Behind The Brand: Johnathan Hayden
In this new series of articles titled Behind the Brand, I hope to delve deeper into the minds of emerging designers who are shaping their careers in both the East and the West, while also understanding how their lives inspire and shape their work.
All Images Curtsey of Johnathan Hayden
The first designer we chose to profile is the amazing Johnathan Hayden.
Johnathan is an American born designer based in New York City. His incredible life experiences and culturally rich upbringing were the inspirations for his latest collection that was recently presented at Tokyo Fashion Week. This brand new collection incorporates trends and styles from both American and Japanese cultures.
Johnathan Hayden
Johnathan’s father was born to an African American Sergeant and a Japanese woman named Matsuko. According to Johnathan, there has always been a history of a schism within his family.
This animosity stemmed from his father's Japanese siblings’ resentment towards his black grandfather for marrying Matsuko and whisking her away from Japan (and her first husband) to Hawaii, where they relocated with her four children. This displacement birthed a wound that Johnathan says, has never healed.
Johnathan’s Grandmother Matsuko
“Working on this collection and garnering respect from my Japanese relatives made them reach out. I've slowly reconnected with my own father, the relatives I hardly knew, and learn more about the grandmother I have few memories of. She taught me pride in Japanese culture and I wanted the work to be an homage of familial legacy,” says Johnathan, who, unfortunately, lost his grandmother during the course of his graduate studies.
This loss, as well as other ups and downs, lead the designer to take a much-needed vacation, which ended up inspiring his now highly acclaimed Tokyo Fashion Week collection.
“For this collection, it started with going to the Baltics for a month to heal after a very traumatic time during my graduate school studies. I had lost my grandmother Matsuko, I had won the Met's Manus X Machina competition with my work on AR for fashion, yet had to scrap my thesis and start all over. This trip really was about reflecting and meditating in the mountains in Iceland. The way of life that lives in harmony with the land was where everything started. I pulled the colors from a photo I took at a puffin conservation and began to allow the design work essentially be about properly grieving my late grandmother, now that I was done with school,” continued Johnathan.
Johnathan eventually connected with Hiromi Yanagisawa, a highly skilled pattern maker in the Garment District of New York City. Using his own patterns, drapes, and approach to design as a brand, in combination with utilizing her traditional pattern making for kimonos, the duo modernized the tradition into wardrobe separates that feel applicable for today.
“Showing in Tokyo and realizing my team and I had fully manifested this idea to pay homage and make my personal pilgrimage to Japan for my first show didn't hit me until a few days later. The work was well-received, and we're thrilled with how everything turned out and pulled together. To pull that off required prudence and forethought since I'd have no access to my usual resources in the Garment District, should an emergency come up.”
“It affirmed a somewhat existential crisis I was having personally and professionally through this work. Bringing the show to fruition began a healing process of my own familial relationships from a somewhat isolationist residue from my father's side of the family. I feel respected by my family in pursuit of a traditionally "frivolous" career path.”
“In addition, it gave me the confidence to show to some of my people new design alchemy that I struggle to persuade––America has global value and viability. I don't silo the brand messaging away from personal morals––my identity to mix is inherently in my diverse culture. My brand's efforts to harmonize art fashion and technology didn't go unnoticed. People could connect the dots,” explains Johnathan.
When asked about his future in the Asian/Japanese markets, the designer says that his team 100% believes the future of their base resides in Asia.
“The opportunity with a larger middle class makes for a more favorable numbers game rather than fight for a seat at the table for the 1% that can afford the luxury, let alone open to new brands that may not have the social currency of houses yet.”
“We want to continue the collaborations, overlap in the local art scene with its global talent, and propose a new kind of American design that transcends these antiquated ideas of borders that can divide and rob us the celebratory evolution in cultural osmosis.”
When asked if this experience made him feel more connected to his Japanese grandmother’s culture, Johnathan responded with the following:
“I had some time after the show to really explore Tokyo and a brief two days in Hakone for an unforgettably relaxing hot spring holiday. Those moments away from work helped me connect and reflect. I had the privilege of going to The Peace Torii at Hakone Shrine, paid my respects, and wrote a prayer to my grandmother. She would always take me to her Buddhist shrine at home to share translations as she prayed.”
Johnathan says there is so much more beneath the surface in his clothes, and crafting them entails harmonizing ritual and catharsis with whimsy and escapism. He also says that as his brand grows, he will achieve the balance that prompts more self-aware women to feel protected in their vulnerability.
“I think in some ways, my brand is talking about fashion in a different vernacular that tries to bridge art fashion and technology. Finding that common language rather than speaking to these audiences separately takes time to acclimate the interest we have so far, especially for the prospective customer. We are trying new ways to engage the customer in the design process, using a growing database of the common language they use to describe clothing, personal style, and presentation.”
“In many ways, it's grassroots and politics—we want to ask and reevaluate the role of the fashion designer around community and community-building that is inherently sustainable. That's something that can be uniquely leveraged as an American designer.”
“I'm a fourth-generation military brat, and my mother taught in special education with elementary school children. Service and selflessness is a tricky balance to strike when my family and friends cultivate that daily in their personal lives. A creative career can be a somewhat selfish vocation. I feel a responsibility to demand more of myself.”
“I only want to show one collection a year to allow myself the flexibility to make more agile decisions for buyers and custom clientele. I enjoy projects like writing, illustration, and technical design outside of my brand, even more so if it can help a friend I believe in support the work they do in some way. “
“Vacation and time with family out-of-state are imperative to feel connected to those who have sacrificed to get me where I am today––my parents most of all. Preventing burnout for myself and my team is a top priority while maintaining a growing profitable lifeline that can sustain our livelihoods.”
Hayden Family Portrait
Be sure to follow Johnathan on Instagram and check out the video for his amazing show below.
We wish Johnathan the best of luck, and we are sure we will be seeing much more of his exquisite work in the near future.
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Written By Jourdie
Photos courtesy of Johnathan Hayden