What is it you were trying to achieve or pursue with
Soloist.?
There were a lot of
entry points in the beginning, but at that time I already knew a fair amount
about making clothing, so I think I went into with an extremely cheeky
attitude. For example, during discussions pre-design stage, I would have
questions like, “Why do we have to use secondary materials when making
clothing?” and then get this idea that I didn’t need chemical linings or any other of those secondary
materials in what I was trying to do, kind of like how people in Amish villages
don’t use electricity. Or the question “Why are there
sewing machines used only for making cut-and-sew garments?” would lead to using
that kind of sewing machine. And then me thinking how strange it was to have
items that look handmade can be mass-produced would make me do stuff like dye
each button different colors or specify that the gather all be a rough
estimate. I was doing all kinds of things like that in the beginning. For the
first few years I was also making pajama suits, formalwear that didn’t need to be ironed. Some of the apparel from that era of the
Soloist. seems like it would do fairly well if it was released today.
The origins of the Soloist. are another example of
this, but it seems like the basis of your creativity lies in questioning the
nature of things that already exist, like “Why is it like this?” or “Why do we
have to do things this way?” Is this stance of questioning things something you
still maintain today?
It is. I’m always full of questions. But that isn’t to say I’m rejecting all the
wonderful things that came before me. Rather, I understand that they are
wonderful, but then have this idea that perhaps even these great haven’t been perfected yet. It’s like how the
Rolling Stones based their sound on black music and continue to hold true to
this even now. I’m sure this is because they believe
there’s still more they can do to improve it, to evolve
it, that they aren’t satisfied with it as it is in its
current state. I hope to be like that myself. Well, I probably can’t, but that just means that I need to keep spending my days working
hard.
What does evolution mean when
applied to fashion design?
I wonder. If we look at it closely, I think we arrive at this idea that
the goal of a fashion designer isn’t simply to remain in fashion
design. For the past few decades I’ve aspired to be
like Aleksander Mikhailovich Rodchenko. If I were like him, I could probably do
anything. I used to just rattle off a name like Ralph Lauren or someone like
that when asked what designers I admire, but I’ve
always told everyone who knows me well that I wanted to be Rodchenko.
So you want to do everything
that you can possibly do?
Because it should be possible to do it, if I’m someone who is capable of
creating clothing. Tales are told in the making, so everything should be
possible as long as I have the right environment is in place. There’s plenty of time, after all.
Is there never a case where there isn’t
enough time?
I think I have more
than enough time. However, I will run out if I focus solely on making clothes,
since I tend to lose sight of everything else.