photo Nanjo Masafumi
Daily Yomiuri
photo:
Keita Maruyama
Spring-Summer 2000
©K2m international co |
 Maruyama Keita
A graduate of Bunka Fashion College (Bunkafukuso Gakuin),
Maruyama has had a fascination with fashion since childhood. After
working as a freelancer designing clothes for entertainers, he
debuted as an independent designer in 1994 and has his first show
in Paris three years later.
Maruyama's designs are quite different from those of the older
established Japanese designers. In this sense, he is not so readily
recognized as a Japanese designer in Europe. He uses more obviously
Oriental motifs and "introduces the essence of the kimono" into
his designs. He would like to increase the popularity of the kimono
among young Japanese, and launched a kimono collection in the
autumn of 1999, although he is aware of its limited practicality
in modern life.
Maruyama's clothes are designed to "end up in an antique shop
rather than a museum", being passed on rather than simply consumed.
Abroad, his designs are available in the US and Europe as well
as Hong Kong and Taiwan. |
