KUMI SAITO PHOTOGRAPHY #3 - ELEY KISHIMOTO

Join this panel discussion celebrating the launch of KUMI SAITO PHOTOGRAPHY #3 - ELEY KISHIMOTO, Patron Saints of Patterns, the third book in the series featuring the work of the renowned photographer Kumi Saito. This book gives us a glimpse behind the scenes of the much-loved fashion brand ELEY KISHIMOTO, documenting studio life alongside catwalks, products, and candid backstage images.

A regular feature at fashion shows and events, Kumi became the in-house photographer for ELEY KISHIMOTO in 2001. Her images feature in the brands look books and in countless editorials about the company. She was ever present, Mark Eley commented “Even at events where she wasn’t in charge of shooting, Kumi was always with us,” when reflecting on the time they spent together as one big family.

Kumi Saito is a London-based Japanese photographer who passed away in December 2020 from cancer. Her work focuses on fashion, lifestyle, portraiture and more. She was a well-known photographer who contributed to many Japanese magazines, fashion brands, department stores, and a wide range of media. Born in Yamagata, Japan in 1962, Kumi studied photography at Kuwasawa Design School in Tokyo before working as an assistant for Minsei Tominaga and Studio Ebis, etc. She moved to London in 1994.

The host

Terry Newman writes about fashion, art, and culture. Books include Legendary Authors and the Clothes they Wore, Legendary Artists and the Clothes they Wore, and the pop fashion-biography series Harry Styles and the Clothes he Wears which was followed by Rihanna, Billie Eilish, Taylor Swift, and Beyonce and the Clothes she Wears. She worked for over 15 years during the '90s/2000s as a journalist, stylist and TV presenter and was employed at magazines and newspapers including i-D, Self Service, Attitude, The Guardian, and The Times. She currently lectures at Regents University, London and is a VL at The University for the Creative Arts and The University of West England. She lives in London with her husband and two sons.

The panel

Mark Eley and Wakako Kishimoto founded their London-based brand ELEY KISHIMOTO in 1992. Mark Eley (born in Wales, 1968) graduated from the University of Brighton in 1990 with a BA in fashion and woven textiles. Wakako Kishimoto (born in Hokkaido Japan, 1965) moved to London after studying at Joshibi Junior College of Art and Design in Tokyo and graduated from Central Saint Martins in 1992 with a BA and an MA in fashion print. After first meeting in 1989, while interning in New York, they married and founded Eley Kishimoto, making prints for other designers including Alexander McQueen, Hussein Chalayan, Jil Sander and Marc Jacobs. They launched their first womenswear collection in 1996. The company has also created numerous products featuring their print designs, such as wallpaper, glassware and crockery, launched from their own brand or made in collaboration with different industries.

Mina Wakatski is the UK Correspondent at the influential daily Japanese fashion newspaper Senken Shimbun and has worked as a fashion journalist for over 30 years. She is also Co-founder of Parsnips Archive, an independent publisher based in London dedicated to producing books on fashion, culture and lifestyle. As a close friend of Kumi Saito, Mina has edited KUMI SAITO PHOTOGRAPHY #3 - ELEY KISHIMOTO, Patron Saints of Patterns alongside producing the other volumes in the series “HAVE I MET YOU BEFORE? LONDON STREET STYLE FROM FASHION WEEK 2001-2018” and Lanka- French Patisserie and Ceylon Tea, each showcasing Kumi’s photography.

Dennis Nothdruft is Head of Exhibitions at the Fashion and Textile Museum. He has led the exhibitions team at the Museum since it was founded by Zandra Rhodes in 2003 and previously spent many years working as a design assistant in Zandra Rhodes's studios in both San Diego and London. He has lectured widely on many aspects of fashion and textiles and has authored several books including Zandra Rhodes: 50 Fabulous Years in Fashion, How to Draw like a Fashion Designer, How to Draw Vintage Fashion and Kaffe Fassett: the Artist’s Eye.

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Each event ticket includes a glass of fizz and entry to the current exhibition Andy Warhol: The Textiles. Copies of KUMI SAITO PHOTOGRAPHY #3 - ELEY KISHIMOTO, Patron Saints of Patterns will be available to purchase in the museum shop.