NORITAKA TATEHANA have been studying about Japanese culture after Edo period, in particular Japanese fashion such as kimono and oiran (courtesans). He directed his attention on oiran’s high-platform geta. They were about 40 cm high and were used to symbolize their ranks. He combined these high-platform geta with the modern shoes and came up with the idea of the so called heel-less shoes. He personally doesn’t have the feeling that he took the heels off. He says, it’s an evolved figure of the platform shoes.
After the World War II, kimono and geta are seldom worn in our everyday life. He feels that not only Japanese fashion but culturaladvancement in general is at a standstill. What he wants to express is something that could be seen as a bridge between the tradition and the present. He believes strongly that traditional Japanese manufacturing will continue to stay alive and progress.
Designer Website: www.noritakatatehana.com
