The International Shibori Symposia are organised by the World Shibori Network and include a plenary session with keynote speakers, presentation of scholarly papers and technical demonstrations, on-site conservation seminars, with guided tours of exhibitions and workshops. The 6th International Shibori Symposium was held at Tama Art University, Tokyo, Japan, on May 14-17, 2005 and it was about textile innovations.

Vassilis Zidianakis was invited to take part as a keynote speaker with a lecture, entitled ‘Pleats in Contemporary Visual Culture: Interesting Crossovers in Past and Future Art and Fashion’. His talk shed light on the aesthetic relationship between examples of modern and older forms of dressing, while discussing the physiology of pleats in garments and its relation to the human body. The lecture provided a venue for the juxtaposition of the encounter between ancient and modern, local and international, haute couture and prêt-à-porter. At this Symposium keynote speakers were also Mrs Holly Hotchner (Director, Museum of Art and Design, New York) and Mrs Makiko Minagawa (Professor of Tama Art University, Tokyo and Textile Director of Issey Miyake, Japan).

The invitation came after the success of the ‘Ptychoseis=Pleats and Folds. Drapery from Ancient Greek Dress to 21st Century Fashion’ exhibition, which was presented in Athens, during the Olympic Games 2004 (organization: Peloponnesian Folklore Foundation and Cultural Olympiad). On this occasion, the lecture included two special screenings; ’Infusion’ (2004), directed by Marcus Tomlinson and  ’Issey Miyake Fête: Constellations’ (2005), directed by Jackie Nickerson.