Key influences for this project were the contemporary Japanese designer Rei Kawakubo, and the modernist artist and designer Sonia Delaunay, both of which have been referenced and drawn upon for inspiration for my design range and capsule collection for New Modernism.

In my research I also looked at the artist Kansai Yamamoto, who was a pivotal Japanese

designer in the 70’s, most notably known for designing David Bowie’s costumes for his Ziggy

Stardust tours, and modernising the kimono in Western fashion.

The works of both Kawakubo and Delaunay are considered to be avant-garde, and have had considerable influence in the fashion world. Key elements in both Kawakubo and Delaunay’s work are the search for newness, and the breaking away from the conventions of gender - by changing the shape of women’s silhouettes. This has been of particular interest to me, as I aim to break gender conventions in my own designs, while designing for a diverse range of bodies and gender expressions. My designs for New Modernism have borrowed from Kawakubo’s hallmark sculptural aesthetic, oversized silhouettes - that are incongruous with the human form - and non-traditional construction. The designs also reference some of Delaunay’s illustrations and textile designs, created during the Bauhaus movement.

Russian Constructivism also had a key influence on some of my designs in the New Modernism collection. I drew inspiration from the Constructivist’s blocky and structured

silhouettes, as well as their androgynous quality and minimalist, anti-fashion aesthetics. This blocky and minimalist aesthetic relates back to the kimono, with its rectangular shapes and minimalist design, which is in part why I chose to explore this in my work for the Modern Kimono design brief.