It is always incredibly exciting looking at the creative process or at the inspirations behind a fashion collection as you get to understand more about the modus operandi of a particular designer and their moodboards and thoughts may in turn prompt us to research other disciplines and make more new discoveries in our own practices.
For example, in yesterday’s post we looked at Anrealage’s A/W 21-22 collection, inspired by the current events and by our topsy-turvy world in which, because of Coronavirus, the usual became unusual and vice versa.
The collection, as stated in that post, featured wigs and face masks with wigs attached courtesy of Tomihiro Kono that perfectly fit to the themes and moods of the collection.
Indeed in the video for this digital show presentation the models were filmed as if they walked on the ceiling to symbolise our world in turmoil in which everything seems to have shifted and so Kono designed wigs in which the hair seemed to be attracted by gravity.
The Japanese hair prop artist and wig maker has recently posted on his Instagram page some images and videos to show how one of the main inspiration behind these designs was science and in particular static electricity.
Yet there is more behind some of these wigs: the mohawk styles came from punks and films such as Martin Scorsese's"Taxi Driver", while an ocean blue/green mohawk was inspired by the shark's fin in Steven Spielberg' "Jaws".
Besides, while some colours were borrowed from Japanese anime movies, other colour combinations came from nature.
Exotic birds like the wire-tailed Manakin (Pipra filicauda) with its vivid red, bright yellow and black plumage inspired a wig that combines a flaming red on the front with a more natural colour on the back.
Mysterious deep sea creatures such as Elegance Corals and anemones are instead behind wigs incorporating green, aquamarine, purple, pastel lilac and vibrant violet. In these cases it wasn't just the shapes that inspired the designer, but obviously the mesmerising colours, with wonderful results.
So, remember, if you're a creative mind and you feel exhausted and drained and inspirations do not seem to come easily, look for beauty, unusual ideas and visually strong images in a completely different field from yours.
In the case of Tomihiro Kono, the artist has always been into disciplines such as mathematics, geometry and architecture; it will be intriguing to see where science and nature will take him from now on.
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