Miyako’s Mood Board: Open-Source Fashion

April 07, 2014

Every Monday, MM.LaFleur’s designer Miyako Nakamura ruminates on what’s inspiring her this week.

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For much of my career, I worked at a studio where we didn’t just design clothes—we invented them. From the form of the clothes to the ways we constructed the garments to the way we stitched together panels of fabric—it was always a process of inventing and re-imagining.

I still believe that invention is a big part of design, so when I first worked at a contemporary design house, I had a hard time understanding how to “design” without starting from the ground up. But instead of just using our imaginations to create something new, we had to look at existing garments and “trendy” shapes. Then I had to learn how to update something someone else had invented. For some reason, I really hesitated to call this “design.”

But one day, I was talking to a friend about my thoughts, and he introduced me to Jonathan Lethem’s essay, “Ecstasy of Influence.”

When I first started to read it, it was so difficult to follow the content. I’m not a native English speaker/reader, and I felt it was nearly impossible to digest, but my friend insisted I keep going. He helped me get through with the promise that Lethem’s ideas would blow my mind.

When I finished the essay, it totally fulfilled that promise. I began to understand the reasons behind the difficulties I had been experiencing. Now, I forward this to all my creative friends who are grappling with the idea of “open source” creativity. This is where someone else’s inventions can serve as the ingredients to create something even more unique—and this essay is such an elegant articulation of that concept.

The idea of open source gives me such a hopeful feeling. To me, it means any kind of content can become an element of a new idea—like LEGO for ideas. 

The dresses I design for MM.LaFleur are very simple, streamlined, and they might look like something you’ve seen before. But there is always at least one element that is completely unique to each dress—and that’s the “design” that I do. It’s often something very subtle, but it makes each dress feel like a new invention.

I never know if people will pick up on these details, but sometimes when I’m at trunk shows, our customers notice them right away. These little moments—when my “inventions” are recognized within a familiar shape—are my best moments, and they make me realize how my definition of “design” has evolved into something new and different. The balance of invention and function is my new “LEGO,” which I adore playing with.

– Miyako Nakamura