textile design
Threads of Allegory
Client Name
collaboration
Year
2025
Project Details
Textile Design
Project Scope
research residency on Japanese textile techniques and colour
As part of the 2025 World Expo in Osaka, I was selected for a one-month research residency in Kyoto, Japan. With no obligation to produce a finished design outcome within this short timeframe, the focus lay on observation, study, exchange and hands-on experimentation within Japanese textile traditions. During the residency, I concentrated on dyeing and embroidery techniques related to noren flags and kimono.
I worked closely with Tsuyoshi Kato of Katouken Flag Studio, having previously collaborated with him within the Mono Makers Program, where we developed items using hikizome techniques. That work was done remotely, but I was so fascinated that during the residency I could see these techniques in person, experiment with them directly, and gain a deeper understanding of their processes.
Within my own practice, colour gradation and graphic composition are recurring elements. The residency allowed me to study and experiment with hand-dyed bokashi yuzen techniques in a kimono studio, and visiting eleven studios and factories in Kyoto City, Kyotango and Shiga prefecture. The field research covered Tango chirimen, raden, karamiori and silk ribbon weaving, Kyo shishu embroidery, tsuzure handweaving and hikizome dyeing, alongside contemporary weaving and natural dye practices.
Using the needlework sampler as inspiration, I examined ceremonial flags, patterns, colour layering and stitching techniques. The embroidery stitch is taken as a starting point for the abstracted forms within the design. Freestyle embroidery inspired by sashiko and shitsuke nui was combined with noren design and graphic bokashi compositions, keeping traces of hand and process visible as material for future work.
Watch the Documentary
The residency took place in the context of the 2025 World Expo in Osaka, where five selected residents from different European countries explored shared challenges in craft and textile practices across Japan and Europe. Through the theme Artisanal Intelligence, the programme emphasised both the urgency of safeguarding knowledge at risk of disappearing and the potential for creative exchange and innovation within traditional crafts. The residency concluded with an exhibition at Bridge Kyoto and a screening of the documentary at the EU Pavilion, with the exhibition set to tour Europe in 2026.
My sincere thanks go to all the artisans who welcomed us, in chronological order: Okayama Kogei, Marusen, Tango Open Center, Tamiya Raden, Kuska, Mado, Design Tochi, Itoasobi, Nakamura Shisyu, Kawashima Selkon, and Takeshi Nakajima.
Project
Concept and Design
Laura Luchtman, Kukka
Collaborative Partner
Tsuyoshi Kato, Katouken Flag Studio / kiten.kyoto
Textile Sample Production
Okayama Kogei
Photography
Fujii Fumiya
Takeshi Nakajima
Laura Luchtman, Kukka
exhibitions
EU pavilion at World Expo Osaka 2025
Bridge Studio Kyoto
Kunsthal Rotterdam
made possible by
Knotto
European Union
Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands in Japan
