YOUNG DESIGNERS: AI KOMOTO

Exhibition supports the new generation of fashion designers: this series celebrates AI KOMOTO and her pieces.

Tell us more about your INSPIRATIONS. What inspires you and your creative process?

I love flowers and wild trees, and I believe that the shapes of plants and animals are the most beautiful and perfect.

At the same time, I appreciate the geometric rhythm of shapes and objects made by humans, especially perfect circles and squares.

The divine proportion is also found in flowers and snails, adding a certain mystical coherence to pleasant sensations.

Colors and materials often serve as the starting point for my creative process.

The ideal process is to create an original story. To achieve this, I use various knitting techniques and create patterns that allow me to build my own mythology.

I sketch, list keywords, collect details, create a pattern, calculate, and then knit. Knitting is solitary work, so I always do karaoke.

Throughout the creative process, I often receive help from my friends, and it almost always ends in a friendly gathering with drinks.

By participating in collective exhibitions and fashion shows, based on the feedback I've received, I've created printed t-shirts and reworked knitted clothing pieces.

When I presented my first pop-up with other artists at the end of February, the friends and clients who came to see me inspired me with new ideas.

Could you describe your brand in 3 WORDS ?

Fun, thingamabob, thingamajig or incarnation of my fantasy.

How would you describe your CRAFTSMANSHIP ?

It's like a little living being, very endearing, a knitted doodle.There are no limits in creating patterns.

The structure of the knit itself is very simple.

Another advantage of knitting is that you can knit with anything that resembles yarn.

In the future, I think I'll find partners and factories that have expertise, to collaborate with them and have a larger production.

For now, I mostly work alone, and I think one of the simplest ways for me to create, given the techniques I have and the materials I've been given, is to make my own patterns.

My experience as a pattern maker in Japan has helped me, and knitting, which I learned in France, has expanded my possibilities.

How do you feel about the NEXT GENERATION of young designers ?

I feel like I'm part of a resistance network, of people who continue to have a challenging spirit, who love to take on challenges in order to create something new.

It's not easy for anyone, in any industry, and I think we need to help each other because most of us are living in a glittery mess.

It's said that nothing new can be created because everything has already been created, but the simple act of being able to create something by oneself is invigorating and brings a lot of joy, as does learning new things.

Why are young creators and knitting in particular attracting attention today? It could simply be a passing trend, or a nostalgic desire to wear something "made by human hands."

In the near future, the number of people who will actually create things will increase, and it may be impossible to distinguish between designers and amateurs.

By then, I might be designing holographic clothing or knitting circular sweaters from bones and vines. I'm sure it will be cool!

Even in the future, this approach to realizing our fantasies and creative projects in knitting or other arts will not disappear. It's immortal, our imagination passing on to others.