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Hiroko KoshinoJapanese fashion designer and artist
Country:
 Japan |
Content:
- Biography of Hiroko Koshino
- Early Life
- Paris and International Recognition
- Return to Japan
- Artistic Endeavors
- Recent Achievements
Biography of Hiroko Koshino
Hiroko Koshino, a Japanese fashion designer and artist, has been one of the leading fashion designers for 50 years. She stated, "People in the world of fashion always look forward, and I would like to remain a modest designer able to express what I feel in my heart." Koshino freely distributes her inexhaustible creative energy between fashion, lifestyle, and art.
Early Life
Hiroko Koshino was born in Osaka, Japan, in 1937 or 1938. Her father was a tailor. She has two younger sisters, Junko and Michiko, who also became renowned designers. Her sister Junko loves to juggle contrasts, curved and straight lines, light and dark tones, round and rectangular shapes, and masculine and feminine elements. Junko claims that opposites converge into a whole. She says, "Clothing is your second skin. Just as you take care of your skin, you should take care of your clothing. But don't take yourself too seriously. Relax a little. There are still many new facets within you that you can uncover."
Paris and International Recognition
Like many other Japanese creatives who went to Paris in the early 1980s, Hiroko founded her own company and began creating combined pieces of women's clothing, based on the kimono. As of 1997, Koshino earned approximately $100 million annually. Her designer clothing was available in over 200 Japanese stores. Koshino earned global recognition and became one of the first Japanese designers to showcase her collections on international runways, such as in Rome and Shanghai.
Return to Japan
In the late 1990s, Hiroko doubled her efforts to gain even more popularity in the Japanese market. She even closed her store in Paris, where she had been successful for over a decade, and discontinued her Paris collection to focus on her homeland, not only in industrial Tokyo but also cities like Osaka. In 2002, Koshino's plans slightly shifted, and she aimed to create a new perfume line based on her Parisian experience to relaunch her collections in France.
Artistic Endeavors
In the same year, Hiroko held an exhibition titled "Honoka, Hirameki" in Tokyo, Sapporo, and Kokura, showcasing her calligraphic works and paintings. In 2004, Koshino exhibited her ink paintings and showcased a portion of her collection, "Hiroko Koshino Works," in Osaka. In 2007, in honor of her 50th anniversary in the fashion industry, Koshino presented her collection, developed in collaboration with British musician Michael Nyman, in Shanghai. This collection was part of the official program of the 9th China Shanghai International Arts Festival.
Recent Achievements
In 2010, Koshino received an invitation to a conference on costume and education culture in Beijing. She was appointed an honorary professor at the Beijing Institute of Fashion Technology and showcased one of her collections on the last day of the conference. In 2012, Hiroko designed the sportswear for Japanese gymnasts representing their country at the Summer Olympics in London.
