Junichi Arai: Talent of Japan's Fabric Industry

Junichi Arai was born in 1932 in Kiryu of Japan. He started doing hand weaving at an early age in his family’s mill, and has since involved in innovative design of fabrics. In the 1970s and 1980s, he collaborated with the renowned fashion designers, such as Issey Miyake, to integrate the innovation of fabrics into fashion design. The unconstrained creation of fabrics brought entirely new materials into fashion, stirred enormous sensation and inspired new origination.

From 1950, Mr. Arai worked on fabrics of plastic film fibers, and produced the effect of both transparency and metallic luster. These fabrics are processed to shield static electricity and become flame retardant, which is synergy of artistry and utility. Works of Junichi Arai accomplish the perfect integration in textile dyeing of traditional crafts, knowledge of modern chemistry, and new technology, thus each of them is full of unsurpassed allure. He calls himself a “Textile Creator”, but is called a “Post-Industrial Expert” and a “Talent of Japan’s Fabric industry”. He and some Japanese avant-garde fashion designers are regarded as the core group for contemporary textile products. His work is included in the permanent collections of many museums including the Victoria and Albert museum London, the Museum of Modern Art New York and the American Craft Museum. He is also a technical consultant to the textile industry.

Video: Xu Yang, CAO Huan