WORLD EXPO OSAKA / PAVILLON GREETERS

Uniforms / Design & production / Client : Belexpo

“For World Expo Osaka, I designed the pavilion outfit as a flexible ensemble that blends Japanese and Belgian influences, bringing together comfort, craft, and the freedom of individuality.”

For World Expo 2025 in Osaka, I was asked to design and produce what the pavilion team would wear.

I didn’t want to create a strict uniform. I wanted clothes that people could actually feel good in, pieces that connect without erasing individuality. A shared look with room to breathe, to move, to express yourself. United in spirit, free in expression.

I drew inspiration from the hakama and its closure system, from school uniforms, and from check patterns that feel timeless yet contemporary. Layering has always been a natural instinct in my work, and it found its way here again. The silhouette needed to feel fresh and graphic. For the palette, I followed the pavilion’s iridescent panels, choosing shades of blue and green, then adding warmer vibrations of orange and red to bring life and movement.

The outfit is made entirely of cotton, soft on the skin in any weather, easy to care for, built to last. The checkered fabric comes from Belgium. The silk crepe scarves were printed in Como and finished near Binche. Skirts and trousers were produced around Lisbon. The T-shirts were sourced and completed in Brussels.

I imagined the scarf as a dialogue between Belgian and Japanese ceramics: shapes, textures, and the empty spaces in between. Some areas were printed with woven patterns, quietly evoking diversity. A subtle touch of Kintsugi runs through it too.

The full outfit works like a kit: trousers, skirt, two T-shirts, one scarf. Each person can combine them in their own way. Age, body, mood, story, everything fits. I shared a few styling ideas, not as instructions, just as sparks of inspiration.

While designing, I was also spending time in Barcelona. The mosaics of Gaudí stayed with me. The way fragments and colors live together, side by side, resonated with what I wanted to express in this project.

This is not a uniform. It is a way of belonging, without losing yourself.