FASHION /
WOMEN
May 18, 2015
Terumi Hagiwara | Annabelle Haché's Japan Interview
Series | Terumi Hagiwara's Fashion Days Vol. 45
Anne Valérie Hash Visits Japan: An Interview!
Fashion Director Terumi Hagiwara interviewed Anne Valérie Hash, a designer whose avant-garde collection has been making waves, coinciding with the Fashion's Night Out event hosted by Vogue.Terumi Hagiwaraconducted the interview.
Text by HAGIWARA Terumi
A Designer Who Tailors Classics into Modern Style
This autumn, a grand Fashion's Night Out enlivened Omotesando. It seems more international designers have been visiting Japan lately. In November, I interviewed Anne Valérie Hash, who presented her 2011 AW Haute Couture collection at Sugino Fashion College.
—You currently present two ready-to-wear collections annually and an haute couture collection in July. What does haute couture mean to you?
It's a laboratory, an experimental space.
—So, you translate the couture pieces into ready-to-wear?
Couture is handmade clothing, tailored for one person, with individual measurements and fittings. We then adapt that essence into mass-produced garments.
—Your 10 dresses presented to celebrate your 10th anniversary as a designer this year also stem from couture, correct? What forms the basis of your designs?
Sense and story. And I always consider contrast. Feminine versus masculine, tailoring versus fluid dresses. Every woman has a duality.
—The image book created for your 10th anniversary is based on the story of 'The Donkey and the Princess,' isn't it? It features dresses designed to depict the journey of a beautiful princess, who, in disguise as a maid, ultimately finds her happy ending with a charming prince.
It's a fairy tale I tell my daughters every night as they fall asleep. They love stories where fashion transforms along with their dreams.
—If a prestigious Parisian couture house were to offer you a position as a designer, would you accept?
If the timing were right, I would certainly accept.
After the Interview... Anne Valérie Hash visited Japan not only for her main line but also to present her second line, A.V. Hash. Despite her demanding schedule, her face lit up when she spoke of her daughters. She takes classic elements and transforms them into surprising modern styles. She is a designer who continues to keep the flame of avant-garde fashion alive, a rarity today.
Terumi Hagiwara | HAGIWARA Terumi
Fashion Director
Covers the New York, Milan, Paris Ready-to-Wear, and Paris Haute Couture collections each season. Has contributed numerous articles and columns to fashion magazines and newspapers. Also directs the women's collections for the select shop "Designworks." Official Blog: http://hagiwaraterumi-bemode.com/