Fashioning the Future of Japan's Textile Traditions

Japan is home to a richly historied and regionally diverse culture of fashion and textile arts, encompassing iconic styles and unique techniques for weaving, dyeing, embroidery, mending, and more. As Japan’s kimono and textile industry experiences major transformation amid changing tastes and the rise of fast fashion, designers and craftspeople around the world seek to carry these traditions into the future with fresh relevance.

In this virtual discussion with designers Hiroyuki Murase of suzusan and Sara Sakanaka of Considered Objects, moderated by Boston-based kimono stylist Ara Mahar, we will hear the stories behind two noteworthy up-and-coming fashion labels and explore how they thoughtfully honor generations of tradition through contemporary practices that span Japan, the U.S., and Europe.

About the Speakers

Hiroyuki Murase - Panelist

Hiroyuki Murase is the Creative Director of suzusan, a Japanese lifestyle and fashion brand that reinterprets the over 400-year-old tradition of Arimatsu Shibori for contemporary living. As a fifth-generation member of a family dedicated to this craft, he combines traditional artisanal knowledge with modern design to create textiles, fashion, and home collections that are exhibited and sold internationally. His work explores how cultural heritage can remain relevant through innovation rather than preservation alone, positioning craftsmanship as a living and evolving practice. Through collaborations with designers, cultural institutions, universities, and industry leaders around the world, Murase advocates for a new vision of Japanese luxury—one rooted in authenticity, history, sustainability, and continuous innovation.

Sara Sakanaka - Panelist

Sara Sakanaka is an artist, designer, and founder of Considered Objects, a New York–based practice exploring memory, repair, and material culture through heirloom textiles. Inspired by her Japanese heritage, she creates one-of-a-kind garments and textile works from vintage kimonos, artisanal fabrics, and reclaimed remnants, extending the life of materials through hand stitching, visible repair, and thoughtful reconstruction.

Founded in 2021, Considered Objects emerged from a re-evaluation of Sakanaka’s creative practice and a desire to slow the pace of fashion. Rather than producing seasonal collections, the studio works with existing materials, honoring the histories embedded within each textile while embracing repair, transformation, and the natural irregularities that make every material unique. Each piece is created in limited quantities or as a one-of-a-kind work, reflecting a commitment to craftsmanship, longevity, and thoughtful consumption.

Raised in Los Angeles by a first-generation Japanese family, Sakanaka grew up surrounded by traditions of making, mending, and resourcefulness. Those experiences continue to inform her work, which views clothing and textiles as vessels of memory rather than disposable commodities. Through Considered Objects, she recontextualizes forgotten materials into contemporary forms that honor both their history and future, cultivating a slower, more intentional relationship with the objects we choose to wear and live with.

Ara Mahar - Moderator

Ara Maher is a Certified Kimono Instructor and the founder of Kimono Seikatsu, a business they established more than a decade ago to share the beauty and traditions of Japanese clothing with others. Studying kimono since 2012 in both the United States and Japan, Ara became an instructor at the Boston Kimono Academy WAGOKORO and has since participated in kimono dressing competitions, presented lectures, and taught both private and public classes. In 2014, they founded the Massachusetts branch of Kimono de Jack, which has brought together New England's kimono community through regular meetups and events for over a decade. Ara is passionate about keeping kimono a living tradition, dedicating their free time to teaching, wearing, and sharing kimono with the goal of inspiring as many people as possible to discover the joy of traditional Japanese clothing.