The Eiko Ishioka papers span the years 1924-2013 (bulk 1974-2011) and encompass 27 linear feet. The collection consists of the following series: production (produced and unproduced), television, stage, other media, subject, writings, books, oversize, scrapbooks, awards, and artifacts. The collection covers Ishioka’s work as a costume designer, art director, graphic designer, and director for film, television, stage, and more.

The production files (produced) contain documentation for all eight films Ishioka worked on as a costume designer or production designer, with extensive material on BRAM STOKER’S DRACULA (1992), IMMORTALS (2011), MIRROR MIRROR (2012), and MISHIMA: A LIFE IN FOUR CHAPTERS (1985). These files include scripts, clippings, production material, and research. Of interest is the material related to the films’ costumes, including character notes, fabric swatches, photocopies of design sketches, and research on specific textiles, occupations, and time periods.

The production files (unproduced) include screenplays for unproduced projects by Werner Herzog, Radha Bharadwaj, and Francis Ford Coppola.

The television files contain clippings for her work on the FAERIE TALE THEATRE episode “Rip Van Winkle” and scripts and storyboards for LAST WORD FROM PARADISE.

The stage files contain clippings, copies of costume sketches, programs, and research for CIRQUE DU SOLEIL: VAREKAI and the original Broadway production of M. BUTTERFLY. Also included are programs and reviews for Werner Herzog’s staging of CHUSHINGURA for the Tokyo Opera, with stage and costume design by Ishioka. There are only clippings and reviews for her work as the visual designer of the Broadway production of DAVID COPPERFIELD: DREAMS AND NIGHTMARES and as the costume designer of De Nederlandse Opera’s DER RING DES NIBELUNGEN.

The other media files contain material for Björk’s music video COCOON, including correspondence from Björk, sketches, and annotated frame enlargements from the video.

The subject files include clippings, material for conferences and festivals, notes for lectures given by Ishioka, and an assortment of personal and professional correspondence. Notable correspondents and recipients include Francis and Eleanor Coppola, Faye Dunaway, Benno Friedman, Herbie Hancock, F.H.K. Henrion, Ronald Shannon Jackson, Diane Keaton, Lisa Lyon, Tamara de Lempicka, Tom Luddy, Yoji Matsumura, Walter Mondale, Alen MacWeeney, Tomoko Miho, Issey Miyake, Brian Narelle, Max Neuhaus, Donald Richie, Godfrey Reggio, Leni Riefenstahl, Susan Sontag, Nico Soultanakis, Steven Spielberg, Fumiko Sugaya, and Nana Watanabe. There are notes for lectures given by Ishioka on over three dozen topics, including BRAM STOKER’S DRACULA (1992), her work with Miles Davis’ album “Tutu,” KOYANNISQATSI (1983), M. BUTTERFLY, MISHIMA: A LIFE IN FOUR CHAPTERS, and Leni Riefenstahl. The clippings include numerous Japanese periodicals.

The writings contain clippings, correspondence, and financial and legal documents regarding the publication of “Eiko by Eiko,” published in 1990. Also included are essays about Ishioka’s work, primarily in Japanese. There are also clippings, reviews, and some publicity material for “Eiko on Stage,” published in 2000.

The books series largely consists of books on graphic design, several of them in Japanese. Of interest are books personally inscribed to Ishioka by the authors, including "The Decalogue: Ten Kinds of Love Stories" by Krzysztof Kieslowski, "Notes" by Eleanor Coppola, and "Stephen Colover: The Platinum Collection" by Colover.

The oversize series includes poster research for BRAM STOKER’S DRACULA, costume sketches for THE CELL (2000), set and costume sketches for IMMORTALS, costume sketches for MIRROR MIRROR, and set sketches for MISHIMA: A LIFE IN FOUR CHAPTERS. However, these sketches are all photocopies. Also included are certificates for the Prix de la Meilleure Contribution Artistique from the Cannes Film Festival for MISHIMA: A LIFE IN FOUR CHAPTERS, a certificate for the CEBA Awards, a color photocopy of a certificate from the National Academy of Cable Programming for Art Direction for FAERIE TALE THEATRE - RIP VAN WINKLE, and a certificate of award from The Art Directors Club.

The scrapbook series contains scrapbooks for BRAM STOKER’S DRACULA, CLOSET LAND (1991), and MISHIMA: A LIFE IN FOUR CHAPTERS. These scrapbooks contain advertising and publicity materials and clippings in English and Japanese. One of the scrapbooks for CLOSET LAND contains storyboards, research, and handwritten notes by Ishioka. There is also a scrapbook covering Ishioka winning the Academy Award for Costume Design for BRAM STOKER’S DRACULA.

The awards series includes Ishioka’s Grammy award for Best Album Package for Miles Davis’ “Tutu,” and Art Directors Club-Hall of Fame award, and a Costume Designers Guild award for Excellence in Fantasy Film for MIRROR MIRROR.

The artifacts include a Barbie doll used to help conceptualize Björk’s video for COCOON.

The Eiko Ishioka papers span the years 1976-2008 and contain 66 posters and 2834 production artworks. In addition to posters for feature films such as BRAM STOKER’S DRACULA (1992) and THE CELL (2000), some of the posters are advertisements for the Japanese department store Parco where Ishioka worked as art director. The production artwork includes advertising art, set working plans, costume design drawings, and production design drawings for Ishioka’s book EIKO BY EIKO (1990) and films including MISHIMA: A LIFE IN FOUR CHAPTERS (1985), BRAM STOKER’S DRACULA (1992), THE CELL (2000), THE FALL (2006), THERESA: THE BODY OF CHRIST (2007), IMMORTALS (2011), and MIRROR MIRROR (2012).

Eiko Ishioka was born July 12, 1938 in Tokyo. Her father was a graphic designer who supported Ishioka’s interest in art but discouraged her from entering Japan’s male-dominated profession of graphic design. Nevertheless, Ishioka attended Tokyo National University of Fine Arts and Music with the intention of becoming a graphic designer. Following her graduation in 1961, she began designing for the cosmetics company Shiseido.

She established her own design firm in the early 1970s. One of her principal clients was the department store Parco, for which she served as creative advertising director for over a decade, crafting distinctive advertising campaigns featuring Faye Dunaway and Ann Reinking, among others. During the 1970s Ishioka expanded her design output to include books, magazines, record covers, and fashion shows, the latter done in collaboration with Issey Miyake. In 1983 she published her first book, a retrospective of her design work titled “Eiko by Eiko.” Ishioka’s career in film began as a production designer on MISHIMA: A LIFE IN FOUR CHAPTERS (1985). The film was awarded Best Artistic Contribution at the 1985 Cannes Film Festival for John Bailey’s cinematography, Philip Glass’ score, and Ishioka’s production design work. The following year she received a Grammy award for her cover design of Miles Davis’ “Tutu.”

She also began designing for the stage. In 1988 she was responsible for the scenic and costume design for the Broadway production of “M. Butterfly” and was nominated for Tony awards in both categories. Less than a decade later she returned to Broadway as the visual artistic director of “David Copperfield: Dreams and Nightmares” in 1996. The next year she shifted into opera as the set and costume designer for Werner Herzog’s staging of “Chushingura” for the Tokyo Opera, followed soon after by De Nederlandse Opera’s “Der Ring des Nibelungen,” for which she designed the costumes. In 2000 she published her second book, “Eiko on Stage,” chronicling her work for the stage and screen.

Ishioka enjoyed a fruitful association with Francis Ford and Eleanor Coppola that spanned three decades. In 1979 she created posters for the Japanese release of APOCALYPSE NOW and designed the Japanese edition of Eleanor Coppola’s book “Notes: On the Making of Apocalypse Now.” She devised artistic concepts for the “Rip Van Winkle” episode of FAERIE TALE THEATRE directed by Coppola in 1987. When assembling a production team for BRAM STOKER’S DRACULA, Coppola engaged Ishioka to design the film’s eerie, extraordinary costumes. She subsequently received the Academy Award for Best Costume Design, leading to more prolific work as a costume designer for films.

She often worked on several diverse projects at a time. In 2002 alone she designed costumes for Cirque du Soleil’s “Verekai,” directed the music video for Björk’s “Cocoon,” and designed uniforms for specific members of the Canadian, Japanese, Spanish, and Swiss teams competing in the Winter Olympic Games in Salt Lake City. In 2008 she served as the director of costume design for the opening ceremony of the Summer Olympic Games in Beijing, and the following year designed costumes for Grace Jones’ “Hurricane” tour.

With THE CELL (2000), Ishioka began a collaboration with director Tarsem Singh that would last until her death in 2012. She designed costumes for his first four films, THE CELL, THE FALL (2008), THE IMMORTALS (2011), and MIRROR MIRROR (2012). Ishioka passed away on January 21, 2012 and was posthumously nominated for a Tony Award for Best Costume Design of a Musical for her work on “Spider Man: Turn Off the Dark” and also for an Academy Award for Best Achievement in Costume Design for MIRROR MIRROR.