Custom order story
⏳ 4 min read
A bumbag for Asami
I met Asami a few years back, when I had the chance to see her performe vertical dance, a form of arial. A friend of mine, musician, invited me to come and shoot the performance he had created with 3 other artists, including her. I was very excited to watch arial dancing for the first time in Kyoto. Especially because it was taking place on the singular building of the Villa Kujoyama, a French artistic institution located on the heights of Mt. Higashi in Kyoto. Yes, you read well, on the building, this is not a typo.
I let you appreciate the photos below to understand how spectacular it was seeing her moving in the air, 3 or 4 floors above ground level on this concrete giant.
Asami Yasumoto, Vertical dance, Villa Kujoyama May 2021.
I am sure you will recognize her bag in the second photo…Asami kindly agreed to wear one of my bum bag on that night, to test it in extreme conditions.
As a side note, I accidentally left my Icoca (the Japanese train pass, similar in size to a credit card) in the front pocket of the bag. After Asami literally flew up and down in the air for nearly an hour, she handed the bag back to me, and that's when I discovered the card was still safely inside! I had been contemplating altering the design, as the pocket is merely a straightforward patched pocket without a zipper or button closure. However, this incident demonstrated that it was secure enough as it is!
Looking for the perfect motif
I have several obis available in my collection but I can also create a bag from a textile provided by the customer. Asami liked that last idea and she decided to look for the perfect obi on her own…a few months later, she told me she had found the one and we started to work on her custom order.
The chosen obi was covered of a vivid silk cords motif called obijime. My kimono teacher used to say that the obijime is a crucial element on the outfit: it might be small, it is what holds the entire outfit together! And therefore insisted that I tied it very tightly. I always looked at this element like the last decorative touch added to your outfit. Almost like a ribbon is dressing up a Christmas present. But this delicate silk cord is, indeed, so much more that that.
However, Asami was drawn by another aspect of this motif. She told me that the obijime , to her, evoque the rope she uses in her arial performances. I really loved that she gave this motif her own meaning, through the lens of her passion. But I also know what the rope represents in her work and in her creation. When I look as Asami’s work (you can see a glimpse of it on her website) she clearly loves to experiment arial with various types of fabrics. And to me, who so dearly love fabrics too, it is very interesting.
The final result
A truly unique bag, co-designed with Asami! I like that I would never have created the same bag on my own.
When Asumi brought the obi to my studio, we spent a little while looking at the fabric and deciding all the details, especially how would the motif be placed on the bag. I usually share this part with the customer online, but this time it was also very nice to discuss possibilities out loud with our hands on the fabric! The choice of fabric, the pale background is something I would have never purchase for my obi collection, but now I see the bag finished, paired with my dark coat, I think it is very elegant and stands out like a piece of jewlery.
Do you like this fabric too? Guess what, Asami was sokind to gift me the rest of the obi so I will add it to my collection! The next obi collection update will hopefully happen in January. If you don’t want to miss it, you can subscribe the my newsletter where I will announce it.