Hanako Maeda’s relationship with Ikebana, the art of Japanese floral arrangement, lead her on her seasonal journey for spring. Considered an art form in her native Japan, Maeda finds the practice meditative in her personal life and now is bringing it to her professional life. The collection began with a white dress that was mean to be emblematic of Ikebana with a bouquet of silk flowers across the garment that read as real.
“I created the base bodice of the dress, and I had silk flowers next to me on a table, and I was literally, pinning the flowers onto the bodice,” the designer said.
It felt like a museum piece, but clothes are for life and Maeda offered many ideas to live in. Her palette was restrained with soft yellow and pink, white, beige and black. Peplum tops were a less literal idea of floral, and she paired them with a wide-leg pant, while a corseted strapless dress with bell shaped boning went more literal with cascading layered ruffles billowing underneath, a make-a-statement idea for event dressing. Between the two was a mix of loose suiting, handkerchief hem dresses, and bell bottom lace pants — lace was another way to go floral without being too literal. It all had her East meets West design flourishes and convertibility her customer come to her for.
Typically showing on the runway, Maeda felt this collection and all the details read better in images. The models “are situated in a way so that it almost feels like a traditional Japanese-like woodblock print or painting. In order to express that feeling, we have more control when it comes to a photo shoot.”
