Books That Are Clothes and Vice Versa

What do you envision for the future of fashion? Silver spacesuits? Computerized smart fabrics? Fashion designer and creative genius Hiroaki Ohya has a vision of transcendental simplicity. He sees a world where clothing is more than a passing seasonal fancy; it is multifunctional and art in itself. Ohya visited FIDM to debut an exhibit of his designs and share his extraordinary vision with students.

Ohya has a fashion background to envy; he is a former assistant and protegé of Japanese design master Issey Miyake. He has been creating clothes under his own label since 1996. "I was making lots and lots of clothes, and seeing them fade away and die with the change of seasons," Ohya stated. The transient nature of the runway-paced fashion industry discouraged and saddened him. He desired to create something timeless that would not go out of style (and out of closets) within a few months. "I began to think of items that last," he explained. He thought of books, how they get carefully placed on bookshelves and admired long after being read. The idea dawned on him: books that are clothes! His merging of the literary with the fashionable became the stroke of ingenuity that would give his designs permanence in a realm of temporary trends.

Inspired by the legendary Wizard of Oz, Ohya combined art and ready-to-wear clothing designs to create The Wizard of Jeanz. The series of 21 handmade books unfold to become pants, skirts, dresses, shirts, and knit tops. He chose fabric with the texture of paper to create intricately cut and folded collars and skirts that pop open. With both bodies and bookshelves in mind, Ohya has taken the concept of clothing to a new level with his innovative collection!

Ohya impressed the crowd with a presentation of his newest line, Cup Mode, a series of convertible fashion magazines made of cotton fabric. His magazines feature an illustrated front cover and back cover complete with advertising space. Upon opening the magazine, the reader is greeted with a foldout jacket, attached to the cover. The magazine magically transforms into a fully functional and wearable jacket! The jackets are adorned with computer-generated prints of weaving patterns and photographic images. Ohya calls his creations "fashion magazines of the future."

Over three feet tall and all cotton jersey, Ohya's Astro Boy book was immediately in demand! The book is based on the popular 30-year-old Japanese anime character Astro Boy. Ohya created it in conjunction with Tezuka Production's new Astro Boy movie that will be released in 2003. The book opens to reveal seven pages that are also dresses, one for each day of the week! Each dress detaches from the book via tiny snaps and features Astro Boy in a different fun pose.

Ohya takes the literary function of his designs very seriously, only offering them for sale in bookstores rather than clothing stores. His gorgeous origami-like creations beautifully bridge the worlds of fashion and art!

Ohya's The Wizard of Jeanz collection was on view in the Library of FIDM in Los Angeles from October 25th through November 16th of 2000, and at the San Francisco campus from November 16th through November 30th of 2000. The online exhibit is still available for viewing here.