Fugahum's Fashion Country

Artist Akiyoshi Mishima and fashion designer Asuka Yamamoto invented the imaginary country of Fugahum to serve as a conceptual basis for their brand of the same name. Mishima is the director of art unit Enlightenment and Yamamoto formerly worked as a patterner for Yohji Yamamoto Femme, making this duo a striking fusion of fine art and fashion. Each of their equally conceptual collections adhere to thematic chapters in the fictional country's history, with spring/summer '09 marking the era of the "Gradated Kingdom."

The lush collection is a play on gradients with fractal patterns, old-world pictorials and groovy shaman prints featured on assymetrical dresses for women and jackets for men. The techie shaman print comes from an installation by Mishima, where a touch-sensitive screen of an old-world fortune-telling map emits flashes of color when glow-stick stones are placed on it.

Mishima and Yamamoto also enlisted the help of jewelry designer Bumi to create two limited editions of the hand-carved Fugahum cuff bracelet. The most striking piece of the collection is a skirt-suit of printed denim, which undulates with giant pleats and folds, but still manages to look completely flattering. Fugahum is one "country" to put on your must-visit list—just steer clear of the pesky cultured invaders.

—Misha Janette