Apparel brand minä founded by designer Akira Minagawa.
1996
mini bag : made from fabric remnants, with the aim of recycling materials; a standard item in each collection, made from seasonal textiles.
1997
Akira Minagawa quit working part-time job at a fish market in order to focus on dressmaking.
egg bag : an egg-shaped bag made from recycled remnants, following the concept of the mini bag. Both the egg and mini bags have remained brand staples ever since.
1998
The atelier moved to Asagaya, Tokyo.
1999
Designed the brand’s first chair, the giraffe chair.
2000
tori bag : a bird-shaped leather bag with feathers shaped like leaves and other natural motifs. Inside the bag, there are three egg-like objets d’art wrapped in leftover cloth.
Opened its first store in a quiet back street of the Shirokanedai residential area in Tokyo.
2002
Began reproduction. With the mission to craft “timeless designs with everlasting value,” started producing dresses using previously released textile designs with a twist of new color and material.
Released cowboy boots in collaboration with StallionBoots, U.S.A.
Released the original lotus stool. (Manufactured by Sakura Seisakusho.)
Released fushi to kakera, products from Maruni Wood Industry, using wood and fabric remnants for Naoto Fukazawa’s Hiroshima Chair.
Began collaboration with Swedish textile manufacture Klippan by providing designs.
Released shoes in collaboration with French ballet shoe company Repetto.
2014
Designed uniforms for the 21st Century Museum of Contemporary Art, Kanazawa.
Released an interior fabric named dop, developed as a durable fabric intended for use over long periods of time. Each side of the fabric is colored differently, so as the surface wears the reverse side color appears — thus the natural aging process can be enjoyed.
Minagawa planned and supervised the POOL project by Ryohin Keikaku Co., which involved transforming excess stock and fabric remnants for resale— “pool” the excess and “loop” (“pool” spelled backwards) them back into society.
2015
Opened a store, koti, meaning “house” in Finnish, at Shonan T-Site, Kanagawa.
Costume design for the theatrical play Throw away Your Books, LetÅfs Get onto the Streets, directed by Takahiro Morita from Mum and Gypsy from the original work by Shuji Terayama; produced by the Tokyo Metropolitan Theatre.
Akira Minagawa designed the capsule collection Bee White for Italian porcelain manufacturer Richard Ginori.
Released collaborative model of Series 7 chairs using dop textiles with Fritz Hansen.
2016
Relocated the flagship store from Shirokanedai to Daikanyama.
Opened call, a new concept store with a café and grocery store, in the Spiral Building, Tokyo
Akira Minagawa was awarded the 2015 Mainichi Design Award by Mainichi Newspaper and the 66th Minister of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technologies Art Encouragement Prize from the Agency for Cultural Affairs, Government of Japan.
Released new textiles in the form of an installation titled Forest Comes Home.at Salone del Mobile.Milano in collaboration with Kvadrat.
Opened minä perhonen materiaali, meaning “material” in Finnish, a store specializing in textiles and home decor in Daikanyama, Tokyo.
minä perhonen textiles were added to the permanent collection at Cooper Hewitt, the Smithsonian Design Museum, New York.
Italian porcelain brand Richard Ginori presented a table wear collection titled “Speranza” designed by Akira Minagawa at Salone del Mobile. Milano 2017.
Released storage container and butter warmer in collaboration with Noda Horo.
Released collaboration with outdoor brand THE NORTH FACE.
2018
Umitota, a private home -style accommodation- project direction by Akira Minagawa; the accommodations themselves were designed by Shinichiro Ogata and planned and operated by C.H.C Circle House Corporation Co.
Kyo no Ondokoro Kaman-za-Nijo design by Akira Minagawa as part of the Machiya Revitalization project; the accommodations themselves were designed jointly with Yoshifumi Nakamura, and operated by Wacol, Kyoto.
Costume design for the theatrical play Throw away Your Books, Let’s Get onto the Streets, directed by Takahiro Morita from Mum and Gypsy from the original work by Shuji Terayama; produced by the Tokyo Metropolitan Theatre.
Italian porcelain brand Richard Ginori presented a tableware collection “Gaia”, from the Italian for “primordial earth goddess,” designed by Akira Minagawa at Salone del Mobile. Milano 2018.
Limited release of collaboration bag and pouch with PORTER.
Opened a lifestyle store, elävä I, and a furniture store, elävä II, in Bakurocho, Tokyo.
Akira Minagawa produced Kyo no Ondokoro Nishijin Villa. The accommodations themselves were designed jointly with Yoshifumi Nakamura, and operated by Wacoal, Kyoto.
Released shoes in collaboration with the Finnish sport shoe brand Karhu.
2020
Opened minä perhonen neutraali, a store focused on plain clothes in neutral colors, next to materiaali in Daikanyama.
Opened minä perhonen museum / minä perhonen museum shop inside VISON, located in Taki, Mie. (operation by Aqua Ignis Corporation)
2022
Designed uniforms and playground equipment named “kivi”, “bird in the nest” and “flower bird”. Those are released by JAKUETS, a total solution company for creating play environments.
cocoon, an inn directed by Akira Minagawa, opened on the grounds of KURKKU FIELDS, a sustainable farm and park in Kisarazu, Chiba Prefecture.