Izumi Tahara
Biography
Izumi Tahara is a Japanese artist born in Nagoya and currently based in Brussels. Growing up in a household where creativity was a daily presence, she was surrounded by textiles, dressmaking materials, and fashion magazines from an early age.
Le Printemps II / 2025
Her mother, a custom dressmaker, cultivated an environment where craftsmanship and aesthetics were naturally woven into everyday life. This early exposure shaped Izumi’s sensibility and led her to pursue fashion after studying Japanese literature at university.
Florum Morrow / 2025
Her artistic path began with the founding of FUCHSİA by Izumi Tahara in 2002, a vintage-inspired brand that explored tailoring, textiles, and the emotional power of fashion. A pivotal moment came when she discovered vintage Bakelite handbags. This experience awakened a profound fascination with vintage objects—not only for their beauty but also for their histories, imperfections, and the way they carry traces of time.
Scent of Eden / 2025
While collecting vintage costume jewelry, Izumi encountered the work of paruriers, the artisans behind the elaborate jewelry created for haute couture houses. Their craft resonated deeply with her, sparking a desire to reinterpret this tradition through her own lens. Without formal jewelry training, she embraced a self-taught approach that allowed her to explore freely and intuitively.
Blanche Neige / 2024
Her practice expanded in 2006 with a vintage-upcycled clothing line for the Tokyo boutique point de mignon, followed by an upcycled costume jewelry collection in 2011. Over time, jewelry became the core of her artistic expression. In 2025, she transitioned from her fashion label to working under her own name, Izumi Tahara, marking a new focus on contemporary art jewelry.
Jardin Secret Matin / 2022
Izumi’s work is defined by a unique collage-based technique. She begins with vintage celluloid buckles as a foundation, layering elements from antique and mid-century costume jewelry—often pieces by makers such as Weiss, Coro, BSK, and Kramer. She assembles them using drilled connections and brass wire, building sculptural forms that evoke flowers, organic growth, and the interplay of time-worn materials.
Jardin Secret Soir / 2022
Her pieces are handmade in Brussels and reflect themes of memory, inheritance, sustainability, and transformation. By recontextualizing vintage components, Izumi creates jewelry that is both nostalgic and contemporary—a poetic “rebirth” of forgotten treasures.
Petetes Cerises / 2024
Her work celebrates the idea that beauty can be reimagined across generations, and that objects with history can find new life as art.
Dame de la Nuit / 2025
Exhibitions
October 2025 – Florence Biennale 2025
December 2024 – Cluster Contemporary Jewellery 2024
October 2023 – Artistar Jewels, Milano Jewelry Week
October 2022 – Jewelry Drops, Milano Jewelry Week
L'Été / 2023
Awards
June 2024 – PINKOI Design Awards, Craftsmanship Award (Silver Prize)
Le Printemps /2023
