Eiko Ishioka | |
|---|---|
 Eiko Ishioka byBrigitte Lacombe | |
| Born | (1938-07-12)July 12, 1938 Tokyo, Japan |
| Died | January 21, 2012(2012-01-21) (aged 73) Tokyo, Japan |
| Known for | Art direction, costume design, graphic design |
| Spouse | |
| Awards | Grammy Award for artwork,Academy Award for Best Costume Design,Costume Designers Guild Award |
Eiko Ishioka (石岡 瑛子,Ishioka Eiko; July 12, 1938 – January 21, 2012) was a Japaneseart director,costume designer, andgraphic designer known for her work in stage, screen,advertising, andprint media.[1][2]
Noted for her advertising campaigns for the Japaneseboutique chainParco, she collaborated with sportswear companyDescente in designing uniforms and outerwear for members of the Swiss, Canadian, Japanese, and Spanish teams at the2002 Winter Olympics inSalt Lake City[3] (in collaboration with graphic designerRafael Esquer)[4] and was the director of costume design for theopening ceremony of the2008 Summer Olympics inBeijing.[1] She won theAcademy Award for Best Costume Design for her work inFrancis Ford Coppola's 1992 romantic-horror filmBram Stoker's Dracula, which was based on Bram Stoker's 1897novel, and received aposthumous nomination in the same category for her work inTarsem Singh's 2012 fantasy comedy filmMirror Mirror.[5]
Ishioka was born inTokyo to a commercialgraphic designer father and a housewife mother. Although her father encouraged her interest in art as a child, he discouraged her desire to follow him into the business.[6] She graduated from theTokyo National University of Fine Arts and Music.[7] As director of costume design for opening ceremony of 2008 Beijing Olympics, Ishioka found inspiration from art pieces such as Greek statues and African helmets. As a result, a large number of costumes that are able to visualize fabric texture, actions, and aura were designed under her hands.[vague][8]
Ishioka began her career with the advertising division of the cosmetics companyShiseido in 1961 and won Japan's most prestigious advertising award four years later. Ishioka was discovered by Tsuji Masuda, who created ParcoIkebukuro from the ailing Marubutsu Department Store. When Parco did well and expanded to aShibuya location in 1973, Ishioka designed Parco Shibuya's first 15-second commercial for the grand opening with "a tall, thin black woman, dressed in a black bikini, dancing with a very small man in a Santa Claus outfit". She became deeply involved in Parco's image. Her last Parco campaign involvedFaye Dunaway as "face of Parco" wearing black, on a black chair against a black wall, and peeling and eating an egg in one minute as "a film for Parco."[9][10] She became its chief art director in 1971; her work there is noted for several campaigns featuring Faye Dunaway and for its open and surreal eroticism. In 1983, she ended her association with Parco and opened her own design firm.
In 2003, she designed the logo for theHouston Rockets.[11][12]
In 1985, directorPaul Schrader chose Ishioka to be the production designer for his 1985 filmMishima: A Life in Four Chapters. Her work went on to win her a special award for artistic contribution at theCannes Film Festival that year.[13] Ishioka's work withFrancis Ford Coppola on the poster for the Japanese release ofApocalypse Now led to their later collaboration in Coppola'sDracula, which earned Ishioka anAcademy Award for Best Costume Design.[7] Ishioka also worked on four ofTarsem Singh's films, beginning with the Jennifer Lopez-starrerThe Cell in 2000, and includingThe Fall,Immortals, andMirror Mirror.[1]
Ishioka also designed costumes for theater and the circus. In 1999, she designed costumes forRichard Wagner'sDer Ring des Nibelungen at theDutch Opera. She designed costumes forCirque du Soleil:Varekai, which premiered in 2002, as well as forJulie Taymor'sBroadway musicalSpider-Man: Turn Off the Dark, which premiered in 2011. She also directed the music video forBjörk's "Cocoon" in 2002 and designed costumes for the "Hurricane" tour of singerGrace Jones in 2009.[5]
Ishioka's work is included in the permanent collection of museums throughout the world, including theMuseum of Modern Art in New York.
Ishioka won aGrammy Award for Best Recording Package for her artwork forMiles Davis's albumTutu in 1987 and anAcademy Award for Best Costume Design forBram Stoker's Dracula in 1992.[14] She also received twoTony Award nominations in 1988 for the stage and costume design of the Broadway playM. Butterfly.[15] In 1992, she was selected to be a member of the New YorkArt Directors Club Hall of Fame. In 2012, she was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Costume Design forMirror Mirror and won theCDG Award for Excellence in Fantasy Film.[1] On July 12, 2017, she was honored with aGoogle Doodle.[16]
The 1990 bookEiko by Eiko collects her work in art direction and graphic design.[17] A second book,Eiko on Stage, followed in 2000.[18]
Ishioka died ofpancreatic cancer inTokyo on January 21, 2012.[19] She married her companion Nicholas Soultanakis in hospital a few months before her death.[7]
Her archive has been given to UCLA Library Special Collections.[20]
