The Parodi Costume Collection presents In Praise of Ma: Emptiness and the Space Within. An exhibition that spotlights how Japanese designers in the early 1980s radically reshaped fashion. Rei Kawakubo, Issey Miyake, and Yohji Yamamoto rejected Western conventions, creating fluid, movement-driven silhouettes and using black and neutral fabrics in raw or distressed textures. Their ground-zero approach to design grew out of conceptual aesthetic principles that are central to Japanās cultural identity and daily life.
Curated by Annie Dellepiane and Francisca Parodi. InĀ In Praise of Ma, the exhibition examines four key concepts: first, Ma (é), the space in-between; then Hi (ē§), shadow and concealment, next, So (ē“ ), essence and rawness; and finally, Ha (ē “), rupture and transformation. Garments are displayed in installations inspired by East Asian culture and Zen Buddhism, forming a unified artwork. A Gestalt that proposes indeterminacy, emptiness, and contemplation as alternative modalities to fashion curation.
Director Gonzalo Parodi says: āIn Praise of Ma is an exhibition that aims at representing layers of beauty not easily accessible through conventional fashion curation methods, hoping to inspire a mystical pause- what Junāichiro Tanizaki refers to as a āmoment of trance.ā The conceptual structure underlying the works of Kawakubo, Miyake and Yamamoto are presented as messages that expose beauty in the precariousness and ambiguity of materiality, and the infinite possibilities of garments extending in space and time. Parodi Costume Collection pays tribute to this āsilent music,ā as it invites its audience to share a slower experience of fashion history, one that lies somewhere beyond the boundaries of language and immediate rational thought.”
Through Japanese aesthetics, the garments and artwork invite viewers to see differently. They focus on the relationship between object and environment, not just garment and body. By revealing how form, space, opacity, and time shape beauty, these iconic designers redefined fashion.
Contemporary artist Naoko ItoāsĀ FloraĀ (2009) engages the garments through its exploration of transience, rupture, fragility, and in-between space. Visually striking and conceptually aligned, the sculpture unifies the exhibition as a cohesive body of work.
āThis exhibition merges clothing and environment in a way that transcends traditional perceptions of fashion. By seeing clothing not just as something to be worn, but also as an object to be observed, viewers embark on the beginning of a journey. One that invites you to question, contemplate, and appreciate the unknown, and the space that exists between it.ā says curator Annie Dellepiane
The exhibition functions like a Japanese koanāa paradoxical Zen riddle that provokes contemplation. By presenting clothing outside the body, it transcends rational thought and draws viewers closer to its mystical essence and beauty.
āKawakubo, Miyake and Yamamoto reclaimed fashion’s essence by producing garments that articulate the poetics of abstraction, freedom and fluidity. Their process demonstrates integrity and transparency, grounded in deeply spiritual values. To experience fashion as a form of meditation and renewal is more relevant today than ever.ā adds curator, Francisca Parodi
December 2 ā 7 Press/Vip Opening
General Admission Dec, 2025 ā May 2026
Parodi Costume Collection: 276 NE 27th St, Miami, FL 33137, United States
Parodi Costume Collection and its nonprofit sister, Parodi Costume Institute, preserve, research and exhibit fashion history. They provide educational programs, workshops, and internships for university and high school students, teaching collection management, restoration, and exhibition staging.
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34th issue of KEYI MAGAZINE with JEFF MILLS on the cover
