Page 30 - Marie Claire Australia (January 2020)

DESIGNER DOSSIER

LEFT Actress Tao Okamoto
models in the studio with
Japanese glass artist Ritsue
Mishima. ABOVE Okamoto
with Weekend Max Mara’s new
version of the Pasticcino bag.

Brutto Gusto gallery. “I was so happy to see a fellow
Japanese in Murano, and was impressed so much
by her art and passion,” Okamoto says.
Immediately at ease in the tailored pants and
voluminous knits, clutching the newly designed
patchwork version of the Pasticcino bag, Okamoto
is able to identify the thread that runs through
her acting work, Mishima’s glassblowing and
Weekend Max Mara’s designs.
BLOWN timeless that will be remembered by people
“The ultimate goal is to make something

from time to time,” Okamoto says. “And obviously
that is not easy.” Fortunately, wearing the clothes
is easier than melding acting, glass and fashion.
AWAY TEXT BY DAMIEN WOOLNOUGH.
“It is elegant yet very relaxed.”

Italian and Japanese aesthetics collide in a surprising

project from Weekend Max Mara, shattering
the glass ceiling of collaborations

lockbuster artists Jeff Koons, Yayoi Kusama
and Kaws have all lent their valuable
signatures to luxury labels, but Weekend
B Max Mara is breaking new ground by
entering the fragile arena of free-form glassblowing.
The work of master Japanese glass artist Ritsue
Mishima inspired the Italian label’s Chaotic Elegance
collection, resulting in ironically strong pieces with
masculine tailoring, explosions of colour and
unexpected details. ABOVE Mishima inspired
Adding another layer of artistry, actress Tao Weekend Max Mara’s
Okamoto from Wolverine and Westworld was chosen Chaotic Elegance collection.
RIGHT Okamoto models
to represent the collection, modelling the range in the signature collection.
Mishima’s glassblowing studio on the island of
Murano in the Venetian Lagoon.
For the refined Okamoto, clashing prints on
floating skirts and sturdy chambray shirts were her “THE GOAL IS TO MAKE
first introduction to Mishima’s artistic approach, SOMETHING TIMELESS THAT
which has seen her striking vessels appear at the WILL BE REMEMBERED”
Venice Biennale, Shibunkaku in Kyoto and Berlin’s – Tao Okamoto

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