chico yu
Fashion Design
Bunka Fashion Graduate University
Graduates: 2026
Specialisms: Textiles - Knit / Textiles for Fashion
My location: Tokyo, Japan
chico yu
First Name: chico
Last Name: yu
University / College: Bunka Fashion Graduate University
Course / Program: Fashion Design
Graduates: 2026
Specialisms: Textiles - Knit / Textiles for Fashion
My Location: Tokyo, Japan
About
A multidisciplinary artist based in Tokyo, I have been developing a practice centred on knitwear, textile research and sound for the past several years. Trained at Bunka Fashion Graduate University, where my graduation collection fino alla nona vita comprised thirteen fully programmed Shima Seiki pieces accompanied by an original neo-classical album, I work at the intersection of industrial precision and handcraft, conceiving knitted structures as emotional relics. My work has been selected for the 2nd étape of the 41e Festival International de Hyères and recognised at the iD International Emerging Designer Awards 2027. Alongside fashion, I produce ambient and electronic music under the name chicoyaki, and approach each project, whether textile, sound or performance, through the same logic of material memory and transformation. In Tokyo, I have worked across product development, menswear design and editorial production, collaborating with designers and brands on projects where concept and craft are inseparable. I currently work as a Product Developer at Xenovus Ltd. while completing preparations to join AZ Academy Milan in January 2027. I put my experience at the service of projects where material intelligence, cultural sensitivity and long-term vision count, across knitwear engineering, collection development, and the spaces in between.
fino alla nona vita (until the nineth lives) is a poetic, autobiographical collection archiving a queer love story through memory, longing, imagination, and hope. It follows a real encounter, where together, we are the “black cat and orange cat”, symbols of softness, freedom, and love across lifetimes. This collection exists at the intersection of textile, poetry, and intimacy. Each garment is a relic of feeling, a fossilized moment in knitwear, textile, and emotional form.
Competitions
