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  • Jouw
    Junior Member
    • Jul 2009
    • 16

    Kei Kagami

    Haven't seen a topic yet about the work of Kei Kagami. So here it is :) Kei Kagami is a fashion designer but mostly famous for his experimental footwear for women.

    From a press release:

    "Kei Kagami conceives himself as a genuine artisan and creator, working in a small studio in London with right-hand man Yoshi Yamakuwa. After completing a degree in architecture, he began working at the studio of Japan’s iconic architect, Kenzo Tange. In spite of the privileged position this job gave, Kei wanted to fashion space around the body. In 1989 he started working with John Galliano and after three seasons, Kei decided to enroll at Central Saint Martins, where he completed an MA in Fashion Design in 1992. In the last fifteen years, Kei has created clothes, shoes and conceptual pieces characterized by striking forms and unusual materials."

    For images click here.
  • mrbeuys
    Senior Member
    • May 2008
    • 2313

    #2
    Kei is a lovely guy and also featured in stylezeitgeist magazine.
    Out of this world stuff.
    Hi. I like your necklace. - It's actually a rape whistle, but the whistle part fell off.

    Comment

    • Faust
      kitsch killer
      • Sep 2006
      • 37852

      #3
      Indeed. He does really amazing things and I love the marriage of the organic and the inorganic in his work.
      Fashion is a form of ugliness so intolerable that we have to alter it every six months - Oscar Wilde

      StyleZeitgeist Magazine

      Comment

      • interest1
        Senior Member
        • Nov 2008
        • 3351

        #4
        I did a little dance when I saw this thread.

        Kei Kagami's work, for me, epitomizes true artisanal design. Ironically, his shoes seem barely on the radar of the very people who'd appreciate them most, and that goes ten-fold for his clothes.

        I'd been hesitant to start a thread, given how limited production seems (E, correct me if I'm wrong there; I've not read the new article yet and perhaps this has changed??) Nonetheless, I'm happy it's up!

        Beyond the other-wordly decadence of his more show-stopping pieces, there's plenty from Kagami that's
        . . .. quite wearable. On this planet. ;)

        . . . .A sampling, from both worlds:





        –will post the story behind this grand frock soon.





        . . . . . . .







        .
        sain't
        .

        Comment

        • interest1
          Senior Member
          • Nov 2008
          • 3351

          #5















          'Nailed' Jacket





          Note: the Nailed jacket is current season and currently available online with a small capsule of other pieces;
          all other images represent pieces from past collections.

          .
          sain't
          .

          Comment

          • interest1
            Senior Member
            • Nov 2008
            • 3351

            #6













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            sain't
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            Comment


            • #7
              A lot of it is amazing, but i feel his general air is too steampunk for my taste, which is a pity, i think with different finishings a lot of his ideas and lines would appeal to me more.

              Comment

              • Faust
                kitsch killer
                • Sep 2006
                • 37852

                #8
                Originally posted by Heirloom View Post
                A lot of it is amazing, but i feel his general air is too steampunk for my taste, which is a pity, i think with different finishings a lot of his ideas and lines would appeal to me more.
                See, if you read the article in StyleZeitgeist magazine, you would know that steampunk has nothing to do with Kei's work

                Interest1, indeed production is uber limited, but stores are taking notice. Kagami is definitely the last of the Mohicans, marching to the beat of his own drum.
                Fashion is a form of ugliness so intolerable that we have to alter it every six months - Oscar Wilde

                StyleZeitgeist Magazine

                Comment

                • interest1
                  Senior Member
                  • Nov 2008
                  • 3351

                  #9
                  .
                  rilu - you're welcome. :)


                  Heirloom - ya know, A, I can see how that connection could be made, given all the flex piping & monocles galore – 2 main components of that genre's garb - jutting out of the leather in that one piece.
                  No doubt a steampunk's wet dream . . . on an etsy budget. Heh.

                  That aside, let's say I never added that piece to the 1st set of pictures. Those were grouped together for a reason. Looking at only the second set of looks, all cut & draped from fine wool and silk (which makes up the bulk of his commercial work), how much 'cyborgsteampuke' do you see there?

                  Personally, I see influences of Yohji, AF Vandevorst, & CDG, respectively. Nary a sci-fi reference to be found, save for the mechanical-style heels on the shoes, which, in and of themselves, do not a genre make. (phew!)
                  .
                  sain't
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                  Comment

                  • snafu
                    Senior Member
                    • Apr 2008
                    • 2135

                    #10
                    Something more behind his work :

                    .

                    Comment

                    • MJRH
                      Senior Member
                      • Nov 2006
                      • 418

                      #11
                      Originally posted by snafu
                      http://www.artisanwerks.com/kei-kagami/
                      "A lot of people say what’s the point, ok, looking at fashion shows, people say what’s the point in making such clothes – no one can wear them! I understand that. Taking my own designs, some are really extreme, but why talk about how practical they are when they are more like an idea or suggestion you can express. Sometimes you can find some kind of a hint from that and if you see it then you can modify it. That’s very important. I think that’s how culture and civilization have developed. Someone did something extreme and someone else saw it, took the idea and developed it further."

                      This is exactly why the word unwearable, and all its cousins, is so goddamned weak when intended in the pejorative. Also:

                      "The whole fashion industry I can not take seriously. I mean, I like meeting people, say, who own motorbikes, because comparing those people to fashion people, those people are more genuine really. The quality of people is different."

                      Good interview, thanks for sharing. interest1, I think the metal heels and rollerboots look *quite* steampunk, it's just that the genre is being done in an understated way, for once. It's nice not being clubbed over the head with an assortment of overstyled bronze doodads, and still getting the sense of a different time or place. Agreed that for the most part, there's no sense of steampunk at all, though. ... Thread needs more pictures, here is another shoe (source):



                      Curious that the designer is so interested in bikes, and a lot of the footwear is reminiscent of a foot pegged to one.
                      ain't no beauty queens in this locality

                      Comment

                      • Jouw
                        Junior Member
                        • Jul 2009
                        • 16

                        #12
                        He is a real genuine guy, I spoke with him recently and he is rather interested to create men shoes as well, but since he only has one assistant he has little time to concentrate on it. A shame though because I'm very curious how these shoes would look like.

                        Comment

                        • volta
                          Senior Member
                          • May 2009
                          • 424

                          #13
                          Originally posted by interest1 View Post
                          kei kagami vs. masahiro ito -- who was first?

                          just kidding, mostly. but they are very similar concepts.
                          the frame, the chains, the loose skin as the "excessive" fabric..

                          Comment

                          • Rosenrot
                            Senior Member
                            • Aug 2010
                            • 518

                            #14
                            Originally posted by Patroklus
                            Better too adventurous than not enough
                            everyone should strive towards ballsiness

                            Comment

                            • Ahimsa
                              Vegan Police
                              • Sep 2011
                              • 1879

                              #15
                              Studio Visit: Kei Kagami
                              Click link for more images.


                              'THE KAGAMI WORKSPACE

                              No doubt about it, Kei Kagami lives and breathes the creative process. His workspace is filled with all aspects of it: multiple clothing rails full of archive pieces, rows upon rows of fascinating footwear constructions, mannequins hung with brand label tags, stacks and stack of fabrics, sewing machines, mechanical tools, even a picture of him riding a motorcycle from his Selfridges Bright Young Things window installation. “Francis Bacon’s studio really encouraged me. Basically it’s a mess but I thought it was brilliant,” he laughs. But perhaps the abundance of materials and creations only helps envelope the designer all the more in his creative world. Classical instrumental music plays in the background, adding a sense of zen-like concentration to the sensory overload of it all.

                              TRAINED IN TOKYO

                              Hailing from Tokyo, Kagami’s original career path saw him pursue a bachelor’s degree in architecture, something he soon supplemented with a simultaneous tailoring diploma course at Bunka Fashion College. “At that time I didn’t really put a boundary between fashion or architecture. For me it was one and the same thing: starting from something flat and two-dimensional and making it three-dimensional,” he explains. However, fashion soon won him over. “I just wanted to create something for myself and express what I wanted. With clothing, I can design, draw patterns, stitch and wear it. I thought that is fantastic. I can express myself in each process and manage everything by myself up until the very end,” Kagami says.



                              WORKING ALONGSIDE HIS HERO

                              Having held a fascination for all things British since his childhood, the young designer came to London in 1989 to work alongside his hero John Galliano. After three seasons, the studio declared bankruptcy and relocated to Paris. Kagami decided to stay in London and enroll in the MA Fashion course at Saint Martins college, graduating alongside Alexander McQueen and Wakako Kishimoto. But while some of his peers went on to have houses backed by major luxury groups, Kagami stayed true to his craft-focused roots. “I don’t really like fashion. I love clothes, creation and making conceptual things,” he openly admits, adding: “I’d never been fascinated by money. If you get a job from a commercial company, obviously you get paid a lot, but I rather preferred making what I wanted.”

                              A LOVE OF CRAFTMANSHIP

                              Kagami describes his love for handmade and unusual creations as “a matter of craftsmanship. I don’t want to have a boundary between thinking and actual making. Intrinsic, genuine creation is both. I have always had that kind of spirit.” When it comes to this introverted style of production, the designer literally calls his studio home. “I have a favourite area in the back of my studio, surrounded by many machineries, which I love. Usually we work on shoes there. Sometimes when things are busy, I will sleep in my studio upstairs and often go to this space on my own before I go to bed,” he says.

                              FUNCTIONAL BEAUTY

                              His creation over a corporate way of thinking struck a chord with YKK, who began their collaboration with the designer when he proposed a design to them in 1998. Said piece was a dress constructed entirely of zippers. “The idea was about using zips as a textile but still each piece had a function. I don’t like using things just for decoration. Each part has a meaning. That functional beauty is an important element for me,” Kagami states. Since then, the international manufacturer has continued to work closely with the designer. “I like working for YKK because it has an educational value and is not business-minded,” he says. With the company’s backing, he has been able to create radical designs like resin fibreglass and mechanically constructed metal footwear, but Kagami is quick to admit that his avant-garde ideas don’t come easily. “To do something new in fashion is very, very difficult, so many things have already been done. I do struggle each time, to be honest. That’s why I try to use different materials, I believe it is still possible to create something new,” the designer explains.

                              DO SOMETHING RADICAL

                              This concept of the new seems to become all the more difficult in the frantic pace of today’s fashion cycle. “Nowadays things are too mass-produced, too commercial and everyone basically works in fashion as a business for money. To break it, you have to do something extraordinary and extreme. If someone doesn’t do something creative, eventually culture will stop developing. I’m more interested in contributing to culture or education in the end. If I could be an influential designer to someone else, that would make me more than happy,” Kagami notes. His words of advice to young designers starting out? “Do something radical and truly express yourself rather than thinking about what other people are doing. The power of the trend vector in fashion is too strong, new designers should break it to keep their identity.”
                              StyleZeitgeist Magazine | Store

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