While learning design and pattern making I often caught myself being afraid of copying something I've seen before and also being afraid of learning basics, since it didn't seem that exciting and was too simple. I am honestly not sure what I was expecting, since you can't make anything new without learning the basics and watching others works. I felt like it was cheating.
But I have stumbled upon a piece of text that made me feel better about copying someone's work (for the sake of learning and with crediting the source) and also about taking enough time to learn the basics.
"There is a precedence for this idea of "copying towards innovation" in the pedagogy of traditional Japanese arts. In flower arrangement and martial arts, students learn the basics by imitating the kata, a single authoritative form.Pupils must first protect the kata, but after many years of study, they break from tradition and separate to make their own kata - a system described in the term shu-ha-ri ("protecting, breaking, and separating")."
From the book "Ametora", David Marx.
I chose Yohji's Yamamoto's suit for no particular reason other than visually liking it and the need to practice making suits. Lots of details, including the T-shirt are estimated, since I only had one photo. I tried to find the runway's year, but couldn't :\ All I know, it was probably taken from the book "たかが服、されど服 ".
