We’ve all probably thought about it: what is true love? Does our true love always intertwine perfectly with our life? What if their presence leads to our life falling apart? Would it still make them our true love?
I grew up in Japan where we celebrate a festival – Tanabata – in the name of love. History says that the princess of heaven, Orihime, fell in love with a cow herder named Hikoboshi and they got married. But their love came at a cost. Because they wanted to spend all their time with each other, Orihime who was an exceptional seamstress stopped sewing and Hikoboshi let his cows wander off. The King of Heaven saw this and separated the two lovers with a river running between them. Since then, the two lovers are said to meet on the 7th night of the 7th month at the river, the only night in the year when the curse of the river is lifted. Tanabata is a festival that is celebrated by writing wishes on a piece of colored paper and hanging it on a bamboo tree. This festival commemorating the tale of love always has me thinking about true love and if it really means ‘The Right One’. Being a romantic, this tale inspired me to design a collection depicting love coming together yet being separated.
This collection focuses on Orihime and Hikoboshi being separated by the cursed river and how we celebrate the festival today. The first part of the collection depicts a seamstress and a cow herder coming together, a man and woman coming together, two lovers becoming one. The second part illustrates the lovers being separated by a river. The shapes are that of half men’s clothing and half women’s put together yet divided. The third part of the collection shows how the festival is celebrated today – with colorful strips of paper on a bamboo tree under the stars.
Please note: This is a school project for educational purposes and I do not claim any textual information or photos.
