WATARU TOMINAGA
YEAR OF THE SNAKE
Often characterized as maximalist in design, Tominaga’s creation is rooted in conceptually developed handmade textiles. Tominaga builds his distinctive textiles atop readymade fabrics with universal, genderless motifs; paisleys, florals, plaids and ginghams. Manipulating these materials before the top graphic layer of cut vinyl is added. Creating contrast through tension, the top layer of information collides with the layered garment below, to create new associations of gender fluidity with the mixing of varying masculine and feminine associations. This counterpoint embodies the type of genderless fashions he creates.
Born in 1988 in Kumamoto, Japan, Wataru Tominaga currently lives and works in Tokyo. With an international outlook, Tominaga pursued his education in Japan, the UK, and Finland by attending the Musashino Art University and Bunka Fashion College, the University of Art and Design in Helsinki, and Central Saint Martins College of Art and Design for BA Fashion Print, obtaining practical placements with John Galliano, Eddie Peake, and BLESS. He then earned a Master of Fine Arts at the Chelsea College of Arts of the University of the Arts in London.
In 2016 Tominaga won the Grand Jury Première Vision Prize at the 31st International Festival of Fashion and Photography in Hyères. He was the artist in residency at Le Pavillon Neuflize OBC at Palais de Tokyo in Paris (2016-2017) while continuing the showcase of his collections at the Berlin Fashion Week, NY Premiere vision, and following year’s Hyères Fashion again and also the collaborations with the brands such as Chanel and Petit Bateau. In 2018, Tominaga was named to the Forbes 30 Under 30 Asia- The Arts 2018 list. In 2019, he held a solo exhibition at Nonaka-Hill gallery in California. He has since launched his own commercial line for the SS20 season presenting his latest collection merging fashion and art at the Fashion Week in Tokyo and then Lagos in fall 2019.
https://www.instagram.com/wataru_tominaga/
Photography/ Cinematography: Keiki Banja
