The other day, Yoshio Kubo himself answered questions posted on his Instagram Stories. Questions included, "When is the moment when an idea is born for a designer who creates something new?" and "What criteria does a professional designer use to choose clothes in his private life?" We would like to introduce the answers to these questions.
(Question) "When do you come up with ideas?"
(Question) "When do you come up with a design idea?"
That's right. Basically, the first premise is that I'm always thinking about design. I think the ideas for that depend on my own experience, but if I don't input ideas at the same time, they'll dry up. I need to input ideas in the same amount as I think about design. The reason my staff say I have a "wide range of ideas" is because I'm always inputting something new.
When it comes to input, I get a lot of information from books. There are a lot of books in the office, so I often look through them when I have time. Not digital books, but analog design books or art books. I try to gather information that other designers don't see as much as possible.
I also read regular magazines. Although they're not related to fashion, I like magazines like "The Courier" and "Forbes." This may seem surprising, but I never talk to people to get more input.
When I'm constantly taking in ideas like that, they suddenly come to me when I'm walking home or driving. It's like all the things that were jumbled up are sorted out and elevated into ideas. It's the same when I'm in the smoking area, or when I take a short breather and a gap opens up in my body and the ideas come to me.
To help me remember those moments, I always carry a pencil with me, and I often draw on the back of receipts or gum wrappers.
(Question) "What is the rule when I buy clothes?"
In the past, I would personally order from designer acquaintances or friends at their exhibitions, but to be honest, I don't have many opportunities to buy these days. I mostly buy from my own brand, but sometimes when I find a creation that I would never have thought of, or if it's a high-quality overseas brand that's different from my own brand, I'll buy it.
Speaking of the latter, one example is John Smedley knitwear. It has a unique construction and texture that I can't quite put into words, and it's very comfortable to wear, and I've always wanted to get closer to this brand when it comes to knitwear. I mostly wear sneakers, but I've also collaborated with Puma and Reebok on some of my own brands.
Surprisingly, I often buy swim trunks. Whenever I go to Hawaii, I always buy some. I don't choose them based on print or color, but rather on the interesting silhouette. The color is usually black.
As an aside, do you know why black goes with any color? It's because it contains all of those colors. So, it's only natural that it goes with them. Beige is made up of red, blue, and yellow, so it goes with those colors. All colors except white are made up of multiple colors mixed together, so if you know the colors that make it up, you can find colors that are easy to coordinate.
I'm getting off topic, but the key points in choosing clothes are things I would never have thought of in my own creations.
(Question) "The arm covers from Rakuten Fashion Week..."
I originally found it among the samples at a fabric store. It's made from laser-cut polyester and then heated to prevent it from unraveling. It's an interesting fabric that unfolds like a bellows or strip of paper when cut.
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Kubo found this project interesting, and shared his thoughts and future plans, saying, "Next time, I might give a brief explanation of the 2022 Spring/Summer collection and take questions about it."
The next event will be announced on the official Instagram and LINE accounts, so if you haven't followed them yet, be sure to check them out.
Official Instagram
Official LINE
(Question) "When do you come up with ideas?"
(Question) "When do you come up with a design idea?"
That's right. Basically, the first premise is that I'm always thinking about design. I think the ideas for that depend on my own experience, but if I don't input ideas at the same time, they'll dry up. I need to input ideas in the same amount as I think about design. The reason my staff say I have a "wide range of ideas" is because I'm always inputting something new.
When it comes to input, I get a lot of information from books. There are a lot of books in the office, so I often look through them when I have time. Not digital books, but analog design books or art books. I try to gather information that other designers don't see as much as possible.
I also read regular magazines. Although they're not related to fashion, I like magazines like "The Courier" and "Forbes." This may seem surprising, but I never talk to people to get more input.
When I'm constantly taking in ideas like that, they suddenly come to me when I'm walking home or driving. It's like all the things that were jumbled up are sorted out and elevated into ideas. It's the same when I'm in the smoking area, or when I take a short breather and a gap opens up in my body and the ideas come to me.
To help me remember those moments, I always carry a pencil with me, and I often draw on the back of receipts or gum wrappers.
(Question) "What is the rule when I buy clothes?"
In the past, I would personally order from designer acquaintances or friends at their exhibitions, but to be honest, I don't have many opportunities to buy these days. I mostly buy from my own brand, but sometimes when I find a creation that I would never have thought of, or if it's a high-quality overseas brand that's different from my own brand, I'll buy it.
Speaking of the latter, one example is John Smedley knitwear. It has a unique construction and texture that I can't quite put into words, and it's very comfortable to wear, and I've always wanted to get closer to this brand when it comes to knitwear. I mostly wear sneakers, but I've also collaborated with Puma and Reebok on some of my own brands.
Surprisingly, I often buy swim trunks. Whenever I go to Hawaii, I always buy some. I don't choose them based on print or color, but rather on the interesting silhouette. The color is usually black.
As an aside, do you know why black goes with any color? It's because it contains all of those colors. So, it's only natural that it goes with them. Beige is made up of red, blue, and yellow, so it goes with those colors. All colors except white are made up of multiple colors mixed together, so if you know the colors that make it up, you can find colors that are easy to coordinate.
I'm getting off topic, but the key points in choosing clothes are things I would never have thought of in my own creations.
(Question) "The arm covers from Rakuten Fashion Week..."
I originally found it among the samples at a fabric store. It's made from laser-cut polyester and then heated to prevent it from unraveling. It's an interesting fabric that unfolds like a bellows or strip of paper when cut.Kubo found this project interesting, and shared his thoughts and future plans, saying, "Next time, I might give a brief explanation of the 2022 Spring/Summer collection and take questions about it."
The next event will be announced on the official Instagram and LINE accounts, so if you haven't followed them yet, be sure to check them out.
Official Instagram
Official LINE