Akira Isogawa is a name in fashion that needs little introduction. The subject of two major exhibitions, one at Melbourne’s National Gallery of Victoria (NGV) in 2004 and the other at Sydney’s Powerhouse Museum in 2018, and included in multiple exhibitions worldwide, every new collection was greatly anticipated.

Isogawa’s trajectory since 1988 when he established his business, to opening his store in Woollahra in Queen Street in 1993 and showing on the catwalks in Paris in 1998 was a spectacular feat, given he only arrived in Australia from Japan in 1986.

Fleur Watson, associate professor of architecture and urban design at RMIT University, has long been a fan of Isogawa’s designs. Credit: Simon Schluter

“Australian Fashion Week (AFW)in 1996 was a pivotal moment for me presenting as part of five designers in the new generation group show,” says Isogawa, whose East-meets-West style of fashion – including the use of vintage fabrics, many of which come from kimonos – pre-empted the use of upcycling in fashion by decades.

Key buyers in the audience at AFW, initiated by Simon Lock, included the prestigious boutiques Browns in London, Biffi in Milan and Club 21 in Singapore.

The price tags for Isogawa’s designs, given their........

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