V&A — Fashion and the Floating World
We were commissioned by the V&A to design a book showcasing their collection of Japanese woodblock prints.
These prints of the late eighteenth and nineteenth century played a vital role in the vibrant fashion culture of the Edo period; they allowed information about the latest fashion to circulate and offered inspiration for those eager to emulate the celebrity actors, courtesans, geisha and other stylish men and women they depict. Today these ukiyo-e, ‘pictures of the floating world’, offer us a vivid view of the culture of entertainment, excitement, style and glamour that developed in the bustling urban centres of pre-modern Japan.
V&A wanted the book to feel fashion focused, with subtle nods to the material.