A bridge between Sardinia and Japan, united by fashion and the art of calligraphy. This is the latest idea of the forty-one-year-old designer from Cagliari Filippo Grandulli, from which his latest collection was born, in collaboration with the Japanese artist Tontoku Amagai, known throughout the world. He called it Ikigai, his latest collection, a Japanese word that means a concept: «The reason for existing, that impulse that pushes us to find beauty and fulfillment in everyday life», he says enthusiastically.

The clothes, applauded at the last Paris Fashion Week, combine Sardinian costumes with kimonos, changing, deconstructing: «The collaboration with Tontoku Amagai was born thanks to social media. I saw his profile, with great brush strokes he creates magic».

Following the success of his previous collaboration with Japanese photographer SAI, which saw his shots of a nocturnal, post-rain Tokyo transformed into silk prints, Grandulli continues to deepen his bond with the Land of the Rising Sun.

With the Japanese ideograms Tontoku Amagai wrote profound concepts that reach everyone: “love”, “strength”, “blessing”, “good omen”, and many others. «I go to Japan once a year, for me it is a breath of fresh air, there I have always found a spirit of collaboration and enthusiasm. It is a land where beauty reveals itself in the unexpected, like a temple inside a skyscraper. I was struck by the respect for others, a value that I feel we have in common. There is a special bond between Sardinia and Japan, we are also two blue zones, that is, two important places for longevity, with record-breaking centenarians».

The photos of the dresses are real portraits, works by Daniele Coppi, curator of the image of the Grandulli brand, and her life partner. Tontoku Amagai holds exhibitions in New York and Madrid, and this time she has created three unpublished works, transformed into prints on fabrics. Even the materials are not left to chance: «We chose a very light fabric, treated with a crumpled effect, which really resembles paper in sight and touch».

The clothes, explains Grandulli, «reinterpret some volumes of the Sardinian tradition, the abundance of the skirt, the geometry of the shirt, and blend them with the minimalist Japanese harmony».