Men Go Japanese With 'Kegmusha'

At the Van Heusen India Men's Week (VHIMW) 2010, designer Narendra Kumar brought Japan to the stage.

Inspired by the Japanese art of Samurai and its traditional Bushido philosophy, the designer used textile designs inspired by Japan and experiment with new hand-dyed technique textiles to create a completely new style for men.

All thrilled with the opening of VHIMW 2010 with his designs, Narendra shares, "I had recently visited Japan, and it was amazing! I changed my perspectives and it has added an entirely new dimension to my creativity. Japan has inspired me to create this collection, and I believe that we can create designs for the Indian, Japanese, and overseas markets. I believe the time is right for a close collaboration between India and Japan, and I am proud to be the first in the world of fashion to be able to do that."

Narendra's "Kagemusha" proposes a new aesthetic for the Indian male. 'Kagemusha', a 1980 Japanese Samurai film by Akira Kurosawa influenced a new direction and marked a key paradigm shift for the design house.

Narendra Kumar conceptualised Kurosawa's key theme of contradiction by creating a collection based on structure through fluidity and captures the mood through the use of the elegantly dark and restrained colour scheme.

A juxtaposition of Japanese minimalism, echoing the Zen philosophy, and Japanese decorative arts, Ikebana and Yakuza tattoo prints combined with the rigours of tailoring in a colour palette referencing the dark period of Kamakura.

The muted, dark colour palette, accented with rust orange, provided a subtly luxurious base upon which to build a directional style in formal wear.

Staying true to the designer's aesthetics, the focus was on tailoring, but with a soft edge and contemporary silhouettes. It was a modern interpretation of the Samurai Kimono drapes.

Fluid and constructed all in one, soft draping combined with precision tailoring to define a unique contemporary style and bring about a new way of dress for the modern male.

Authentic luxury was displayed through the use of fine satin linen fibres, supremely suited for formal/evening wear, while experimenting with new hand-dyed technique textiles - created by Indian craftsmen using Shibori, the traditional Japanese tie-dye method.

Exclusively designed Japanese motif prints and embroidery were the highlights of the collection.