10 Questions with Designer Paulette Cleghorn of Yumi Katsura
Designer Paulette Cleghorn
1) How long have you worked for Yumi Katsura North America?
I have worked for Yumi Katsura International for twelve years and Yumi Katsura North America for eight of them. First as a consultant and later as creative director and designer.
2) What were you doing before that?
I spearheaded a consultancy firm - DLPR for international couture designers wanting to enter the USA market - advising them on everything from design and branding to sales and marketing, strategic alliances and licensing and everything in between. We were also instrumental in collaborating with Kirstie Kelly and Disney Consumer Products to create the first ever princess themed bridal collection for Disney's Fairy Tale Weddings. I began my career in the world of bridal in 1998 when I served as the CEO of Ethiopian Designer house - Manale. Prior to that, I was Head of Media Relations for the billion dollar trailblazing British cosmetics brand - The Body Shop.
3) What is the legacy of Yumi Katsura?
Yumi Katsura was the first designer to bring the White/Western wedding gown and wedding aesthetic to the Japanese market. When she launched her brand in the early 60s, the wedding dress market in Japan was close to nonexistent. Traditional Shinto ceremonies, in which brides wear white kimonos called shiromuku, were still very much the norm and it wasn’t until the 1990s that Western “white weddings” became the new ideal - thanks to Yumi!
She is referred to as the "Pioneer of The Bridal Industry" in Japan, Katsura has spent over half a century popularizing Western-style nuptials in her home country. With stores all over the world, she’s now a fixture on Paris’ haute couture runways, the only bridal designer and the first Asian member of the Haute Couture of Camera Nazionale Della Moda Italiana; and the only one to dress a Pope. On Easter Sunday 1993, Pope John Paul II wore a golden vestment created by Yumi. There are several other notable trailblazing accomplishments; however, at present she has been focused on a mission to save the art of the kimono, and now much of the brands haute couture collections center on traditional Japanese techniques like yuzen (silk dyeing). She believes that at this stage in here career (nearly 60 years) as a Japanese designer, she is devoted to incorporating kimono and Japanese motifs and cultural identity into everyday fashion as part of her legacy.
4) Please describe the techniques she is known for?
Origami cuts, fishermans knots on laces, hand cut silk flower embellishments and Yuzen silk fabric dyeing which is one of Japan's best-known traditional dyeing processes which is capable of achieving color effects of astonishing subtlety and complexity, and is used to produce the finest and most prized of all kimono fabrics. The Yuzen process is quite intensive and consists of over 20 steps including design, drawing, gluing, dyeing and decorating.
5) WHAT ARE THE FOUR AESTHETICS THE BRAND GOES BY?
MIYABI (雅) IS ONE OF THE OLDEST OF THE TRADITIONAL JAPANESE AESTHETIC IDEALS THE WORD IS USUALLY TRANSLATED AS "ELEGANCE," "REFINEMENT," AND SOMETIMES REFERRED TO AS "HEART-BREAKER"- IN A GOOD WAY - SO BEAUTIFUL IT HURTS!
SHIBUI (渋い) THE BEAUTY OF MARRYING SUBTLETY WITH COMPLEXITY. SHIBUI OBJECTS APPEAR TO BE SIMPLE OVERALL BUT THEY INCLUDE SUBTLE DETAILS, SUCH AS TEXTURES THAT BALANCE SIMPLICITY WITH COMPLEXITY.
IKI (いき, OFTEN WRITTEN 粋) IKI IS A BROAD TERM THAT ENCOMPASSES VARIOUS CHARACTERISTICS RELATED TO SOPHISTICATION, ORIGINALITY AND REFINEMENT WITH FLAIR AND TASTEFUL SENSUALITY. AND
YŪGEN (幽玄) WHICH LITERALLY MEANS ‘SUBTLE GRACE’ OR "MYSTERIOUS INSIGHT" IT REFERS TO A PROFOUND AWARENESS OF THE NATURE OF THE UNIVERSE. AN EXAMPLE COULD SIMPLY BE INCORPORATING THE USAGE OF SUSTAINABLE/REPURPOSED LACES AS OFTEN AS POSSIBLE BECAUSE OF IT'S POSITIVE IMPACT ON THE ENVIRONMENT. IT IS OUR GOAL TO DELIVER A PRODUCT FOR A PURPOSE WITH PRINCIPLE AS OFTEN AS POSSIBLE.
6) HOW DOES THE DESIGN PROCESS WORK HERE IN NORTH AMERICA VS JAPAN?
THERE ISN'T MUCH DIFFERENCE IN THE DESIGN PROCESS - WE ALWAYS BEGIN WITH THE SEASON'S INSPIRATION, THE DIRECTION, SKETCHING, SOURCING FABRICATIONS, EMBELLISHMENTS, COLOR OPTIONS. ONCE THAT IS DETERMINED WE BEGIN THE PATTERNMAKING FOLLOWED BY THE SEWING/ASSEMBLING THEN OF COURSE FITTING THE GARMENTS BEFORE THEY ARE SHOWN. THE ONLY MAJOR DIFFERENCE WOULD BE FOR THE HAUTE COUTURE AND YUZEN COLOR COLLECTIONS WERE ARCHIVAL JAPANESE FABRICS OR ART ARE GENERALLY INCORPORATED INTO THE COLLECTIONS SO THERE IS A LOT MORE RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT ON THAT END BEFORE ANYTHING ELSE IS DETERMINED. THE RESULTS OF THAT GENERALLY DICTATE THE TONE FOR THE COLOR/S COLLECTIONS.
7) DESCRIBE A SIGNATURE YUMI KATSURA LOOK?
CONTEMPORARY TRADITIONAL WITH AN ARTISTIC TWIST. A SIGNATURE YUMI KATSURA BRIDAL LOOK WOULD GENERALLY INCLUDE A SUBTLE OR HIDDEN NOD TO JAPANESE AESTHETIC WHICH COULD MEAN AN ORIGAMI CUT SKIRT OR EMBROIDERED CRANES INTO LACE OR INCORPORATING THE BELOVED SAKURA/CHERRY BLOSSOM INTO 3D SILK FLOWERS FOR EMBELLISHMENT ON THE GARMENTS. WE WILL OFTEN USE A SUSTAINABLE OR REPURPOSED LACE FABRIC WHEN POSSIBLE. WE GENERALLY PREFER THE EFFECTS OF A STRUCTURED/TAILORED JAPANESE SILK MIKADO FABRIC WITH A SHEEN OVER SHINY SATINS. FABRICATIONS ARE GENERALLY SELECTED AND GOWNS ARE CUT TO MAXIMIZE MOVEMENT AND FLOW. YOU WILL ALSO FIND A WIDE SELECTION OF MERMAID/FIT AND FLARE STYLES - ACTUALLY IN JAPAN THESE CUTS ARE WIDELY REFERRED TO AS "THE YUMI LINE" AS SHE WAS THE FIRST TO INTRODUCE THAT SILHOUETTE TO THE INDUSTRY.
8) WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE PART OF THE PROCESS?
THE IDEA THAT YOU ARE ABLE TO MAKE SOMEONE HAPPY AND CREATE SOMETHING MEMORABLE DURING ONE OF LIFE'S MOST MEANINGFUL OCCASIONS! FUNNY ENOUGH SOMEONE ASKED ME THIS ABOUT MY COOKING (ANOTHER PASSION OF MINE) AND THE ANSWER IS THE SAME.
I HAVE SEVERAL FAVORITE PARTS: FIRST THE SOURCING AND GATHERING OF MATERIALS TO CREATE THE VISION. I LOVE TOURING THE MARKETS OF MUMBAI TO FIND BEADING, THREADING AND EMBELLISHMENTS FOR THE GOWNS, I LOVE VISITING OUR FABRIC MILLS IN ITALY BECAUSE YOU ARE ABLE TO SEE NEW DEVELOPMENTS AND FABRICATIONS EVERY TIME.
IT IS AMAZING TO DISCOVER THE DIVERSITY FOUND WITHIN THE WHITE AND IVORY FAMILY OF FABRICS! IT IS ALWAYS AN ADVENTURE TO WANDER THROUGH JAPANESE ARCHIVAL FABRICATIONS, TECHNIQUES AND TO DISCOVER SIMPLE NUANCES AND EMBELLISHMENTS THAT ADD ADDITIONAL MEANING TO A WEDDING GOWN.
LAST, I LOVE INSPECTING THE FINISHED PRODUCT, WHEN IT COMES OUT JUST AS YOU IMAGINED, THERE IS NO GREATER HIGH, APART FROM SEEING A BRIDE WALK DOWN THE AISLE WEARING ONE OF YOUR CREATIONS - THAT MIGHT ACTUALLY BE MY ABSOLUTE FAVORITE PART!
9) HAS THE BUSINESS BEEN AFFECTED SINCE COMING OUT OF LOCKDOWN?
THE BUSINESS HAS DEFINITELY BEEN AFFECTED BY THE LOCKDOWN ON SEVERAL ANGLES. OUR HAND BEADERS ARE LOCATED IN INDIA WHICH WAS UNDER A STRICT LOCKDOWN AND PRODUCTION HALTED IN THE MIDST OF SEVERAL PENDING ORDERS, IT WAS AN ABSOLUTE NIGHTMARE. OUR ITALIAN FABRIC MILLS WERE SHUT DOWN FOR ALMOST A YEAR AND IT WAS CERTAINLY A STRUGGLE - THANKFULLY WE HAD JUST RECEIVED A SUBSTANTIAL ORDER PRIOR - ENOUGH TO FULFILL ORDERS ON HAND. IN TERMS OF SALES, MOST OF OUR RETAILERS WERE CLOSED, WEDDINGS WERE POSTPONED OR CANCELLED AND IT WAS A DIFFICULT TIME FOR ALL TO SUSTAIN. WE LOST THREE MARKET SEASONS BUT THANKFULLY WE WERE ABLE TO SUCCESSFULLY PARTICIPATE IN A FEW VIRTUAL SHOWS. WE ARE STILL SLIGHTLY CONFUSED BUT HIGHLY OPTIMISTIC FOR THE FUTURE!
10) ANY NEW DIRECTION THE BRAND IS TAKING?
YUMI'S BIOGRAPHY IS CURRENTLY IN THE WORKS. STAY TUNED!
