My Swisstainable Journey: Kazu Huggler. We accompany the Zurich designer on her sustainable journey.
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Intro
Kazu handles traditions and resources with great care. A Swiss designer with Japanese roots, she unpicks kimonos that already have their own story to tell, to give them a new lease of life. In doing this, she is guided by nature and inspired time and time again by Switzerland.
Kazu Huggler. One life between two cultures.
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Sustainability as an obligation.
Kazu's entire creative endeavour is driven by sustainability. Speaking about her work, the fashion designer says: “Harmony breeds beauty. Harmony with nature and the changing of the seasons.” She believes that stylish clothing is part of this harmony. It has the function of reinforcing and emphasising a person’s intrinsic nature and bringing it into harmony with the environment.
Zurich, the source of harmony
In her work, Kazu uses pre-worn kimonos as her source material for fresh creations. She discovered her vocation in Zurich. “I have found the essence of what is honest for me: harmony. All we need is harmony. Zurich gives me the space to find this harmony.”
Art as inspiration and guiding principle
Kazu feels great affinity with art. Kazu Huggler's grandfather, Arnold Huggler, was a sculptor and artist in Zurich. Her mother, Miwako Huggler, was a dealer in modern art from Japan for the Swiss market. As a result, Kazu Huggler grew up in an environment in which art and the coexistence of two cultures were always present.
Zurich gives me the freedom to find my balance.
The places that mean most to Kazu.
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Within touching distance of the sky
Kazu has grown fond of many places in Zurich. One such spot is Rieterpark, a green oasis in which she often spends time. As well as its gigantic trees, she loves the fields of wild garlic that grow in the park in spring.
Outside the city, there are two areas in particular that Kazu has fallen for: Her Swiss home town, Brienz. Her grandfather Arnold Huggler grew up by Lake Brienz, in a woodcarving dynasty. As a young artist and sculptor, he emigrated to Paris, where he met Kazu's grandmother, who was from Zurich. Together, they lived in Paris and then Zurich. Kazu says: “I love Lake Brienz, it has such mystical qualities!”
Kazu also loves the little village of Avers-Juf. Located at 2,100 metres above sea level, it is the highest-situated European settlement to be inhabited all year round. For Kazu, heaven is never so close as here.
The colour of Lake Brienz never ceases to fascinate me. It changes constantly.
Kazu's vocation.
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The fashion label KAZU is driven by a mission to enable customers to express harmony and respect through their clothing, both for themselves and for their environment. The fashion designer achieves this by tailoring predominantly Japanese silks, which are decorated with wonderful motifs of nature and rich symbols, in European styles. This is how she unites the cultural heritages of her two homelands, allowing her eastern and western customers alike access to the other continent's aesthetic and textile art.
In my collections, I unite the cultures of my two homelands.
Kazu in the museum.
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From runway to art museum
Kazu’s passion for art is a source of inspiration for her fashion label. Her creativity with textiles has already been showcased in art museums on many occasions, through live shows as well as exhibitions. In fact, every relevant art museum in the city of Zurich has already shown her creations.
