Working in the fashion industry, you often encounter surprises that are unique to this industry. In this article, Yoshio Kubo introduces three "intense" episodes from his life as a designer that made him think, "That was a shock!" (Text: Yaro Matsushita)

■ Encounter with Giorgio Armani

Virgil Abloh passed away recently, and when I heard about it, I remembered something. I mentioned a while ago that I was invited by Giorgio Armani to show my collection in Milan, and Virgil was also invited there, along with J.W. Anderson, who has become known in Japan for his collaboration with Uniqlo. The Fall/Winter 2017 collection was a very good season for me. (Related article: Why Yoshio Kubo is holding a show overseas )

One of the most memorable experiences I had in Italy was the most frightening experience I've ever had. We were having an exhibition in a huge building that looked like an Armani empire, designed by Tadao Ando. Since it was an Armani building, Giorgio Armani was naturally in his office there, but it seems he had never shown up at an exhibition for a new creator. Apparently, he hadn't been there for at least the past two years.

So, Tanaka from Revolution PR, who accompanied me, brought along some Dassai sake and, perhaps because of some connections he passed it on to me, one day he actually came down to see me. Of course, it was the first time we'd met, but I was really excited because I really wanted him to see my work. To use an analogy, it was like a budding comedian meeting Beat Takeshi. He's a living legend.


He asked me a few questions while looking at my clothes, and I answered in English. He spoke to me in Italian through an interpreter, but when he looked me in the eye with those blue eyes, I felt like he could see right through everything I said. It's my own work, so I should have been able to talk about it as much as I wanted, but I was worried that he might think what I was saying was a lie, and I gradually lost the words and became extremely anxious.

Moreover, he acted as if he was angry. I wondered what it was, and then I realized that he was referring to a collection that was entirely made of real fur. Giorgio Armani had just announced that they would stop using real fur out of consideration for animal welfare.

After he had looked around, we finally took a photo together, but there was an awkward pause and I got anxious again. I couldn't keep him waiting, but there was no photographer, no cell phone, and neither Kono-kun nor Tanaka-kun, who had accompanied me, were there either, so I waited while yelling in my head, "Bring it now!" and finally we were able to get a photo of the two of us together. Anyway, I was so happy that I was able to take the photo, and I even want to take it to my grave. I posted it on social media and it got about 1,000 likes.

■The audition venue was on the verge of explosion!

Another story that really surprised me was during the Spring/Summer 2011 season. I wanted to try something new with the casting that season, so I asked Mariah Carey's security guard, real delinquents, American football players, bodybuilders, and others to come audition. I wanted to show larger men wearing oversized clothing. At the time, we were holding auditions in a small building, but a fight broke out between a Japanese delinquent and a black security guard.

You can see the Spring/Summer 2011 collection here

■What, it's going to launch there?!

There were times when I was in a rush due to time constraints. This happened during the last show in Tokyo. The venue we chose was Chichibunomiya Rugby Stadium, and at the time, the local Central League champions, the Yakult Swallows, were playing in the middle of the seventh game of the Japan Series at the neighboring Jingu Stadium, where they were fighting for the title of Japan's best team. I heard that if they won, there would be fireworks, so I thought it would be amazing to incorporate this into the production, and I discussed it with the director.

We let the audience in until the very last minute, and then we dragged on and on until the start, and then the fireworks suddenly went off at a timing that was hard to believe. I was a bit nervous at the time, but I thought it was an amazing production. I was so worried that I might have used up all the luck I had left in my life.

You can see the Spring/Summer 2013 collection here