Maverick Tokyo designer twins high-tech, tradition

TOKYO, March 15 (Reuters) - Maverick designer Emiko Miki married high-tech with tradition in her latest fashion collection, which she says showcases what Japan's got to offer.

Miki, who says she refuses to follow European fashion trends, sent Japanese models down the catwalk at the Tokyo Collection on Thursday in kimono-inspired couture featuring the gadgets such as portable video screens.

Having worked as a computer graphics creator and a kimono designer, the U.S.-educated Miki told Reuters she wanted to deliver a uniquely Japanese product.

"I think high-tech is something unique to Japan and when I am carrying a gadget overseas, people love it because I'm Japanese and they think the high-tech stuff that I carry matches me. That's how I got my inspiration," she said.

Miki said she ignored suggestions to use Western models, preferring to stick with the "Japanese-ness" theme.

Using rich brocades, silks, satins and velvets, Miki crafted figure-hugging cocktail dresses with a retro feel that were a fitting counterfoil for her gadget-studded accessories.

A charcoal gray kimono-style dress, patterned with colorful dragons, was twinned with a slim, futuristic backpack fitted with a TV screen that beamed psychedelic images.

TV monitors were was also used to adorn handbags ranging from elegant clutches to oversized totes in metallic colors.

The collection is part of Japan Fashion Week, a couture extravaganza started two years ago by the government and the fashion industry to promote made-in-Japan labels overseas.

Japan's Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry has put up funds for the shows this time round, so designers need only cover half the cost of their marquee slots.

The government hopes to eventually end its backing of the event and give way to private sponsors, similar to the set up for the London and New York fashion weeks.

Japan Fashion week began on Monday. Designers hope the event will help dress up Tokyo's image as a global style capital.

The city is better known for its trendy youth culture and obsession with luxury brands, but homegrown contemporary designers rarely show outside Japan, unlike in previous decades when Yohji Yamamoto, Kenzo Takada and Issey Miyake reigned in the world's fashion capitals.