In front of the mirror, I work with the wooden mannequin on which I directly sculpt the dress form by the fabric. The dress has 360 degrees awareness.
Ando’s work is based on a simple proposition : ” Each person has a body.
The body expresses a person’s story and history, the dress is a language the expresses that body , the human body and the dress are both founded on the same principle: constant, unbroken perception “
A lotus flower is life-centred, shining beyond everything. The lotus flower is not affected by muddy water. It is a symbol of joy that shines through the mud. A person’s true joy and happiness must arise after they overcome hardships and break through muddy waters, like a lotus flower blooming.
The creation of forty-eight dresses: why the lotus? Because humanity has clouded its heart with the clamour of this world and selfish desires, burying the pure treasure of spiritual inspiration in mud. To wash away that mud and awaken the slumbering inspiration. This is for the glory of God and the happiness of mankind.
Fukuko Ando’s works of art are exhibited at Costume Art. Three dresses are donated to the museum and become part of the Metropolitan Museum of Art Costume Institute’s collection.
Spring 2026 Costume Institute Show and Major New Galleries for Exhibitions Exploring the Art of Fashion
body are shaped by the garments that clothe them and that the garments, in turn, are shaped by the bodies which they clothe. Max Hollein, The Met’s Marina Kellen French Director and Chief Executive Officer said: “Costume Art will present a dynamic and scholarly conversation between garments from The Costume Institute and an array of artworks from across The Met’s vast collection, elevating universal and timeless themes while bringing forward new ideas and ways of seeing. Costume Art will present a series of thematic body types, ranging from those that are pervasive across The Museum, such as the “Naked Body” and the “Classical Body,” to those that have traditionally been overlooked, such as the “Pregnant Body” and the “Ageing Body”, to those that reflect shared bodily characteristics and experiences, such as the “Anatomical Body” and the “Mortal Body.” Pairings between fashions and artworks will present a spectrum of connections: from the formal to the conceptual, the aesthetic to the political, the individual to the universal, the illustrative to the symbolic, and the playful to the profound.
I am working on a new series of dresses inspired by the Mandala Lotus flower
“Blessings of the Lotus Flower“
When I was little, I read the story of Chūjō-hime (747–775). And I was very impressed.I always remembered that I longed for the process that the lotus thread was pulled out, and when it touched flowers of various colors, the thread was dyed like a dream and the mandala was completed.( Fukuko Ando )
A lotus flower is life-centred, shining beyond everything. The lotus flower is not affected by muddy water. It is a symbol of joy that shines through the mud. A person’s true joy and happiness must arise after they overcome hardships and break through muddy waters, like a lotus flower blooming.
The creation of forty-eight dresses: why the lotus? Because humanity has clouded its heart with the clamour of this world and selfish desires, burying the pure treasure of spiritual inspiration in mud. To wash away that mud and awaken the slumbering inspiration. This is for the glory of God and the happiness of mankind.
A lotus flower is life-centred, shining beyond everything. The lotus flower is not affected by muddy water. It is a symbol of joy that shines through the mud. A person’s true joy and happiness must arise after they overcome hardships and break through muddy waters, like a lotus flower blooming.
Swallowing all the good and evil that has been repeated throughout history, all memories become flowers, which become butterflies that are released and fly away. Everything is released.
A lotus flower is life-centred, shining beyond everything. The lotus flower is not affected by muddy water. It is a symbol of joy that shines through the mud. A person’s true joy and happiness must arise after they overcome hardships and break through muddy waters, like a lotus flower blooming.
Revelation
A river of gratitude flows deep underground. We are unaware of its existence. The lotus seed absorbs this water of gratitude and, passing through the darkness of the mud, it blooms into a flower on the surface of the earth.
I enter eternity, feeling each moment on the earth as I breathe. I hold a needle with a thin golden thread in my hand and, feeling each moment of gratitude as I breathe, I descend the stairs one step at a time.
In the darkness, the only light is the thin golden thread. I reach the deep source of the earth, a place where the stars shine and it is like the universe in the sky.
A lotus flower is life-centred, shining beyond everything. The lotus flower is not affected by muddy water. It is a symbol of joy that shines through the mud. A person’s true joy and happiness must arise after they overcome hardships and break through muddy waters, like a lotus flower blooming.
A lotus flower is life-centred, shining beyond everything. The lotus flower is not affected by muddy water. It is a symbol of joy that shines through the mud. A person’s true joy and happiness must arise after they overcome hardships and break through muddy waters, like a lotus flower blooming.
A lotus flower is life-centred, shining beyond everything. The lotus flower is not affected by muddy water. It is a symbol of joy that shines through the mud. A person’s true joy and happiness must arise after they overcome hardships and break through muddy waters, like a lotus flower blooming.
A lotus flower is life-centred, shining beyond everything. The lotus flower is not affected by muddy water. It is a symbol of joy that shines through the mud. A person’s true joy and happiness must arise after they overcome hardships and break through muddy waters, like a lotus flower blooming.
Taffeta Polyester / Embroidery thread
Breathing is the beginning of everything. Inhale, exhale, hope and love expand. Receive all blessings, the blue blessing is water and the blessing of red is fire. There is water in the fire and there is fire in the water. It’s the secret of life.
A lotus flower is life-centred, shining beyond everything. The lotus flower is not affected by muddy water. It is a symbol of joy that shines through the mud. A person’s true joy and happiness must arise after they overcome hardships and break through muddy waters, like a lotus flower blooming.
Taffeta Polyester / Embroidery thread
Breathing is the beginning of everything. Inhale, exhale, hope and love expand. Receive all blessings, the blue blessing is water and the blessing of red is fire. There is water in the fire and there is fire in the water. It’s the secret of life.
“Like the truth of a pure lotus flower blooming from muddy water“
Creating these 48 Mandala Lotus Dresses, here at this elder stage of my life, is hope, awareness and prayer. Creation is a source of pure inspiration taking form as the human life force.Inspiration arises from within, when you feel the truth burning within you. I follow that inspiration.The consciousness of the Mandala Lotus was born out of an effort to preserve pure light as inspiration in this chaotic world, a place like muddy water.To create a pure lotus flower out of muddy water, we need to keep our own hearts pure, offering effort and perseverance in endless hours and moments, to that presence of purity and tranquillity.
Yes, what we need to know above all is the law of effort. If we forget this necessity, we must pay the price of physical and mental degeneration: our consciousness loses its power to follow inspiration. And creation may be selflessness. With constant patience, eliminating one’s own thoughts, eliminating one’s ego, connecting with inspiration without being distracted by the muddy spirit of the world.
Like Mount Fuji which stands tall and unaffected by the chaos of this world. Even if the earth is polluted, the summit of Mt. Fuji towers above, ever pure. Our life force is naturally maintained by the cosmic order. The fundamental reality of life, the sublime joy of human existence, no matter how miserable, bitter, or dirty the world may be. If beautiful, shining lotus flowers exist in this world, may we not also live like them? That awareness should change this world.
A lotus flower is life-centred, shining beyond everything. The lotus flower is not affected by muddy water. It is a symbol of joy that shines through the mud. A person’s true joy and happiness must arise after they overcome hardships and break through muddy waters, like a lotus flower blooming.For me, the effort to break through the muddy waters of this world is the perseverance to use fabric and thread to carve an eternity out of this world’s moments. It is a time of patience that transforms each stitch into eternity.
I empty myself. Only the presence of cloth, thread, and one needle weave eternal time. I am not there. In this world of greed, dirt, and deadly laziness, every movement of my hand dreams of a future lotus flower. One day when the 48 lotus dresses bloom, it will surely become a great mandala. The time will come when its absoluteness will pierce the darkness of this world, and with patience and effort, connecting each moment with inspiration, there will dawn an era in which newborn truths shall bloom. Like Mt. Fuji, which stands tall, unaffected by the poisons of this world.I believe in this hope, and this is why I weave the intention of the mandala into eternity, moment by moment, with every movement of my hand.
Union and Dissolution: The time of the androgynies. Light: ONE essential vibration, having come from the Heavens and from the Earth, the miracle of Oneness resonating above and below. ALPHA and OMEGA
Handmade / Fabric : Steen gold / silver silk, organdy white silk, hand made embroidery with silver gold yellow gold gold iridescent bronze orange bronze black silver metallic black white thread.
The new DNA has given a newborn infant. Man and Woman are united. This is the miracle of life. This was and will be our original human being in universal memory. I have arrived at 12. We are One.
Sound is a particular type of vibration for the universe to manifest itself through waves that can be captured by something or someone.
We now know that the entire universe vibrates: matter, atoms, light, color . We can thus say that we are nothing but one sound , a vibration.”
“HEXAGON door invites you to the riddle of life. You are even ENIGMA life.”
( Fukuko Ando )
“Life has always manifested in many ways the natural architecture that enable our entire reality .
Geometry is one of the ways that allows us to contemplate or to understand what is hidden to our eyes, as the riddle of life.
The hexagon could express all the basic energy structures of the universe known and unknown through his Sacred Geometry, as well as “The Platonic solids” contains this infinite and inexhaustible information available to us all .”
After the pouring of water from above, long silence.
And the Creative WORD is the birth of eternal light – the New DNA
Handmade / Fabric : Sateen gold silk, black viscose, hand made embroidery with silver gold yellow gold multicolored thread.
As my body filled with Infinite love,
the seed of birth, it is DNA, that became manifest. I felt that a new DNA had awoken at the centre of the Universe.
Sound is a particular type of vibration for the universe to manifest itself through waves that can be captured by something or someone.
We now know that the entire universe vibrates: matter, atoms, light, color . We can thus say that we are nothing but one sound , a vibration.”
“HEXAGON door invites you to the riddle of life. You are even ENIGMA life.”
( Fukuko Ando )
“Life has always manifested in many ways the natural architecture that enable our entire reality .
Geometry is one of the ways that allows us to contemplate or to understand what is hidden to our eyes, as the riddle of life.
The hexagon could express all the basic energy structures of the universe known and unknown through his Sacred Geometry, as well as “The Platonic solids” contains this infinite and inexhaustible information available to us all .”
After the pouring of water from above, long silence.
And the Creative WORD is the birth of eternal light – the New DNA
Handmade / Fabric : Sateen gold silk, black viscose, hand made embroidery with silver gold yellow gold multicolor thread.
As my body filled with Infinite love,
the seed of birth, it is DNA, that became manifest. I felt that a new DNA had awoken at the centre of the Universe.
Sound is a particular type of vibration for the universe to manifest itself through waves that can be captured by something or someone.
We now know that the entire universe vibrates: matter, atoms, light, color . We can thus say that we are nothing but one sound , a vibration.”
“HEXAGON door invites you to the riddle of life. You are even ENIGMA life.”
( Fukuko Ando )
“Life has always manifested in many ways the natural architecture that enable our entire reality .
Geometry is one of the ways that allows us to contemplate or to understand what is hidden to our eyes, as the riddle of life.
The hexagon could express all the basic energy structures of the universe known and unknown through his Sacred Geometry, as well as “The Platonic solids” contains this infinite and inexhaustible information available to us all .”
Water from above, bringing boundless love, endlessly flowing.
Handmade / Fabric : Organdy blue sky blue silk, hand made embroidery with silver thread.
The flame of the “Fire of Spirit” ascended to heaven.
The flame turned to water. The water of love circulated in my body. I had a sense of Infinite love. Memories of the past were transformed into Infinite love.
Sound is a particular type of vibration for the universe to manifest itself through waves that can be captured by something or someone.
We now know that the entire universe vibrates: matter, atoms, light, color . We can thus say that we are nothing but one sound , a vibration.”
“HEXAGON door invites you to the riddle of life. You are even ENIGMA life.”
( Fukuko Ando )
“Life has always manifested in many ways the natural architecture that enable our entire reality .
Geometry is one of the ways that allows us to contemplate or to understand what is hidden to our eyes, as the riddle of life.
The hexagon could express all the basic energy structures of the universe known and unknown through his Sacred Geometry, as well as “The Platonic solids” contains this infinite and inexhaustible information available to us all .”
Handmade / Fabric : Sateen red on powdered gold silk, muslin red on powdered gold, hand made embroidery with yellow gold thread.
I completed my quest, finished “The Grail” dresses: a great transformation.
I completed my quest, finished “The Grail” dresses: a great transformation.
Sound is a particular type of vibration for the universe to manifest itself through waves that can be captured by something or someone.
We now know that the entire universe vibrates: matter, atoms, light, color . We can thus say that we are nothing but one sound , a vibration.”
“HEXAGON door invites you to the riddle of life. You are even ENIGMA life.”
( Fukuko Ando )
“Life has always manifested in many ways the natural architecture that enable our entire reality .
Geometry is one of the ways that allows us to contemplate or to understand what is hidden to our eyes, as the riddle of life.
The hexagon could express all the basic energy structures of the universe known and unknown through his Sacred Geometry, as well as “The Platonic solids” contains this infinite and inexhaustible information available to us all .”
The sound of time arises in the Universe, above and beyond time.
Handmade / Fabric : Organdy green silk, muslin green silk, hand made embroidery with silver gold yellow gold thread.
I completed my quest, finished “The Grail” dresses: a great transformation.
I completed my quest, finished “The Grail” dresses: a great transformation.
Sound is a particular type of vibration for the universe to manifest itself through waves that can be captured by something or someone.
We now know that the entire universe vibrates: matter, atoms, light, color . We can thus say that we are nothing but one sound , a vibration.”
“HEXAGON door invites you to the riddle of life. You are even ENIGMA life.”
( Fukuko Ando )
“Life has always manifested in many ways the natural architecture that enable our entire reality .
Geometry is one of the ways that allows us to contemplate or to understand what is hidden to our eyes, as the riddle of life.
The hexagon could express all the basic energy structures of the universe known and unknown through his Sacred Geometry, as well as “The Platonic solids” contains this infinite and inexhaustible information available to us all .”
The quest for a sacred object as life’s goal, even risking one’s very life, demonstrates that one’s purpose may be more important than one’s own existence. A MOVEMENT BEFORE A BETTER WORLD
Handmade / Fabric : Sateen black / white and red silk, hand made embroidery with silver gold yellow gold thread.
The Grail is a quest for the truth about Life
The Blood of the truth of our existence. To create these dresses I had to experience the quest for the truth between life and death. It was a great transformation.
Sound is a particular type of vibration for the universe to manifest itself through waves that can be captured by something or someone.
We now know that the entire universe vibrates: matter, atoms, light, color . We can thus say that we are nothing but one sound , a vibration.”
“HEXAGON door invites you to the riddle of life. You are even ENIGMA life.”
( Fukuko Ando )
“Life has always manifested in many ways the natural architecture that enable our entire reality .
Geometry is one of the ways that allows us to contemplate or to understand what is hidden to our eyes, as the riddle of life.
The hexagon could express all the basic energy structures of the universe known and unknown through his Sacred Geometry, as well as “The Platonic solids” contains this infinite and inexhaustible information available to us all .”
The quest for a sacred object as life’s goal, even risking one’s very life, demonstrates that one’s purpose may be more important than one’s own existence. A MOVEMENT BEFORE A BETTER WORLD
Handmade / Fabric : Sateen black / white and red silk, hand made embroidery with silver gold yellow gold thread.
1
The Grail is a quest for the truth about Life
The Blood of the truth of our existence. To create these dresses I had to experience the quest for the truth between life and death. It was a great transformation.
Sound is a particular type of vibration for the universe to manifest itself through waves that can be captured by something or someone.
We now know that the entire universe vibrates: matter, atoms, light, color . We can thus say that we are nothing but one sound , a vibration.”
“HEXAGON door invites you to the riddle of life. You are even ENIGMA life.”
( Fukuko Ando )
“Life has always manifested in many ways the natural architecture that enable our entire reality .
Geometry is one of the ways that allows us to contemplate or to understand what is hidden to our eyes, as the riddle of life.
The hexagon could express all the basic energy structures of the universe known and unknown through his Sacred Geometry, as well as “The Platonic solids” contains this infinite and inexhaustible information available to us all .”
The quest for a sacred object as life’s goal, even risking one’s very life, demonstrates that one’s purpose may be more important than one’s own existence. A MOVEMENT BEFORE A BETTER WORLD
Handmade / Fabric : Sateen black / white silk, hand made embroidery with gold yellow gold metallic black.
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The Grail is a quest for the truth about Life
The Blood of the truth of our existence. To create these dresses I had to experience the quest for the truth between life and death. It was a great transformation.
Sound is a particular type of vibration for the universe to manifest itself through waves that can be captured by something or someone.
We now know that the entire universe vibrates: matter, atoms, light, color . We can thus say that we are nothing but one sound , a vibration.”
“HEXAGON door invites you to the riddle of life. You are even ENIGMA life.”
( Fukuko Ando )
“Life has always manifested in many ways the natural architecture that enable our entire reality .
Geometry is one of the ways that allows us to contemplate or to understand what is hidden to our eyes, as the riddle of life.
The hexagon could express all the basic energy structures of the universe known and unknown through his Sacred Geometry, as well as “The Platonic solids” contains this infinite and inexhaustible information available to us all .”
The Maya Code reveals the original memory of our galactic birth. I have seen the galactic body.
Handmade / Fabric : Sateen black silk, hand made embroidery with yellow gold thread.
1
ALPHA : A tiny region of the Milky Way
Sound is a particular type of vibration for the universe to manifest itself through waves that can be captured by something or someone.
We now know that the entire universe vibrates: matter, atoms, light, color . We can thus say that we are nothing but one sound , a vibration.”
“HEXAGON door invites you to the riddle of life. You are even ENIGMA life.”
( Fukuko Ando )
“Life has always manifested in many ways the natural architecture that enable our entire reality .
Geometry is one of the ways that allows us to contemplate or to understand what is hidden to our eyes, as the riddle of life.
The hexagon could express all the basic energy structures of the universe known and unknown through his Sacred Geometry, as well as “The Platonic solids” contains this infinite and inexhaustible information available to us all .”
The Maya Code reveals the original memory of our galactic birth. I have seen the galactic body.
Handmade / Fabric : Sateen black silk, hand made embroidery with silver thread.
OMEGA : Over ten million stars.
Sound is a particular type of vibration for the universe to manifest itself through waves that can be captured by something or someone.
We now know that the entire universe vibrates: matter, atoms, light, color . We can thus say that we are nothing but one sound , a vibration.”
“HEXAGON door invites you to the riddle of life. You are even ENIGMA life.”
( Fukuko Ando )
“Life has always manifested in many ways the natural architecture that enable our entire reality .
Geometry is one of the ways that allows us to contemplate or to understand what is hidden to our eyes, as the riddle of life.
The hexagon could express all the basic energy structures of the universe known and unknown through his Sacred Geometry, as well as “The Platonic solids” contains this infinite and inexhaustible information available to us all .”
The Archangel METATRON is the most powerful light of the archangels.
I wanted to begin creating the first dress from the power of that light, forming the intention of completing 12 dresses.
Handmade / Fabric : Muslin white cotton, hand made embroidery with gold thread.
C – D – E – B – A Floating in empty space, millions of light-years separate them from each other. Galaxies are the cells of the Universe.
Sound is a particular type of vibration for the universe to manifest itself through waves that can be captured by something or someone.
We now know that the entire universe vibrates: matter, atoms, light, color . We can thus say that we are nothing but one sound , a vibration.”
“HEXAGON door invites you to the riddle of life. You are even ENIGMA life.”
( Fukuko Ando )
“Life has always manifested in many ways the natural architecture that enable our entire reality .
Geometry is one of the ways that allows us to contemplate or to understand what is hidden to our eyes, as the riddle of life.
The hexagon could express all the basic energy structures of the universe known and unknown through his Sacred Geometry, as well as “The Platonic solids” contains this infinite and inexhaustible information available to us all .”
Lotus petals open in this world. The truth that turns 7 times and rises on the 8th. Courage and Patience. Walking, step by step.
Taffeta Polyester / Embroidery thread
A lotus flower is life-centred, shining beyond everything. The lotus flower is not affected by muddy water. It is a symbol of joy that shines through the mud. A person’s true joy and happiness must arise after they overcome hardships and break through muddy waters, like a lotus flower blooming.
Lotus petals open in this world. The truth that turns 7 times and rises on the 8th. Courage and Patience. Walking, step by step.
Taffeta Polyester / Embroidery thread
A lotus flower is life-centred, shining beyond everything. The lotus flower is not affected by muddy water. It is a symbol of joy that shines through the mud. A person’s true joy and happiness must arise after they overcome hardships and break through muddy waters, like a lotus flower blooming.
After darkness and evil are swallowed by the great flower of light, quietly, surely, slowly, blood vessels of light begin to flow.The veins of light pass through everything.
Taffeta Polyester / Embroidery thread
A lotus flower is life-centred, shining beyond everything. The lotus flower is not affected by muddy water. It is a symbol of joy that shines through the mud. A person’s true joy and happiness must arise after they overcome hardships and break through muddy waters, like a lotus flower blooming.
The power of light eats up all darkness and evil, and the flower of light blooms. Everything is swallowed up by the great flower of light.
Taffeta silk / Embroidery thread
A lotus flower is life-centred, shining beyond everything. The lotus flower is not affected by muddy water. It is a symbol of joy that shines through the mud. A person’s true joy and happiness must arise after they overcome hardships and break through muddy waters, like a lotus flower blooming.
In my work, a piece of fabric is transformed into a dress through an intense and unbroken engagement with each wave of change in the fabric’s own swell and movement.
The starting point is a flat piece of fabric. Sewing a raised broderie into this flat surface introduces a new three-dimensional note, creating waves of movement and new shapes and swell as the fabric responds.
I make a single cut into the new swell in the fabric. The fabric responds again and
I follow the fabric’s waves of movement intuitively. From action to response, the story of this dress is being written, moment to moment, as each change and response happens.
My hands have to see and grasp the story that the fabric is telling. The fabric takes on a life of its own, with new mandalas flowering in it, one after another.
More complex shapes are created by cross cuts, twists in the fabric, new broderies.
After a long time, my hands become still. The dress is complete: a piece of fabric has become a living mandala.
I work so that different dimensions can flower one by one on the same piece of fabric, just as the petals of a lotus flower open one after another.
Like the cell and the body, we can zoom in to see the micro-mandalas sewn into the detail of the dress, and we can stand back to see the macro-mandala of the whole dress.
