What motivated you to apply for the TFA?

I applied because I wanted to increase the value of the brand. The president had applied two years consecutively, so I thought maybe this year we can win (laughs).

How did you feel about winning the award?

I found it significant to be able to meet and talk with overseas clients and buyers in Paris, and by participating in a showroom with other Japanese brands, I came to the realization that many our clothes are not suitable for daily use, and I was able to use this for reinforcing our wholesale efforts moving forward.

What kind of preparations are you making for the second showroom in September?

Our innovations are in relation to embroidery, for which delivery is twice as long as usual, and the challenge is working out how to produce commercial pieces that are in our usual style. As the sizes are a little small for the Western market, we would like to start selling them from stores in the Asian region.

Is there something on which you are focusing particularly on the creation side?

I am able to express myself freely with embroidery and beads, so currently I am trying to develop fabrics that also enable the decorative creations characteristic of tanakadaisuke. I hope to one day use these fabrics to create interiors as well.

How do you feel that tanakadaisuke is seen by the market?

We have clothes that incorporate costume and decorative elements rarely seen in Tokyo brands and I feel that this makes us stand out in the market. Previously, when viewing our clothes, people tended to appreciate them, but not buy them, as if they were perusing works in an art museum. Now that there are more accessible items, the number of people purchasing them has increased.

What was the aim of the 24AW show presented in March 2024?

The image we created was of magic powder falling down and covering people with magic, and the performance involved sequins, a material commonly used by the brand. The concept for this season is nostalgic memories and things we liked in our childhoods but have buried. In this collection, we are pushing the color pink, and hope to increase the opportunities to choose pink in Tokyo. It would be cool if Tokyo could become a place where people can talk about the things they liked as children even when they are adults.

Could you also give us an overview of your current business?

Before doing the show, we sold everything ourselves, but now we have an increasing number of retail partners both in Japan and overseas. We plan to increase wholesaling gradually from now, rather than all at once. Brand EC is still currently our main type of business.

What is the future outlook for the brand?

I think that it is rare for a brand to be so widely and shallowly known in only its third year. Until now, we haven’t done much on the wholesale side, and have connected directly to customers, so we want to continue to hone this direct approach moving forward.

The men’s market in Tokyo often prioritizes functional beauty, a sense of camaraderie in the community, and introversion, and I think there is also value in tanakadaisuke making proposals in the men’s market. Our aim is to offer clothes with decorative or feminine elements that can be proposed according to the character of the wearer themselves, without being restricted by categorization into men’s or women’s clothes.

What challenges do you want to embrace as a designer?

This year I have been constantly asked, “What do you want to do from now? Who do you want to collaborate with?” For that reason, I have been putting out various requests (laughs). For example, it is often the case with actors that they have to prioritize TPO or their roles, so they are not free to wear the things they want to wear, so tanakadaisuke would like to collaborate with such actors to create visuals. This does not need to stop at celebrities, and I want to help various people be the people they want to be. I hope that tanakadaisuke can help create a world where everyone plays the leading role.