Since its launch in 1982, PINKHOUSE has consistently expressed a feminine image while incorporating the spirit of the times. Founder and first designer Isao Kaneko is said to have once said, "The Pink House brand is packed with everything a girl loves." Following the brand's 30th anniversary in 2012, Pink House launched "PINK HOUSE - Flower Shower, Eternal Girlhood" on February 18th at the TOKYO Kaihoku Zone on the second floor of the Isetan Shinjuku Main Building, a collaboration with a Tokyo brand on the theme of "eternal girlhood." The project's image visual, featuring Momoiro Clover Z wearing dresses made from an original textile featuring a clover motif designed by Pink House, has generated a lot of buzz. We spoke with Kazunori Kusaka, who succeeded Kaneko and has been Pink House's designer for nearly 20 years, about this collaborative project.

■Crafted by the hands of people Pink House values

The first thing they did when planning this collaboration was to search through their extensive archives for textiles that would respond to the theme of "eternal femininity."

In October 2014, Kusaka and members of their design team headed to Oki Textile Print, which has been responsible for the brand's prints for many years. At this dyeing factory, which owns the majority of Pink House's past textiles, they spent a day selecting the textiles to be reproduced.

For this project, they selected textiles with flower motifs of various styles from their archives, including textiles previously designed by Kaneko Isao and textiles that Kusaka first worked on at Pink House.

Regarding Pink House's manufacturing, Kusaka says, "We value the technique of hand-printing. It's a hand-printing technique in which artisans layer each color by hand, waiting for the previous color to completely dry before layering the next. This not only clearly defines the motif's outline, but the layering of colors also creates a three-dimensional, delicate textile. However, each additional color increases the artisan's workload, so it's rare for a brand like Pink House to layer multiple colors." This commitment to color results in vibrant, colorful textiles.

■Collaboration with Tokyo Brands

When asked about the creation of products with the three collaborating brands, Kusaka said, "I think the unique characteristics of each brand have been added, resulting in a fresh lineup of items."

For their collaboration with MIKIOSAKABE, known for its use of lace and sheer, genderless fashion, the brand used a multicolored, all-over floral textile from the early 1990s. The items feature details evocative of a "girlish" aesthetic, such as sailor collars, rounded collars, and puff sleeves. The opal finish on the fabric creates a sheer look, giving it a different feel from Pink House's original textiles.

The collaboration with "G.V.G.V" was made possible because designers MUG and Kusaka were classmates at Kuwasawa Design School. "She's always been well-versed in culture and has a unique style since her student days. It was unexpected that her brand would collaborate with Pink House, so she readily agreed," says Kusaka. G.V.G.V selected four items from the 2015 Spring/Summer collection: outerwear, shirts, pants, and a backpack. The masculine-inspired set is given a feminine touch by adding a floral print to the flowing Tencel-blend fabric. Paired with a fishtail coat emblazoned with the G.V.G.V and Pink House names, and a backpack, Pink House creates a look that's truly on-trend.

"THEATRE PRODUCTS" has taken the unique approach of printing Pink House's original pattern over and above Theater's original pattern to create a total of seven collaborative items. "The technique of printing a pattern on a pattern is a challenge for artisans, so we were almost turned down, but we somehow managed to complete it (laughs)," recalls Takeuchi Akira, designer at Theater Products. There was also a request from Takeuchi Akira to "try it with cut and sew fabric," and for Pink House, which usually focuses on woven fabrics that highlight ruffles and gathers, this collaboration was full of new discoveries.

To be continued in the second part.