Fashion as a Universal Language of Contemporary Culture

Tashkent, Uzbekistan (UzDaily.com) -- One extraordinary innovation in the fashion industry is Universal Fashion, which originated in Japan. To highlight this trend, Tashkent Art Week hosted a presentation titled "Japan`s Quest for Harmonious Society: Making Fashion Universal" by Professor Oda Akira of Tokyo College of Fashion and a Japanese fashion designer Naoshi Sawayanagi.

The presentation kicked off with a speech by Kenji Yamazaki, Senior Director of Tokyo Fashion Week, who provided a simplistic explanation of the essence of Universal Fashion using the example of the ballpoint pen. In his words, the ballpoint pen was created for disabled people with only one working hand because, unlike the pencil, which is sharpened using both hands, the pen does require such effort.

Another interesting example came from three custom-made toothpaste tubes. Oda Akira, the head of the Association of Universal Fashion and a lecturer at Kuwasawa Design School, asked those gathered to try to open them using one hand and see how easy that would be. He then went on to talk about ongoing research in Japan and current trends in the fashion industry. The designer said that presently Japanese professionals are looking for ways of utilizing waste in the industry.

The primary principles of Universal fashion are: it should present comfortable clothes for people of all ages and physical abilities. Next, universal fashion is about making higher-quality and more durable items, and lastly, it works to ensure waste-free production in fashion.

The event concluded with a brief presentation by the young Japanese fashion designer Naoshi Sawayanagi, who showcased his new collection made in the style of universal fashion and. In creating the models, the fashion designer used seamless clothes techniques. Sawayanagi encouraged young fashion designers to give careful thought to the notion of fashion, suggesting it would help them to further improve their skills.