For a moment of Zen, literally, during Miami’s hectic Art Basel week, Parodi Costume Collection is previewing its Japanese fashion exhibition “In Praise of Ma: Emptiness and the Space Within.” Pieces by Rei Kawakubo of Comme des Garçons, Issey Miyake and Yohji Yamamoto surround and sprout from a Zen garden installed in the Parodi Costume Institute’s intimate gallery. The calming focal point and clothes’ neutral palette — two identical Comme des Garçons dresses in red and pink velvet from fall 2012 mark the sole shot of color — are a breath of fresh air in this most maximalist of months.
“It was incredibly difficult to select these garments from so many great pieces,” said Annie Dellepiane, who curated the exhibit with founder Francisca Parodi from the collection’s almost 400 pieces of clothing and accessories by avant-garde Japanese designers dating from the Eighties to today. Yamamoto’s spring 1993 deconstructed black cotton knit dress, Comme des Garçons’ spring 1997 “Lumps and Bumps” black and white gingham dress, and Miyake’s 1998 Gunpowder dress collaboration with artist Cai Guo-Qiang are among a dozen looks on display, while others will rotate in during the exhibit’s run until May.
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But the concept of Ma, the space in-between, is as important as the objects on view. Inspired by the kimono tradition of leaving space between the back of the collar and the nape of the neck, the exhibit’s absences and voids are intended for contemplation and a slower absorption of fashion history. “Silent music,” as director and Francisca’s son Gonzalo Parodi put it, quoting Japanese author Junichiro Tanizaki, proves deeply impactful through a mesmerizing vignette of Comme des Garçons’ fall 2014 conceptual, spiral dress coiled like a snake in the zen garden, with only rocks and a custom wool wig for company.
“The Japanese designers were about leaving space between the body and the garment, the Ma,” he said, reflecting on other Japanese principles in relation to the show, such as the passage of time and respecting heritage and ancestors. “When you walk into the show, it’s different. It’s like landing in Tokyo and you realize you are very far.”
Paying homage to Tanizaki’s essay “In Praise of Shadows,” the show explores foundational concepts that define Japanese culture and way of life. In addition to Ma, they are Hi, shadow and concealment; So, essence and rawness, and Ha, rupture and transformation. A gesamtkunstwerk approach (a dress hidden behind a shoji screen, a cluster of pieces hung from a simple bamboo rod, Japanese artist Naoko Ito’s multimedia sculpture Flora aside Miyake’s A-POC “A Piece of Cloth”) helps visitors understand these principles.
Sitting on a gallery bench wrapped in textiles in the Japanese manner, Gonzalo said the higher goal is to explain the philosophy and values behind Japanese fashion design’s process and aesthetics and how their arrival on the fashion scene in the 1980s dramatically detoured from Western civilization.
“These Japanese designers told the West, ‘we aren’t going to come to Paris and be your creatives. We are going to do it our way from here,’” he said, of the age-old DNA at the root of their oeuvre.
Visitors will be able to experience more Japanese culture through upcoming workshops for Zen gardens and calligraphy as well as Japanese whiskey tastings and film screenings. Plans to incorporate sound and periodically comb the Zen garden will also transform the mood of the space, inviting repeat visits to see what’s new.
Parodi Costume Collection will co-curate a follow-up Japanese fashion exhibition for its complete archive of Issey Miyake totaling more than 60 pieces and focusing on his work during the 1990s. It premieres at Kent State University Museum in October 2026.
