Takaya Hanayuishi

Flower designer

©Takaya Hanayuishi

Flowers for your hair

Takaya creates amazing vegetable headpieces
He uses fresh flowers and raw vegetables
Every composition is unique and unrepeatable

Hybrid, unique, amazing: Takaya Hanayuishi doesn’t fit into categories and definitions. He’s neither a floral designer nor a hair stylist. Specialised in adorning the head of models and brides with fresh flowers and raw vegetables, he arranges directly on their hair and prunes with scissors, he sees himself as the artist who created a new genre. Yet, he hasn’t dealt with flowers all his life. “I was fascinated by tulips when I was a child, but back then I wanted to be a cook.” So at the age of 24, he opened his own restaurant. But a few years later, in 2004, something happened. “I was cooking in the kitchen when the image of a lady with blooming flowers in her hair popped into my mind. As soon as I turned that image to reality, my art was born.”

Where

Interview

©Rob Walber

©Takaya Hanayuishi

Do you remember your first artwork?: I started by experimenting on a friend’s hair. The first time I used three kinds of flowers and created five different designs: each one of them was pouring out of my hands naturally, without any effort. To me it felt almost like arranging food on a dish.
How would you describe your technique?: The technique is a secret. I had to figure out how to make my pieces strong enough so they don’t fall off. I choose the flowers – mostly fresh, but also artificial and dried ones – and start arranging them directly on the model’s hair. I often use dahlias: they are my favourite.
Does it take long to create your headpieces?: Not at all. At weddings, it takes me ten minutes to dress the bride’s head, at fashion shows I create and change the compositions every two or three minutes. When I work, I don’t think about anything – my hands just move automatically. I never repeat the same thing twice.
What do you love the most about your craft?: Live performing and composing by myself are both a lot of fun. But I also like weddings, when I see how my art makes brides so happy. I love the idea that, while chasing my dreams, I am making someone else’s dreams come true. Ultimately, my aim is to move people.

Takaya Hanayuishi is an expert artisan: she began her career in 2004 and she started teaching in 2022