Mike Mintz - CLOSED

For fashion designer Mieko Mintz, fabrics have always been the star of the show. At the age of eight, she started designing her doll’s clothing; by junior high, she was making her own clothes — she didn’t like the ubiquitously popular blue jeans. Rough, coarse material didn’t appeal to Mintz. More inspiring, instead, was soft fabric with material that breathed at the touch and with designs that hinted at a sense of depth.

For that reason, Mintz’s designs feature a mixture of beautiful new and recycled ethnic fabrics from Europe and Asia. India is host to a 400-year-old tradition of an intimate house-to-house gathering of old fabrics. The country showcases fabrics such as silk hand-dye, cotton-and-silk saris, and gorgeous Kantha, which is created by the folk textile tradition of layering and quilting together numerous recycled cloths. Indonesia, Cambodia, Laos and Thailand yields intricate batiks and woven ikats, while Italy offers the sophisticated standards of rayons, cottons, silks and wools. Lastly, Japan contains haori jackets, shibori hand-dyed silk, unique vintage kimonos and kimono fabric.

The variety of the aforementioned fabrics inspires passion in Mintz – she enjoys patching different kinds together and designing their literal and figurative interaction. She plays with each type of material in order to observe its fall and drape, a tactile involvement that often yields unusual but interestingly one-of-a-kind designs. For example, those browsing her kimono-style jacket collection may be surprised to find pieces made of vintage kantha sari. Another equally unexpected but delightful design is the usage of Japanese vintage kimono to produce flowing, dressy gaucho pants.

Seeing as the Mieko Mintz aesthetic embraces the unique fruits of recycling, it comes as no surprise that the designer uses her leftover fabrics to create accessories. Kantha, sari, pleate and kimono material resurface in playful beaded necklaces and intricate origami earrings. The quilted complexity of tiny kantha cloth results in mosaic pins that look like tiny modern art pieces. Hats, scarves, and bags are other additional creations, and range from the colorful patchwork look of kantha and kimono to the more demure silk rayon velvet or micro suede.

Mintz also carries accessories by designers whose designs complement her own. They include Amy Downs’ straw hats, crotcheted hats by Little Journey, Marsako scarves from Japanese designer Mingel, and Eiko Berkowitz’ “Succotash Yarn,” which consists of recycled yarns hand-spun with new yarn from personally-raised sheep.

Mintz, born “Mieko Yoneyama” on the Japanese Island of Kyushu, designed for a big Japanese company for twelve years. The study of the English language brought her to the United States, but her passion for design in creative Manhattan has kept her there ever since. She currently operates in SoHo, and also runs an online store.

For those who enjoy designs steeped in rich cultural tradition and the sheer joy of tactile sensation, Mieko Mintz holds the key.