of cosplayers and Lolita fashion displays—and I wanted to work on a project that would showcase the interplay between these themes.
I got an opportunity to create the MITATE project when I received an arts grant from Stanford’s Student Organizing Committee for the Arts to create and exhibit my work. My goal was to give students a fresh appreciation for the cultural relevance of artistic influences new and old, and to learn about the history and transformation of Japanese artwork.
I made MITATE a simple fashion line so it would have the potential to become a “bring it home” experience—the project could live on and be brought to life not just by the exhibition, but also by students who were interested in the art and wanted to take home and wear the art pieces.
The pieces themselves emerged as a result of studying traditional Japanese motifs and art history—for instance, the significance of wave patterns and geometric emblems—as well as contemporary Japanese pop culture to create an artistic interpretation that merged these influences. The name, MITATE, comes from “mitate-e (見立絵),” a genre of Japanese art that uses puns and parodies to make comparisons to traditional art.
For small tokens of "take-home" art, I designed tiny enamel pins depicting a cat (my favorite animal and a creature of great significance in Japanese culture and folklore) holding Hokusai's Kanagawa oki nami ura.
You can learn more about Hokusai's work here—the National Museum of Western Art is also currently exhibiting Hokusai and Japonisme, which showcases Katsushika Hokusai.
