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In Japan, we have Takigyo, or waterfall meditation, which has been practiced by samurais and Buddhists for centuries. The idea is to purify oneself by meditating under a waterfall. I also know that Christians have similar practice, that when someone is baptized with water, that person is transformed and becomes a new person. This is where I got my inspiration for designing this dress – that water changes things. The pattern on the fabric of my dress will appear when it touches water! The dress will be transformed from a plain white dress to a dress with beautiful arabesque that connects to the heart.
Since two-thirds of our human body is made up of water, I made that connection with the water in baptism. My initial idea was to show blood vessels that course through the body, and finally the heart. This is because to be transformed, or to be reborn, you need to have a change of heart. However, I thought it may be too grotesque to show blood vessels on a dress! So I decided to change it to arabesque design. When I see an arabesque design, I feel like I’m looking at a wall covered with ivy, much like the blood vessels running through our entire body. So you will see that on my dress.
