SOMA Magazine SOMA Spring Fashion Issue | Página 54

Including all of the dull steps, what is your creative
process?
I ask that anyone on my team take an interest in the idea of social
context in everything we do. That is why I encourage everyone to
be connected to the world at large and get out of your own silos
at work and home. I lead many of the discussions concerning
the problem to be solved and find great joy in intelligent dialogue before we get into the juicy part of concept and execution.
I love creative directing again, and I even have some chances to
art direct despite my title. What a difference a year makes. My
creative direction, nevertheless, is from a very high level, but at
least I know I am making a tangible, creative contribution.

choice of fashion collaborators. Rather than simply using designers as a means of bringing attention to our brand, we choose
carefully those who share our values and vision. Concurrently,
we must not shy from an opportunity to surprise both the
consumer and ourselves… Hopefully, these are not simply
short-term capsule collections, but an ability to build longer
partnerships where our ideas can grow together. The quality of
the relationship is paramount because it will show in the clothes.
Hype alone is just hype.

You worked with Uniqlo on their fleece products in 1999,
so you’ve been familiar with the brand’s goals and culture
for some time. How has the brand evolved since then?
The brand, its approach and its goals, have evolved even just
in the past 12 months. So of course it has moved since my early
years in Tokyo, working on the brand and creating the initial
fleece campaign. Yet, the DNA has remained consistent through
the magic and leadership of our founder, Tadashi Yanai. His
modesty and ability to dream big will never fade. This evolution
is ongoing. It must, if we want to stay relevant and inspiring. And
this is true for us as individuals or as any major brand. Nothing
is more dangerous than your own status quo.

What is the aim of collaborations with the likes of
French style icons such as Inès de la Fressange and
Carine Roitfeld?
What excites us most about France is it’s future of diversity,
of liberty, how multiculturalism will add to its rich heritage. It
is going through difficult times, but we remain inspired by their
devotion to the arts and freedom. Fashion is simply a mirror to
the changes of the future. Fashion must change, and we look to
France as one of the global centers for that inspiration.
You will see how our admiration of culture and social change
will inspire other forms of creative collaborations in the near
future with other countries and different skills. You will see our
support for youth and fresh talent both internally and externally.
We cannot go to new places without them. We have to learn
from the future.

What upcoming collaborations excite you? And what do
you hope those collaborations will do for the brand?
We are launching our newest flagship store in the world with
a redo of our store at 311 Oxford Street in London, featuring
a collaboration with Liberty London that includes images by
photographer Nick Knight. The opening campaign will introduce an eclectic mix of influential Londoners, photographed by
Rankin. Each [is] a contributor to the city’s reputation as a hub of
global creativity.
We have been very careful, and some say surprising, in our

Are you working on anything just for fun, for yourself, at
the moment?
Creative people often don’t live up to their own rhetoric about
risk-taking and being fearless in their own lives. I could not live
with myself if I became one of those who made a career of being
an industry icon. Being able to put yourself in a position of risk,
if we can be so fortunate, helps to keep us relevant and learning.
Being able to explode the definition of “make” is important.
I have just gotten started, I have so much to learn and do. I
must think and make.

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