How was “PITTI IMMAGINE UOMO” at Florence and exhibition at the Paris showroom, “showroom.tokyo”, in January?

My desire to hold an exhibition in Europe was one of my motivations to apply to the award in the first place, so having my collection seen by all sorts of people and being able to receive all sorts of reactions was excellent. In overseas, the reaction of people with interest and people without interest tend to be clearly separate, so I felt the importance of conveying a positive first impression, from the strong points of the brand to its concept. I also experienced and felt the difficulty of communicating with many buyers and trying to connect that into business, in a situation where many brands are exhibiting at the same time.

Due to the spread of COVID—19, the second “showroom.tokyo” scheduled to be held in July was changed to establishing an online showroom in “JOOR PASSPORT”. How do you feel about that?

JOOR PASSPORT not only allows for many movies and photographs to be uploaded, but also tabulates orders, enables confirmation of access, and I think it is a system which matches the needs of today. Being given the chance to use such a platform at an early stage has been an extremely positive experience. Of course, it is important to have our clothing seen, touched and felt directly, but in the midst of such times when things are changing largely, this has been a good opportunity to contemplate anew on the necessity of methods of conveying online.

The triumphant return event in Tokyo Fashion Week scheduled for March was cancelled and carried out afresh in October. With what kind of mindset did you face it?

I was extremely disappointed when the March show which we had been preparing for until the very last minute had been cancelled. But all the more reason why when it was decided that it would be held afresh in October, I strongly felt I wanted to do our absolute best with the same team. I’ve always thought a runway show is a form of expression which allows to express the positive aspects of our clothes, and having actually experienced it for the first time, I have been able to gain an actual feel that it is. Due to infection control measures, regrettably, this time we were only able to invite a limited number of guests, but I was very happy that most of the guests we invited came to the show, and I felt, with this opportunity, I would like to continue presenting shows.

What kind of experience has participating in the programs of the TOKYO FASHION AWARD been for the brand?

There were so many things which were a first-time experience for the brand, and it was a hectic year, but it has all been a valuable experience. I think it is rare for a 3-year brand to be able to do a show, and I think we were incredibly lucky to be able to experience online platform systems so early on. I think, being able to experience such things at a time when the brand is still so young, has given us the power to adapt to the changes in times due to come about, and in this sense, it has been an extremely valuable experience. Furthermore, at Paris, I was able to talk to more experienced designers and other award-winners, which was also good.

Please tell us your plans for the future.

I don’t have any numeric aims or goals, but rather would like to strengthen communication within the team and thoroughly discuss the issues we need to resolve. Through this year, although there are things which remained unchanged, such as the brand concept or way of thinking behind our designs, but on the other hand, I strongly felt we need to largely change the method in which we convey our brand. There are many unforeseeable aspects in how times will change from hereon, but all the more reason why I think it is important to positively grope for methods to convey that which we can believe in, without decreasing the purity of what we wish to create.