Monthly Archives: September 2015

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Lisa Grue(artist &Illustrator)

Mysterious textile inspired by Scandinavian forest

Danish designer Lisa Grue launched Scandinavian Diary, a new fabric collection in 2015. Fantastic motifs inspired by Scandinavia forest enchant us. Kokka-fabric digs into the story behind her creative work, characteristic humor, abundant ideas and feminine expression.

Kokka-fabric.com (KF): Can you tell me a little about how you got started designing textile?

I have actually got a bachelor in Textile design from the Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts, School of Design. I ended up finishing my education in design with a Master in Graphic Design. But I never forgot my passion for doing pattern in Textile.That was a perfect combination for me.

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Kokka 2015 Fall Collection

In the first week of September, Kokka hosted its periodical trade show in Tokyo. Here is the preliminary report on the show with Kokka’s new textiles and latest collections.

Let’s start with “Pikku Saari”, the colorful and eye-catching textile from Finland, created by Eri Shimatsuka who is the Helsinki-residing designer. The motifs inspired by her daily life in the seaside city Helsinki are spread across the fabric.

These are other new brands by overseas designers that Kokka has collaborated with: Obiko (left) and MARISA (right).

Obiko is the creation of Linda Williams, the designer who is based in a seaside town of UK, Hastings. The not-too-cute yet witty textile can be great for making women’s bags or pouches.

MARISA is a fabric brand by the American textile designer, Marisa Anne, who has many followers on her official website “Creative Thursday”. The print with adorable animals or small flowers is great for kids’ clothing. The tiny print fabric is very versatile and appropriate for sewers of all levels of experience. With this fun fabric, enjoy your sewing projects, which include bags and garments.

Now this, echino! The extremely popular brand is introducing knitted jacquard fabrics for the upcoming season. The material can create something sophisticated, soft and subtle in a way that words can’t convey. This may bring innovation to your dressmaking with echino.

The latest collection of nani IRO Textile by Naomi Ito is here.

One of nani IRO basics “Fuwari fuwari”, which is paint-like and reminiscent of pointillism, is now available in brushed cotton! A girl’s dress made with the new fabric and a jacket of fluffy pre-quilted “Fuccra:rakuen” fabric were displayed next to each other in the trade show venue. Although each was made with different textures, they nicely harmonized to create a warm and comfy feel. This is naniIRO magic! No wonder why this textile brand is always attractive.

Every year, Kokka’s September show features a wide variety of fabrics to create items in preparation for the new school year in Japan. This year, the imitation of an elementary school classroom was set up in the venue. As if it had been a theatrical play for children, the classroom scene was truly recreated with popular fictional characters as students. Kids would have loved it!

In the picture below a shoe bag and a lesson bag made with Petite Ecole cotton series are displayed. In addition to many perfect fabrics for school items, new prints from Disney and Hello Kitty were presented at the trade show. Hopefully you will meet them soon at your local fabric store.

Did you enjoy our brief report on the lineup of latest collections from Kokka? In fact there are more textiles and stories we want to share with you. We will continue to cover brand-new fabrics in our Textile Story column. Don’t miss it!

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Report on the award ceremony for the 4th Kokka Print Textile Competition

Continued from the last article, here is a special report on the award ceremony for the 4th Kokka Print Textile Competition held on August 22 at Yoyogi Uehara CASE gallery, Tokyo.

The prize-winning artworks were displayed on a white wall. In the picture below, the first one to the left is the grand prize winning work by Kurara Omichi. The second to the left is by the runner-up, Ako Sakamoto.

These are the works given honorable mention: (from left) by Mei Tanifuji, Haruka Yamamoto and Chisaki Furuta.

Another four honorable mention winning works: (from left) by Kili Fukugawara, MAKINANO, Darlings and Yoko Morita.

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Denim-like Patchwork & Herringbone

A faux design fabric that will broaden your sewing possibilities

Continued from our last column, a denim-like fabric is here again, featuring patchwork and herringbone designs. The Patchwork, with pieces of different denim motifs in various examples, can add a sense of presence to a simple creation. The Herringbone can be enjoyed as a “wearable denim”, as well as for chic and stylish items.

Denim Patchwork 　H10100-100 #10 Canvas

Denim Patchwork is a very realistic faux denim-style #10 canvas. The design was created by scanning a picture of cut-up sections of vintage jeans from a thrift store. Even a simple bag will make an impact with this fabric’s intricate design. You can turn a basic apron into something stylish.

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