Soul of Things (物の魂)

Lilia Yip, fashion designer and educator, was part of a group exhibition in Galleria Oryza, Japan, titled Soul of Things (Mono no Tamashi). Featuring work by designer/artists from Iceland, Japan and Singapore/UK, the exhibition explores how a designer's cultural and physical environment, which is often part of their tacit knowledge, can be made apparent within the design narrative through their choice of material and methods of construction.
Lilia exhibited a new body of work consisting of a collection of fifteen garments and two fashion films made in collaboration with performance artist Mustafa Boga.
Her project takes an anthropological approach to pattern cutting and design, beginning with the origin of clothing as a rectangular piece of cloth. It explores the merging of traditional Japanese clothing forms with modern sensibilities, combining flat and form cutting techniques in relation to body, culture and identity. This two-week exhibition included an artist talk at the gallery, where attendees were invited to contemplate a single artwork in silence. This was followed by a discussion around various perspectives with regard to the artwork, and the influence of nature and culture on each designer's work.