Originally posted by Fashion Wire Daily@ October 15, 2003 - Paris
Palpitation's Black Heartbeat
By Karl Treacy
"These are my hands and this is my face," said Masami Oba, pointing to a rather spooky installation of dark handknit and lace dresses surrounded by a multitude of severed hands and a death mask on a figure lying on the ground.
The delicately featured, 27-year-old Japanese designer was showcasing an exhibition of her clothing at a famous artist’s squat -- constantly under threat of closure -- on rue de Rivoli in the center of Paris. Her spare, glacial space with a composition in graphic black in the center was in direct contrast to the rest of the building’s cluttered spaces with their color-splattered canvases, walls and occupants.
But for Masami -- recalling certain great Japanese fashion masters -- black is the only color with currency. Earlier, in the rather tidier and typical Parisian apartment building in which she actually lives and generally works across the road, she showed off her small collection of pieces, almost all of them in, surprise, that most somber of shades.
Her line is called Palpitation in honor of the effect she’d like her clothes to have on the hearts of prospective shoppers, and Masami said she always follows the rule that the clothes must always be cut slim and neat along body lines, "but not tight," she insisted.
Thus a slim coat in black or pied-de-coq has a raised collar outlined by another in black based on a men’s tie and rounded fold-down faced pockets. A little jacket with gathered shoulders is incredibly light and papier de soie provides a thick band to an Edwardian shirt hem that might also come buckled like a kilt.
Retailing for 150-350 euros, the line is currently only stocked in a number of stores of the Insect chain in Japan, though recently many French buyers have started to show interest. While the clothes sell to the 20 to 30-year-old market, she also works with private clients she finds by word of mouth, though they tend generally to be women in the 40-50 age bracket "who are looking for something different and interesting."
While all the clothes are made and hand finished locally, Masami’s own personal work is astonishing -- tiny little vest tops in fluffy silk threads, some with hundreds of rocaille beads knit into them, take a week of minute and eye-sight ruining knitting and crochet work. But the results, feather-light and tiny, look like they were spun from fairy hands.
Palpitation: 116, rue de Rivoli, 75001 Paris.
Tel: 33.1.42.33.52.38
I would love to hear more about this designer if anyone has additional info.
