"For the Ohne Titel spring 2011 collection we took inspiration from the prints of Japanese artist Utagawa Kuniyoshi. We adapted the linear shapes, colour-blocking, and open volumes into a modern silhouette, and experimented with striated sheer cottons combined with slick neoprene in a graphic palette of white, navy, cobalt and black, with touches of fluorescent yellow and red." Ohne Titel
The mood board image behind Ohne Titel’s collection is clearly eastern-inspired, yet still delivers extreme diversity. The oldest inspiration comes from the Japanese painter Utagawa Kuniyoshi, whose style of painting was revolutionary between the 17th and 18th centuries, when he produced thousands of prints. Kuniyoshi’s style is slightly comical as he interprets such scenes as a man wrestling with a crocodile or a young boy cuddling a giant fish. Some of this light-heartedness can be seen in the other references on the board: a Japanese girl wearing a striped two-way-wear dress, or the legs beneath a masked man. The functionality and contemporary eastern twists in the images are clear, and it will be interesting to see how they are worked into Ohne Titel’s S/S collection.
Text by Hollie Lacayo
