Kathi HOFER

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Kathi HOFER

Participating Project	Institutional Recommendation Program
Activity Based	Berlin, Vienna
City / Place stayed	Tokyo
Period	2023.1 - 2023.2

Purpose of the residency

I am presenting in Tokyo a long-term project that had its beginning in a small town in the Salzburg Alps and which I have been researching in Tokyo in the fall of 2019 hosted by TOKAS. The project is about the knitting business my family ran in alpine Austria between 1947 and 2003 specializing in the production of boiled wool jackets, so-called “Hofer Jackets”. These jackets were made locally using a unique process and were sold worldwide. They enjoyed particular popularity in Japan, where their special blend of local craftsmanship and global allure was referred to as “Austrian Style”.

Plan during the residency

• Give an artist talk at TOKAS about the "Hofer Jackets" project.
• Present work resulting from research at TOKAS in a solo exhibition at Gallery Dalston, Tokyo.
• Hold a public conversation on Hofer and its reception in Japan with the fashion sociologist Mr. FUKAMACHI Hiroyoshi (venue: Gallery Dalston, Tokyo)
• Conduct further research on Hofer and its historical and possibly future reception in Japan.
• Re-connect and further connect with experts on Japanese fashion and the "Austrian Style".

Activities during the residency

During my 3-week residency, I prepared and presented a solo exhibition titled "HOFER TOKYO.” At Sumida-based Gallery Dalston, I conceived a spatial installation of ready-mades, research findings, and images as part of a long-term project that had already taken me to Tokyo in the fall of 2019, invited by TOKAS. It revolves around the knitting factory my grandparents ran in the Salzburg Alps between 1947 and 2003 specializing in the production of boiled wool jackets, so-called “Hofer Janker”. These jackets were made locally using a unique process. They enjoyed particular popularity in Japan, Hofer’s largest overseas outlet, where their special blend of local craftsmanship and global allure inspired a young generation of urbanites in the 1980s and ‘90s seeking new forms of self-expression. As part of "HOFER TOKYO,” I hosted a public talk with Fukamachi Hiroyoshi, the fashion sociologist, who discussed the multi-faceted influence these jackets had on Japanese culture during those years.

Outcome of the residency

I see the great achievement of this residency in that I was able, by means of having my art work on view at a Tokyo gallery and being present there myself, to reconnect and further connect with current and future collaborators. As an exhibition, "HOFER TOKYO" was not only the outcome of year-long research around certain historical, sociological, and (pop) cultural ties between Austria and Japan activated by the Hofer Jacket – a clothing item and cultural artifact with which I share name and origin. In an emphatic way, it was also a tool and a platform through which I was able to meet professionals of affiliated fields. Experts I can further learn from and work with towards a continuation of this ongoing project: "HOFER TOKYO" drew attention to Tokyo-based fashion designers, knitwear manufacturers, buyers, sellers, and influencers – people with who I am now starting a new exchange about the future of Hofer.
The most impressive episode for me was Mr. Fukamachi’s public talk he gave upon my invitation at Gallery Dalston. He discussed, from multiple angles, the idea of the Hofer Jacket as an item of not just sartorial but cultural value, and its impact on Japanese fashion and culture since the late 1970s. Fukamachi-san had researched and found photographs from magazines such as ‘So-en’ and ‘Popeye’ – first instances where Hofer Jackets were featured in Japanese mainstream media – which I had never seen before. His research on the matter as whole is the greatest value to this project.

Creator Information