Yasuko Furuta is one of the new faces on the world fashion scene, and the next in the long line of well regarded Japanese designers. Following in the footsteps of such luminaries as Rei Kawakubo and and Yohji Yamamoto, Furuta has been amassing a select and influential following.
Born in Japan, Yasuko Furuta studied at ESMOD (the Ecole Superieure des Arts et Techniques de la Mode) first in Tokyo, and then in Paris, ESMOD being a prestigious French fashion school that has been the training ground of a huge number of famous and influential designers. Following her graduation, Furuta remained in Paris and in 1997 she launched her own brand, the avant-garde TOGA. Creating a real impact with the launch, Furuta worked hard for the next few years and presented her first fashion show at Paris Fashion Week in 2001 to great acclaim. Furuta’s early successes have been followed my more awards and accolades, including the Mainichi Fashion Award in 2003, and in 2004 she opened her flagship boutique in Ebisu, Tokyo. The first of many such boutiques, Furuta now has over 30 worldwide and presents her collections at Paris on an annual basis.
Furuta’s style has often been described as avant-garde, and although this is the case with much of her designs, her lines have much more depth to be simply described in one catch-all term. Playing with the concepts of volume and the role of the silhouette, Furuta works with exclusive fabrics that she has sourced herself, creating designs that evoke both the Parisian intellectual cafe-culture, and the urban edge of a modern multicultural European city.
With her designs available in over 40 countries around the globe, Furuta’s TOGA label still creates a buzz with its annual collections, and looks set to go from strength-to-strength.
Website: www.toga.jp
Twitter: www.twitter.com/toga_archives
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