Renowned fashion designer Kansai Yamamoto collaborated with Epson in a spectacular dance and music extravaganza to showcase his ensemble of signature kimonos created on Epson’s latest digital textile printing technology.

Hundreds of fans turned out to witness one of Yamamoto’s typically vibrant shows. As well as his work the event highlighted Epson’s latest line of Monna Lisa Evo digital textile printers and the beautiful clothes they can produce.

Yamamoto uses Epson Monna Lisa Evo printers for many of his textile printed creations, along with the SureColor F Series, which print on various kinds of textile such as silk, cotton, nylon and polyester.

Seen at Printers in Action for Kansai Yamamoto at Roppongi Hills 2017.

Colour performance is critical in the fashion business. “The designs printed by Epson are full of brightness. I can’t accept colours that are pale and dull,” says Mr Yamamoto.

Mr Yamamoto approached Epson after seeing samples of Epson’s digitally printed fabrics, and teamed up with the company for his show “Fashion in Motion: Kansai Yamamoto” held at the Victoria & Albert museum in London in 2013. Delighted with the result of the collection printed by Epson, he decided to team up with Epson again for his “HELLO ISTANBUL!!” show in 2014.

Digital designs by Kansai Yamamoto

His latest show in Tokyo highlights his long-lasting commitment to Epson textile printing.

He uses various kinds of fabrics in his shows, from crushed velvet, organdie, sports mesh, parachute cloth, cotton, and nylon. Epson’s original inks are specially formulated to ensure optimum color and quality with a wide range of different fabrics.

“It changed my expectation for printing. Designs often look flat and pale when you print them. However, with Epson’s digital textile printers, the designs looked vibrant and three-dimensional on fabrics such as velvet and organdie,” says Takaya, an executive designer at Kansai Yamamoto Inc.

Epson printed around 15 of Yamamoto’s designs on its state-of-art digital textile printers, amounting to about 800 square metres of textiles including special-featured polyester, nylon and cotton.

Combining traditional Japanese aesthetics and ultra-modern styles, Mr Yamamoto’s magnificent creations were largely printed onto polyester fabrics using Epson SureColor SC-F7100 series dye sublimation printers, and nylon and cotton fabric using the Epson SurePress FP-30160 digital industrial textile inkjet printer, and the Monna Lisa.

Epson’s unique inkjet printing technologies allowed Mr Yamamoto full control over his creation process and ensured that the designs were faithfully reproduced with spectacular results.

Mr Yamamoto’s designs on the catwalk

Mr Yamamoto is one of Japan’s most well-known fashion designers. He was the first Japanese designer to have a show in London in 1971. Since then, he has become known for his avant-garde designs, sculptural tailoring and use of bright colours and patterns.

His production of ‘super-shows’ combine fashion with music, dance and entertainment on a large scale and have taken place in locations as varied as Red Square in Moscow, Nehru Stadium in India and Tokyo Dome. His signature designs include a Tokyo pop jumpsuit and a one-shoulder knitted piece worn by David Bowie.