Hello, this is Kubo.
Today I would like to talk about the books I often read. In addition to the books I have at home, there are many books in the office that are essential for my work, but the three books I often refer back to are the ones I will introduce today.
The first book is called "Pattern Making for fashion design."
I bought this book nearly 30 years ago after I entered school in Philadelphia. As the name suggests, it's a pattern-making book for fashion design, and it was a reference for students like me at the time. It was published in 1995 and cost $61.50, which would have been just under 5,000 yen at the time when the yen was strong. (Related article: My off-time as an apprentice in NY )
Since I had no experience in making clothes, I used this book as a reference to understand patterns. It has everything from women's dresses to underwear, swimwear, and children's clothes. I no longer open it for pattern reference, but there's no doubt that it has shaped who I am today, so I sometimes go back to its roots and open it to see if something unexpected pops into my head. It's a book that holds many memories for me. 
The second book is "Berberes." I bought it about seven years ago at the Yves Saint Laurent Museum in Marrakech, the former imperial capital of Morocco, not in Paris. It was published in 2012 and is probably not available on Amazon or elsewhere.
It's in French, so I can barely understand it, but it appears to be about the Berbers, an indigenous people who have long lived in a large area of North Africa, and who have a history of being at the mercy of powerful neighboring nations, including the Roman Empire, the Islamic Empire, and, since the 19th century, France.
What I like about this book are the photographs; they are simply beautiful. In particular, the very simple men's clothing, like the long shirts, really catch my eye. They are wide and voluminous, so for example, when you sling a bag across your upper body, the gathers are very strong. I like that kind of feel, and I'm thinking about how I can recreate it in our own clothes.
I also run a women's brand called " Muller of Yoshiokubo ," and at Muller, the things I value are tucks, gathers, and draping. When it comes to ready-to-wear clothing, these expressions need to be made into patterns that can withstand mass production, and if they are too elaborate, there is a risk of problems occurring during production.
For example, the look of a textile that appears when you squeeze the fabric tightly in your hand probably can't be mass-produced. You have to tie it with thread, which doesn't lend itself to mass production. But I want to pursue that to the very limits, and I believe that's the mission of someone who makes a living as a designer. As I pore over this book, I feel there's still a lot I haven't been able to express.
The third book is "African Textile Today." It was published in 2012, but I bought it at TSUTAYA a while ago because I wanted to research the origins of African textiles.
I learned from this book that the unique African textiles (patterns) that we often see actually originated in the Netherlands.
What this means is that towards the end of the 19th century, a group of African soldiers serving in the Netherlands, the colonial power of Indonesia (Dutch East Indonesia), brought back to their homeland Indonesian batik cotton fabric (Javanese batik), and it became extremely popular there, perhaps due to a desire for foreign goods. When countries like the Netherlands heard about this, they began to produce it industrially, and it quickly spread. Of course, the patterns were changed to suit African preferences.
As the title suggests, this book is about current African textile design, but it is also very creative. It is structured based on history, so it also includes a lot of information about the past and lots of photographs.
What I like about African patterns is that they are a bit off-kilter. They are probably trying to be neat, but they end up being loose, which gives them a nice charm.
Most of the patterns from each country represent the place or environment, but the African patterns are based on everyday objects and customs that are distinctively African. I once tried making Muller clothes with the idea of what would happen if I applied this to Japan, and they were very well received and sold well.
I still have other books that I have a special attachment to, so I'll write about them again sometime.
Today I would like to talk about the books I often read. In addition to the books I have at home, there are many books in the office that are essential for my work, but the three books I often refer back to are the ones I will introduce today.
The first book is called "Pattern Making for fashion design."I bought this book nearly 30 years ago after I entered school in Philadelphia. As the name suggests, it's a pattern-making book for fashion design, and it was a reference for students like me at the time. It was published in 1995 and cost $61.50, which would have been just under 5,000 yen at the time when the yen was strong. (Related article: My off-time as an apprentice in NY )
Since I had no experience in making clothes, I used this book as a reference to understand patterns. It has everything from women's dresses to underwear, swimwear, and children's clothes. I no longer open it for pattern reference, but there's no doubt that it has shaped who I am today, so I sometimes go back to its roots and open it to see if something unexpected pops into my head. It's a book that holds many memories for me. The second book is "Berberes." I bought it about seven years ago at the Yves Saint Laurent Museum in Marrakech, the former imperial capital of Morocco, not in Paris. It was published in 2012 and is probably not available on Amazon or elsewhere.It's in French, so I can barely understand it, but it appears to be about the Berbers, an indigenous people who have long lived in a large area of North Africa, and who have a history of being at the mercy of powerful neighboring nations, including the Roman Empire, the Islamic Empire, and, since the 19th century, France.
What I like about this book are the photographs; they are simply beautiful. In particular, the very simple men's clothing, like the long shirts, really catch my eye. They are wide and voluminous, so for example, when you sling a bag across your upper body, the gathers are very strong. I like that kind of feel, and I'm thinking about how I can recreate it in our own clothes.I also run a women's brand called " Muller of Yoshiokubo ," and at Muller, the things I value are tucks, gathers, and draping. When it comes to ready-to-wear clothing, these expressions need to be made into patterns that can withstand mass production, and if they are too elaborate, there is a risk of problems occurring during production.
For example, the look of a textile that appears when you squeeze the fabric tightly in your hand probably can't be mass-produced. You have to tie it with thread, which doesn't lend itself to mass production. But I want to pursue that to the very limits, and I believe that's the mission of someone who makes a living as a designer. As I pore over this book, I feel there's still a lot I haven't been able to express.
The third book is "African Textile Today." It was published in 2012, but I bought it at TSUTAYA a while ago because I wanted to research the origins of African textiles.I learned from this book that the unique African textiles (patterns) that we often see actually originated in the Netherlands.
What this means is that towards the end of the 19th century, a group of African soldiers serving in the Netherlands, the colonial power of Indonesia (Dutch East Indonesia), brought back to their homeland Indonesian batik cotton fabric (Javanese batik), and it became extremely popular there, perhaps due to a desire for foreign goods. When countries like the Netherlands heard about this, they began to produce it industrially, and it quickly spread. Of course, the patterns were changed to suit African preferences.
As the title suggests, this book is about current African textile design, but it is also very creative. It is structured based on history, so it also includes a lot of information about the past and lots of photographs.What I like about African patterns is that they are a bit off-kilter. They are probably trying to be neat, but they end up being loose, which gives them a nice charm.
Most of the patterns from each country represent the place or environment, but the African patterns are based on everyday objects and customs that are distinctively African. I once tried making Muller clothes with the idea of what would happen if I applied this to Japan, and they were very well received and sold well.
I still have other books that I have a special attachment to, so I'll write about them again sometime.