KEY POINTS:
She counts some of the most influential, creative and respected designers and artists in the world among her friends, mentors and employers. People like fashion designer Issey Miyake, director Francis Ford Coppola, photographer Irving Penn and composer Philip Glass.
Yet when it comes to her own style, Eiko Ishioka - costume designer for the magical and death-defying Cirque du Soleil show, Varekai, now playing in Auckland - prefers everything as plain as possible.
From as early as two years old, Ishioka says she was noticing elements of design around her.
"I found nothing appealing about typical pastel coloured, frill-trimmed children's clothing. My mother tells me that people used to say, 'Oh, look at that cute boy'. I was quite an unusual child."
After attending an arts university in her native Japan, Ishioka was encouraged to head overseas to work by one her classmates, Issey Miyake, who was already experiencing international success in his own field.
From the 1970s through to the 1990s, Ishioka wore nothing but her buddy, Miyake's clothes in her new hometown of New York, where she'd started taking on design projects outside of graphic design, dabbling in set and costume design.
"People would often follow me to ask about my clothing," Ishioka recalls, "I was a great walking advertisement for him!"
However in the 1990s this all changed.
"Around the time I began working on Francis Ford Coppola's movie, Bram Stoker's Dracula, I somehow lost all interest in how I was dressing myself - perhaps somewhat like a chef who has little interest in eating his own concoctions," Ishioka explains.
"I became more concerned with others knowing me as a person and as an artist, not for the fashions I sported. I began dressing like a ninja - almost always in black, putting comfort first, drawing no attention to what I wore throughout the day."
And it's the same to this day. While her costume design is often radical, Ishioka will doubtless be flitting around in the background, wearing no-name, no-brand and attracting zero attention.
"Perhaps this is because when I am deep into the costume design for a film or stage production, I feel the need to be free from design in my personal life."
Who are your favourite designers?
My interest in design lies more in architecture, film and the like. But if I had to choose, Issey Miyake.
Any design-related obsessions?
I suppose you could say I am obsessed with creating work that has never been seen before. When I design, I repeat it to myself often, like a mantra.
Who or what inspires you?
Not just professional artists but ordinary people in everyday encounters, nature, travel and history. I've travelled to over 40 countries and my experiences have left me with the sense that the whole world is "my studio". My parents, who exposed me to many of life's great treasures and nurtured my creative spirit, have also been a tremendous source of inspiration to me.
Whose wardrobe would you most like to raid?
No one's. I want to be free of designer labels, or associations with other people's tastes.
Is there anything you'd never wear?
I would never wear anything that is deliberately meant to make my body look sexy. I would also avoid anything ostentatious, or clothing that tries to prove how wealthy the wearer is or anything that serves as a blatant advertisement for a brand. I also avoid trends like the plague, and prefer timeless, understated looks.
Most treasured design items?
My all-white space, my light-filled view and my golden Oscar [Ishioka won this for Dracula]. My studio and living space in New York City is completely minimal. My walls, floor and furniture are all white, or monotone. I have no decorative objects on display, no rugs and nothing of colour that distracts the eye or imagination. The defining feature of my home is the expansive view I have of Central Park and upper Manhattan. For me, being in this kind of space brings stillness of the mind, and allows new creative ideas to flow. I do not want any decorative elements to jam up my creative process.
When you were at school, you wore ...
In my teens, there is one outfit I absolutely adored: a circle skirt for weekend tea time my parents made for me. It was a simple, dark blue skirt with a single lemon tree branch painted on it. My father designed it, and my mother hand dyed and sewed the skirt. My father was a graphic designer, and my mother was quite influenced by his work, so I'm sure my styling was a product of their sensibilities.
How does designing costumes affect your own style?
The goals at work and in my private life are completely different, so one does not influence the other. Just once have I designed a piece for myself, when I was nominated for the Academy Award for Bram Stoker's Dracula. There is a scene in the film when Dracula wears a blood-red satin lounge coat, with an impossibly long train. For my big night at the Oscars, I designed a similar outfit, with black satin on the outside and blood-red satin on the inside. When my name was announced, the red lining revealed itself as I ran down the aisle. I felt like Dracula's daughter.
