Yuima Nakazato's Solo Exhibition 'GLACIER' Opens at Oulu Art Museum in Finland

## Yuima Nakazato's 'GLACIER' Exhibition Opens in Finland

Fashion designer Yuima Nakazato's solo exhibition, 'GLACIER,' is currently on display at the Oulu Art Museum in Finland. The exhibition runs for approximately five months, from May 22, 2026, to October 11, 2026.

This follows Nakazato's 2024 exhibition 'Beyond Couture' held in Calais, France, and stands as his second major solo exhibition in Europe. The event is hosted with support from the Oulu 2026 European Capital of Culture and the EU-Japan Fest. Additionally, portions of the exhibition are scheduled to tour to the Sapporo International Art Festival 2027, beginning in January 2027.

Yuima Nakazato is the only fashion designer from Japan to consistently participate as an official member of the Paris Haute Couture Fashion Week, marking his 10th anniversary this year. His innovative use of materials and techniques has garnered global acclaim, including the permanent acquisition of his past couture works by the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York this May.

While fashion is rarely positioned within the context of contemporary art, this exhibition is garnering attention for being one of the few solo showcases of a fashion designer in a contemporary art museum. Nakazato, who is also active as a photographer, collaborated with guest curator Pasi Ravina to construct a space that layers his photographs with the garments born from those inspirations.

Furthermore, demonstrating his commitment to nurturing the next generation, Nakazato is collaborating with Aalto University to host a lecture for students themed 'The Future of Fashion.'

### Comments from Guest Curator Pasi Ravina
To prepare for this exhibition, Nakazato visited Hailuoto and Inari in Finland. The nature of the Arctic Circle provided significant inspiration for the 'GLACIER' collection presented at the Paris Haute Couture Fashion Week in the summer of 2025. Nakazato's clothing sits between sculpture and fashion art. Through bio-engineered materials and shifting structures, he redefines garments as 'evolving organisms' rather than fixed objects. His fashion art transforms haute couture from mere luxury into a medium for social and environmental reflection.

### Comments from Yuima Nakazato
This exhibition was designed to weave together the memories collected through my travels—expressed through photography—with the art of garments that humans can wear. 'INHERIT' was inspired by the shock of seeing piles of discarded clothes in Kenya; 'FADE' was inspired by wandering the Sahara Desert in Egypt; and 'GLACIER' is based on the re-experience of the essence of clothing as a means to protect the human body in Finland's extreme cold. These three different worlds are projected into the space.