Pichulik rides the oriental tide with new Japanese-inspired collection

Katherine Mary Pichulik, local superwoman of the accessories world, has looked to Japan for inspiration for her fall-winter 2017 collection.

The intricate designs echo the fine details of ikebana, the Japanese art of flower arrangement and the colours - a palette of pearl, brass and patinaed brass - evoke pearls in oyster shells and kelp against wet black diving suits.

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''I was inspired by Japan's Ama - women of the sea - pearl divers, who've been free-diving for more than 2,000 years, holding their breath for minutes at a time, relying only on ropes tied to buoys. The risk, difficulty and hard work and the rewards, including being afforded status in a culture where women weren't allowed to be independent of their fathers and husbands, bound them together," says Pichulik.

The materials selected for this collection are inspired by the East too. There's wood, an elemental force in eastern healing and in ikebana. Bronze and brass, non-ferrous metals, that attain a patina over time, reflecting wabi-sabi, the Japanese concept that acknowledges materials change with time and celebrates imperfection.

The FW17 fashion collection #Pichulik by designer Nadya von Stein includes kimonos, dresses, trousers and Pichulik's take on a power suit.

The silhouettes for the jewellery and clothing are oriental, asymmetric, simple shapes inspired by the principles of ikebana - striving for balance without force, beauty through simplicity and reducing materials to their bare essence or jing.

• Pichulik's fall-winter fashion and jewellery will be available online and in store from May 1.

• This article was originally published in The Times.