Dai Fujiwara

Dai Fujiwara is a Japanese fashion designer and creative director. He served as the creative director of Issey Miyake from 2006 to 2011. He is known for integrating mathematical and industrial engineering concepts into fashion design, most notably through the A-POC ("A Piece of Cloth") system co-created with Issey Miyake. His tenure at the brand was the subject of critical analysis for its use of geometry and scientific methodology in garment construction. He studied traditional Chinese painting at the Central Academy of Fine Arts in Beijing and later attended Tama Art University (Department of Design, textiles), graduating with a design degree.

Career Issey Miyake (1994–2011) Fujiwara joined the Miyake Design Studio in 1994. In 1998, he began collaborating with founder Issey Miyake on the A-POC project. This system utilized computer-programmed industrial knitting machines to create continuous tubes of fabric that consumers could cut into garments without sewing, a process that earned the Good Design Grand Award in 2000. Fashion critic Suzy Menkes reviewed the collection for The New York Times under the title "Designers Outline a New Geometry", analyzing how the team used topology to transform flat 2D shapes into 3D garments.

DAI&Co (2012–present) After leaving Issey Miyake in 2011, Fujiwara founded his own firm, DAI&Co. He has since directed research-based exhibitions, such as "Color-hunting" (2013) at 21_21 Design Sight, where he led a team to capture colors from nature and wildlife for design applications. The Metropolitan Museum of Art holds a 1999 A-POC ensemble in its Costume Institute collection.

In 2021, the Hong Kong Design Institute Gallery presented a retrospective titled Dai Fujiwara: The Road of My Cyber Physical Hands.

Awards

2000: Good Design Grand Award (for A-POC)