The theme “Wish” develops on a conceptual level the figural motifs of MIKI KAMADA’s kimono, chosen on the advice of her grandmother. These images and their interpretations are combined with and connected to traditional Bulgarian motifs, imagery, and symbolism and in their ultimate form represent a brief narrative with sincere wishes extended towards MIKI KAMADA, the owner of the kimono.

The two constructed silhouettes symbolize prosperity and bear wishes for good health, serenity and strong family ties. The first model symbolizes the ceremonial bread, a fundamental part of many Bulgarian customs. The wadded dress is embellished with forms, among which stands out the image of a swallow – seen as a bearer of the new and a symbol of firm familial relationships in traditional Japanese culture. The jacket is a symbolic protector from “evil”, as the silhouette mimics the shape of a shell which shelters. The second model elevates, develops the idea of a good life. The silhouette depicts a cloudy sky, which soaks the land, out of which grows wheat, out of which the bread is kneaded. A life cycle through which the beauty and transience of every valued moment of our life is shown.

Model 1

Seven components – ingredients for transformation
protection, wool, silk, paper, sash, apron, contrast.

Model 2

Twisting of the space
Kanatitsa - an ancient symbol, surrounds and protects, the guardian of life

Based on her Bulgarian identity, knowledge, and experience, touching the vast expanse of Japanese culture, the designer sought out contact points, a direction that would lead her to a close and readable symbiosis.

The elaboration of geometry, the traditional materials, and also the fragile structure of memory, led her into a transformation valid for all of her work, which enriched her past quests in refracting space, gaining a deeper insight into the symbol: its universal human validity.

The designer wanted to explore the simplicity of form of Bulgarian and Japanese traditional costume and to combine the aesthetics of both cultures. The shapes he uses are simple, mostly geometric, based on the design of the shirt, and the complexity of the silhouette is achieved by adding elements and layers. The two cultures have different perceptions of decoration. In the Japanese kimono decoration is created by layering colored fabrics; the focus is on the print or the colored belt-obi, while in the Bulgarian costume we have embroideries and decorative strings of coins and tassels; things that enhance and give a more expensive and solemn look to clothing. These differences inspired him to think how those decorative approaches can be combined. The result of this search are two contrast models. A black one, which starts from the simplicity of a black kimono, broken up by colorful small belts and gold elements and which attracts energy and is associated with strength and power. And a white one inspired by the Bulgarian wedding costumes, the Japanese travel kimono (tsubo-shozoku) and the samodivi (woodland faeries) who dance naked, wearing only white shirts, deeply hidden in the forest meadows.

Bulgaria is a very beautiful country. It not only has a natural landscape, but also a humanistic style. At the same time, Bulgarian costumes and masks have fabulous characteristics, the combination of colors is very spectacular, the printing is simple, but by repeating the arrangement, the effect is produced. Therefore, Bulgarian traditional costumes are an amazing legacy of Europe.

Japan is a very traditional country and still holds a variety of traditional ceremonies. The kimono is one of the most important components of the ceremony. Different ceremonies will use different kimonos and prints. The kimono culture can be said to be a manifestation of Japan.

Japanese kimonos have similarities to traditional Bulgarian costumes. The choice and mix of colors is very bold, creative, and without coordination. So the designer combines the colors of Japan with the colors of Bulgaria to produce different effects. On the other hand, the kimono prints are as complex and ceremonial as Japan's rigorous rituals, while Bulgaria's prints are simple and have different effects through repeated arrangement. Therefore, the designer choses a kimono belt with ethnic characteristics, where the simple printing shows a beautiful effect through repeated arrangement. The ethnic print on the belt collides with the kimono print on the garment to create a more distinctive outfit. Finally, he covers the mesh yarn on the belt and skirt, reflecting the mystery of Japan and Bulgaria.

By combining these aspects, the designer unveils the similarities between the two countries. At the same time, through the different characteristics between Japan and Bulgaria, new possibilities can be created.

Based on the interaction between Bulgaria and Japan, the designers research each other’s cultures, and adapt them into their works. Furthermore, they express differences of culture, and connection of race. They blend Bulgaria’s worship of nature “Kukeri” with Japan’s “Kintsugi”, which embodies the wish to keep things alive in the next generations.

In modern society, we are changing our generation to a generation in which we connect with people by using the internet. But can this really be called true interaction?

In a world where things have become faster and more convenient, and beautiful cultures and important things are getting lost along the way, the designers blend these factors with each other and shape new values.

As a result, the designers create two conceptual garments that make us see vanishing nature and people’s emotions towards our changing society in front of your eyes. The kimono that was given to them by a certain woman, holds deep emotions and a moving story within itself, that touches all of us. This kimono, which embodies the despairing feeling of losing a loved one as well as the strong will of the bereaved family to keep living life to the fullest, feels just like a beautifully blooming flower. Taking this strong emotion as their inspiration, the designers create their original pattern and design. Portraying each other’s cultures in a contemporary way, they incorporate Kimono’s flat construction infused by Bulgaria’s folklore elements.

Outfit 1 – FUTURISTIC FOLKORE CLASH

Living vertically as a leading impression of Tokyo creates a lofty, elongated silhouette beyond the real proportions. The rising lapel of the top bypasses the neckline and covers the head claustrophobically, limiting the gaze. Form and material are futuristic. The lower part "edits" elements of the Bulgarian traditional costume under Japanese influence: the ultra-tight apron has a comic or manga motif, the pleated skirt folds in an origami-inspired way. The four meters long obi-belt of the traditional Japanese costume is divided into two parts, forming a three-dimensional skirt.

Outfit 2 - Be a tall woman!

Atsuko Nagao shares her grandmother's kimono. She used to be a "tall woman" with a good soul and a strong character - as resistant as the bamboo pattern encircling the garment. From her grandmother, the designer inherited an embroidery which she transforms into a digital all-over-print, in collaboration with textile designer Dinka Kasabova. The main motif is the rhombus, symbolizing fertility, family and the well-being of the clan. Against the backdrop of recurring rhombuses, a graphic bundle of interweaving bamboos in comic-style, with its tips pointing upwards, states the bamboo's quest for survival, resistance and the will to live.

Bright, colorful, rich - such are both cultures. The designer is recreating this similarity through the textiles. In her work she unites and convert paper, sequins, folklore panels and fabrics in textile techniques, which contain something authentic from Bulgaria and Japan.

The advertising materials, signboards and neon lights, which abound on the streets in Tokyo and the colored printed street poles in Bulgaria, inspire the clothes. These phenomena personify the simplicity of paper and fabric, and at the same time the complexity they can create with their accumulation.

For the creation of the decoration on the garments, she was inspired by the kimono, which unites art and heritage. Typical for her work is precisely the incorporation and processing of legacy textiles through textile techniques. Because of that, in the interpretation of the kimono`s drawing, she uses folklore panels embroidered by her grandmother, who gave them to her mother after marrying her son.

Polina worked with material that resembles paper. It provoked her to think about the creation of a collection of textiles, which can be written or painted, and then washed and again be like a "new sheet" of paper.

Being given the pictures of a formal samurai kimono of a famous Noh player, the designer started researching its symbolic meaning and most importantly the social aspect of this garment.

For the majority of the Western world the most iconic Japanese characters are the samurai and the geisha. Both are related to honour and pride, both have a high social status.

There is a less known "version" of the geisha - the Oiran: courtesans but very skilled at arts, highly remunerated and with a high social rank. The obvious connection between the Oiran and the Noh player is that they are both highly skilled performers with a high social rank.

One of the garments is strongly influenced by the Oiran's voluminous layered silk kimonos and the other one represents a theatrical samurai - a more masculine garment structured from a tatami-like material and covered with silk. Both are embroidered with silver-coloured coin-like pieces. The footwear is like the traditional geta sandals, but with a modern western twist. The heel is way higher, while the traditional ones are flat. It relates to the idea of being higher than the others and symbolises the social status.

Model 1: CUTENESS OVERLOAD

Cuteness overload is inspired by the Japanese fashion trend Sick cute and is an oversize sweatshirt that forms the silhouette of a round animal with large, thick and long arms that you can wallow in. At first glance, it is colourful and positive, but the garment is “cut” by wounds, scars, flowing blood and flesh presented through the fabric. One of the slits opens and reveals an inscription, which is a popular tattoo motif - "I’m fine", which is written in a specific font, when spun upside down reads "Save me".

Model 2: UTOPIA – THE LETTER

During the socialist past, Russian and Bulgarian children were sending letters to each other in order to share stories about their happy childhood… Let's imagine an utopic situation in which Bulgarian children exchanged letters with Japanese ones. And instead of words they communicate through paintings and objects. The letter from MICHIKO SAKAMOTO tells the story about the clothes her mother wore during the happiest period of her life. The Bulgarian answer is a dress from the happiest day in the life of someone else's mother - the day of her wedding. The object is a dress created from the parts of a letter. Folding, emerging and retracting in the flat form of this letter.

Nevski in Tokyo

The designer´s outfit is inspired from the two capitals of the project – Sofia and Tokyo. In particular, by the architecture of the Bulgarian orthodox cathedral "St. Alexander Nevski" dressed up in the colours of Tokyo. She imagined how this temple would look like in the capital of Japan. Very colourful, full of light and entertainment, which is the full opposite of the ascetic orthodox church. A totally untypical look of the Bulgarian town, which is sad and dull in colours, trying to hide and become invisible. Proud and humble.

The icons are replaced by the Japanese comics, all the Christian symbols are represented in contrast colours and with flashy elements. The silhouette is a tracksuit, very popular in Bulgaria, loaded with a negative image in the past 20 years.

Typical of the designer´s style is the sense of humour and the blending of opposing ideas and serious topics. Her personal challenge in this project was the usage of colours. She has never been so colourful in her projects before. She crossed an aesthetic border that she had set up for her.

Fujioka's kimono was an interesting starting point - except for the notably beautiful embroidered belt, it has no remarkable artistic value. However, its high value comes from the symbolism it carries. It is a gift from the mother to the grown-up child and plays a role in the so-called "Rites of Passage". The rites of passage have ethnic origin and clothing is often an instrument in their performance. In both Bulgarian and Japanese national costumes, special clothing marks the transformation of the child into a woman - entering the world of adults, having a new social role. Attire becomes complex, rich, beautiful - according to the aesthetic concept of femininity of the society concerned.

It was this idea of ​​the pursuit of the image of womanhood that was the focus of the designer´s search for creating both models. Without being familiar with it in detail, her idea of the Japanese national costume includes monumentality, geometry, symmetry. It is a garment with the power of armour, a shelter - in which a woman looks even more fragile, gentle and vulnerable.

The designer chose this semiotic, rather than the purely visual approach, because she thinks it convincingly integrates two otherwise completely different aesthetic worlds - the Bulgarian and the Japanese.