Here We Go! Emiri National Costume In The Making

by Ines Ligron
inesligron.com

A month ago, after the Japan final and when I knew who my winner was, I started thinking about Emiri’s national costume and I contacted Yoshiyuki Ogata, (wearing the blue t-shirt) the incredibly talented & avant-garde designer who created Kurara Chibana’s smashing-red-samurai outfit that won the Best National costume award in 2006, in Los Angeles. See: www.yoshiyuki.jp

He also created Riyo’s bright-red-with-white-dots kimono for Mexico. Last year, I designed myself Hiroko’s costume (sorry,,, not that good, but am not a designer…).

Yoshiyuki was traveling abroad for an exhibition of his designs overseas also he could not help me at that time.

When a month ago, I called him and asked him to design for Emiri, he knew of her and jumped on the opportunity, we discussed idea, and I showed him the picture taken for the Pirelli calendar and told him that it was my design idea for this year.

Yoshi proposed to tie-up with traditional designers from Kyoto and Tokyo, each with a different specificity and technique. Kimono fabric created by Ginza Motoji (wearing a dark kimono on the pictures below), lacquer nails created by Heigo from Tokyo, which is the same lacquer as used to cover the traditional cup of tea for the tea ceremony.

Obi (Japanese belt) by designer Asano Hirotaka from Kyoto (wearing the grey kimono), lycra bodysuit designed by Yoko Sekiguchi for Invista from Tokyo and made by Chacott. Also, designers for the gold foils (Kimpaku) from Kanazawa, a Noh mask and pokkuri shoes (Maiko shoes).

We met again with Yoshiyuki, but all together with the designers this time 2 weeks ago, when these pictures were taken at our office during the first of many more fittings to come.

Japan top designers united force to create a spectacular costume for Emiri to model at the Miss Universe 2009 in Bahamas in August.

The costume will be presented in an event at the Audi Forum on July 23rd to resent Emiri’s wardrobe for the Bahamas to the Japanese media. The special guest of the event will be a famous Kabuki actor.

The fabric and colors used for the fitting are not the ones that will be used for the final outfit. Her costume will be similar to the picture above from Vogue, with electric-fluo-green, deep-purple and fushia-orange colors. She will wear a traditional NOH mask which she will remove later on during her presentation to reveal her beauty.

Do you like my idea??

Source/Photo: Inesligron.com