Where she hangs her HaaT
Next week, Neiman Marcus. In October, the MFA.
Makiko Minagawa's work has found a home both on the racks of luxury department stores and in the galleries of urban museums.
The Japanese designer has collaborated with Issey Miyake since the 1970s, developing the textiles that have become the basis for Miyake's innovative clothing designs. Five years ago, Minagawa began applying her expertise in fabrics to her own luxurious, textile-inspired collection, HaaT. Tuesday, Boston will get its first view of the collection when it rolls out at
The name ''HaaT" is taken from the Sanskrit word for village market, a concept that inspires the clothing line. ''A marketplace to me is a place where different worlds come together," Minagawa wrote in an e-mail, explaining the collection's name. ''HaaT" also is broken down as a combination of ''heart" and ''haath," the Sanskrit word for hands.
Minagawa's designs depend on the characteristics of the textiles she works with, which she often creates from scratch.
''My interest always lies in the creation of the new," she wrote. Often, she will incorporate the raw qualities of the fabric into the final piece of clothing. ''I like the idea that a garment has a history that can be traced to raw fibers."
Joe Thiel, press director for Miyake, recalled that Minagawa once created a unique, dense type of denim by having an Egyptian cotton seed grown in Zimbabwe. The HaaT collection, he said, appeals to those interested in this intensive process of creating clothes.
Minagawa is among a growing number of fashion designers whose work has been featured in museums, a roster that this year has included Coco Chanel at the Metropolitan Museum of Art and Yohji Yamamoto at the Museum of Fashion and Textiles at the Louvre. Pam Parmal, curator of textile and fashion arts at Boston's MFA, said she was familiar with Minagawa's craftsmanshp when she began looking for pieces to exhibit alongside a collection of Japanese ceramics.
The exhibit will include shawls designed by Minagawa, Parmal said, some made for Miyake and some for HaaT. Parmal praised the way Minagawa's designs change shape when they are worn, wrapping and draping around a person's shoulders.
''You need to actually see a person wearing them," she said.
April Riccio, a spokeswoman for Neiman Marcus, said HaaT is a natural addition to the store's Issey Miyake collection, which is popular with customers.
''He has a real following . . . and this is just another extension," Riccio said. ''It's very fresh, and it's very modern."
The fall 2005 HaaT collection will be launched Tuesday at 10 a.m. at Neiman Marcus, 5 Copley Place.
