A brief visit to a high-end mall here was all it took for Japanese designer Atsushi Nakashima to decide that he wanted to incorporate traditional Indian embroidery in his art.
Nakashima was struck by the fact that the mall, like many others anywhere in the world, had international brands like Louis Vuitton but it also housed stores showcasing traditional Indian designs on the top floor.
"In Japan, although we have the wonderful attire in the form of the kimono, it is no longer worn everyday. It was interesting for me to see how traditional Indian crafts, prints and silhouettes were still alive," Nakashima, whose autumn-winter collection was showcased Friday at the Lotus Make-Up India Fashion Week here, told PTI.
Having travelled to several countries, he said he admired their unique design traditions. But with Indian designs, he said he was "jolted into a wow".
"In India, I really felt a spark with all the traditional crafts, and as a designer I look forward to seeing how I can interpret Indian embroidery into my designs."
The 40-year-old designer, who began his career working with French designer Jean Paul Gaultier in 2004, launched his own brand seven years later in 2011.
Since then, he has showcased his designs at home as well as internationally. He won the third DHL Designers Award, a recognition that helps young fashion design talents to expand their business into new markets.
His last show was in Milan.
Nakashima's designs stand out particularly because of the gender-neutral prints and silhouettes, and his new collection, inspired by the music of the 60s, is no different.
He "deliberately" shifts away from the historical fashion trend that required women to be "ultra-feminine" on the ramp, restricting them to skirts.
"But as fashion evolved, we saw women wearing other kinds of bottoms as well. So, there is a move towards a more unisex approach towards fashion and I have tried to incorporate that too," he said.
With roomy contours in pastel shades and psychedelic prints, Nakashima said his designs are as open to interpretation by women as they are by men.
His artistic style is also defined by a nuanced fusion of both Japanese and western elements.
He said he tried to drift away from the "rigid" Japanese structure of the clothes to more "fluid" western silhouettes.
That is not to say that he has left his traditions behind.
To make the conventionally "square-ish" kimono sleeves flow freely, he uses layerings of different materials as well as colours.
"I try to create something that looks like western wear but feels like it has evolved from a kimono. The sleeves fall like a western wear but when you put it on, you realise it comes on as Japanese wear," he said.
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