Akira Isogawa was born in 1964 in Kyoto, Japan. In his early life, he had an affinity with fabrics and fashion, purchasing his first own item of clothing at 12, and first fashion brand name garment at age 16. Isogawa originally enrolled in Welfare Studies at a Buddhist University in Kyoto, but quit the course before finishing. First embarking to Australia in 1986, he was on a working holiday and became so captivated that, at the age of 21, he moved to Australia to study fashion design at the Sydney Institute of Technology, despite his family 's wishes to remain in Japan and become a public servant. In 1993, only two years after graduating, he founded his fashion label 'Akira ' and opened his first 'Akira Isogawa ' boutique in the exclusive suburb of Woollahra, Sydney. Three years later, Isogawa presented his first major fashion show at Australian Fashion Week Sydney, which he entitled 'New Generation Collection '. 1998 was the biggest year for Akira Isogawa 's fashion career, with his first international show in Paris Fashion Week, 'Botanica '. In that year he started his long standing career creating costumes for the arts, designing costumes for Sydney Dance Company 's production of 'Salome '. A year later, Isogawa received the Australian Designer of the Year award, as well as the Womenswear Designer of the Year at the Australian Fashion Industry Awards. The Akira fashion label also featured in exhibitions such as Fashion of the Year retrospective at Sydney’s Powerhouse Museum and the Tokyo Vogue Exhibition at the Brisbane City Gallery. Over the next three years, Akira Isogawa 's designs featured in over 10 exhibitions in Australia and one internationally, and the label of 'Akira ' had become one of the most well-known Australian fashion labels. In 2005, Isogawa expanded his label, and opened a boutique in Central Melbourne and another in The Strand Arcade, Sydney. He was also honoured for his contribution to Australian Fashion with his picture
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