Prada Mode Lands in Osaka with a Tribute to Kazuyo Sejima’s Inujima Project

Earlier this month, Prada staged the 12th edition of its nomadic cultural program Prada Mode in Osaka, in tandem with a rare on-site preview of its latest collaboration with acclaimed architect Kazuyo Sejima on the remote island of Inujima. The dual event spanned four days—from June 4 to 7—and delved into the SANAA founder and Pritzker Prize laureate’s long-standing work on the Japanese island, culminating in the grand reveal of a permanent pavilion gifted by Prada. 

Though separated by the Japanese Seto Inland Sea, the experiences in Osaka and Inujima were conceptually intertwined. Once a thriving industrial hub known for its quarries and copper smelting at the turn of the 20th century, Inujima had dwindled to fewer than 50 residents by 2008, many elderly. That year, Sejima began transforming the island under the auspices of the Fukutake Foundation and its Benesse Art Site Naoshima, which opened the Inujima Seirensho Art Museum on the island. For nearly two decades, Sejima and artistic director Yuko Hasegawa have renovated old homes, built visitor centers, organized workshops, established public gardens, and helped position the island for community-driven cultural tourism.  

The newly commissioned pavilion extends that legacy. For the occasion of Prada Mode Osaka and Inujima Project, the Italian fashion house donated a permanent structure designed by Kazuyo Sejima & Associates to the Inujima Life Garden. The site also features Suspended Landscape, two counters crafted from soil excavated during the construction of the nearby pavilion as a nod to regeneration. Blending quietly into the verdant setting, the counters are now part of the landscape before gradually returning to the ground.  

In Osaka, Prada Mode took over a sweeping SANAA-designed pavilion in Umekita Park, an expansive green space near the city’s bustling central train station. There, Sejima curated an exhibition about her ongoing work on Inujima through models, videos, and other materials. The temporary hub hosted compelling conversations, artful performances, screenings, and hands-on workshops, all focused on Sejima’s architectural perspective and the cultural heritage of Inujima. The opening day featured two talks: architect Tadao Ando reflected on urban development in Osaka, his hometown, while Liu Jiakun and Ryue Nishizawa—Sejima’s longtime collaborator at SANAA—discussed the different cultural rhythms of Chengdu and Tokyo. 

Meanwhile, the crafts artist Tomoko Kimata led a workshop on tsumami-zaiku (traditional Japanese fabric folding) to create floral brooches using Prada textiles. Composer Keiichiro Shibuya debuted a sound installation called Abstract Music and presented Android Maria, an eerie humanoid conceived and developed by Android Team Awareness Kit and a team of developers. Bêka & Lemoine screened films on architecture, and the evening featured live sets by Nik Bärtsch, Reggie Watts, and DJ duo Yuta Suzuki and Aoki Takamasa.  

Prada Mode, which began in 2018 as an evolution of Carsten Höller’s iconic Prada Double Club, has consistently embedded itself in the cultural fabric of its host cities, which now span Miami, Shanghai, Paris, Dubai, Moscow, Tokyo, and Abu Dhabi. Sejima, who has enjoyed a longstanding relationship with Prada, joins the program’s prestigious coterie of creative participants such as Trevor Paglen, Damien Hirst, Martine Syms, and Theaster Gates. She previously designed bags and exhibitions for the brand, but the Inujima Project, with its decades-long horizon and community-first ethos, is perhaps the most emblematic expression of their shared values.  

Prada Mode Osaka will take place at Umekita Park, Osaka, until June 15.