Natsumi Aoki

Grey Sheep

@kabikooo

Location

New York City / united states

University

MFA Parsons the new school for design

Graduation year

2023

Contact

Natsumi Aoki is a fashion designer and creator born in Japan and based in NY. She earned a MFA at Parsons Fashion Design and Society in 2023 after the study at Central Saint Martins and Tokyo University of the Arts. Through her work, she materializes her inner world which is cultivated by her varied knowledge from music, sub-culture and Japanese traditional aesthetics and resonates to with people around the world.

Latest Collection

A love letter to you/but I still want to live.

The collection “A love letter to you/ but I still want to live.” is made for those who feel the despair of the ongoing reality. Based on the sociological theory “the disenchantment of the world”, she challenges the process of “rationalization” in the modern society which eclipsed magical and animistic beliefs about nature. She rethinks the primary function of garments “protection” and seek a way to protect those minorities not only physically but also mentally and spiritually. In terms of materiality, the collection is heavily craft oriented; using wool, silk, and linen, with hand-dying but its shapes are mainly based on our modern daily wear. Throughout the collection, she suggests a sight of a speculative reality and future to subvert our pessimism.