Henrike NAUMANN

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Henrike NAUMANN

Participating Project	International Creator Residency Program
Activity Based	Germany
City	Tokyo
Period	2018.5 - 2018.7

Purpose of the residency

I want to explore the fashion connection between Tokyo and Kinshasa (Democratic Republic of the Congo) through the sapeur aesthetic. Sapeurs invest all their money in designer clothing despite living in poor conditions. While in Congo-Brazzaville (Republic of the Congo) the sapeurs draw their style from early 20th century Western gentlemen with bow ties and bowler hats, the sapeur style in Congo-Kinshasa is inspired by conceptual Japanese fashion from the 1980s. In the streets of Kinshasa, the most desired luxury fashion brands are Yohji Yamamoto, Issey Miyake and Comme des Garçons. In Tokyo I want to dig into the history of Japanese fashion from the 1980s and get a deeper understanding of the concept of this existentialist and radical fashion movement, that got labelled ‚Post-Atomic Fashion' and ‚Hiroshima Chic'. I want to explore how these fashion concepts resonate in Kinshasa's urban environment, arbitrating between luxury and destruction.

Plan during the residency

- research in the fashion library at the Kobe Fashion Museum - research in the Center of the Tokyo Raids and War Damage
- visit to the Hiroshima Peace Museum
- open studio during my research
- presentation of the work at the end of my residency

Creator Information