POEM Autumn-Winter 2017-2018 Collection Chasing Wisteria Maiden
Once the final Spring breeze blows away the Sakura petals, the tiny flowers that form clusters of colorful buds just like grapevines start to blossom, painting the landscape in dreamlike dots of purple, white and yellow. For those well-worn travelers who dote on the sublime beauty of flowers, visiting a Wisteria garden in full bloom is a dream-come-true just like indulging in the sight of blooming Sakura in early Spring. This desire to immerse in the sight of Wisteria in full bloom has led Poem founder/ creative director Chavanon Kaisiri through a several trips in search of blooming Wisteria during the past ten years, before he weaves together his journey with Japanese cultures and traditions into a new collection ““Chasing Wisteria Maiden”
“Chasing Wisteria Maiden” (“Fuji Musumè”) reimagines the story of “Fuji” or Wisteria through renowned Kabuki performed by legendary dancer Bandō Tamasaburō V. Recounting the tale of a beautiful young maiden carrying a branch of Wisteria in a painting who came to life after being admired by a young nobleman, the tale ends with her tragic return to the painting after the countless letters she sent to the man were never answered. Chavanon merges the story with his own experiences of searching for the blooming Wisteria which took the designer from Kyushu, during the Nakayama O-Fuji Festival at Nakayama Kumano shrine in Fukuoka’s canal city Yanagawa, to the north of Kyushu at Kawachi Fuji Garden’s famed Wisteria tunnel, and at Byodo-in temple in a serene prefecture of Uji in the south of Kyoto, to the north of Kanto at Ashikaga Flower Park, where located Tochigi’s famed 150-year-old Wisteria until he reached Kameido Tenjin Shrine on the outskirt of Tokyo, where generations of artists and poets during the Edo era were inspired by the sight of the blooming flowers. His journey, combined with his fascination with Japanese cultures and costume tradition, is reinterpreted onto POEM’s elegant hourglass dresses and separates loved by all the glamorous POEM ladies.
Japanese imageries such as Wisteria in watercolor, cranes, umbrellas and fans scatter through the collection as new signature prints. The designer uses a special technique of printing onto pattern piece to ensure the most perfect rhythm and perspective that does not only yield the most stunning view of the print, but also enhances the lines and curves of the piece’s hourglass silhouette. POEM’s signature waist-trainer is given an Oriental twist in the form of Obi sash. Kimono sleeves are used on blouses in a way that does not feel overtly Oriental while wrap-like details on collars and hemline are in fact one piece that uses pattern-making technique and fabric blocking to create an illusion of a wrap. The collection is painted in different shades of purple, mimicking the color of Wisteria, as well as white, grey, black and red on POEM’s favorite materials such as fine silk, high-quality polyester and crepe satin, which has long been POEM’s staple fabric in creating the brand’s signature light and shadow perspective in the past decade. Matte velvet makes the evening dresses even more luxurious, making the collection a perfect marriage of Western dress-making tradition and Eastern inspirations and heritage.
Join POEM in the search for The Wisteria Maiden this Autumn!