Keisuke Yoshida debuted his eponymous label in 2015 and has since been a hit in Japan for his maximalist take on fashion. His work effortlessly blends together avant-garde, sartorial, and streetwear design conventions to be the uniform of the next generation. He just released his AW2021 runway collection a few weeks ago that was set in a mock high school classroom with models standing on top of the desks; angst and rebellion exuded from every look. I wanted to get to know Keisuke as a person and see how much of this spirit is his own.
What was growing up like for you? Was anyone in your family knowledgable or passionate about fashion?
I went to a private boys’ school from elementary school. When I was a junior high school student, I was not good at both studying and sports and I was a dull boy. Then I thought I wanted to change myself. So I became interested in fashion. When I was a high school student, I met mode fashion(high-fashion).Until then, I had only thought of fashion as something you wear, but I was shocked by the collections I saw at that time, from then I became more and more absorbed in fashion. No one in my family is familiar with fashion.
Your collections tend to have themes of youthful rebellion, you even referenced school uniforms in AW17, I’m curious if you draw inspiration from your own teenage years. Would you consider your work personal?
My creations are always born from the moment when my memories, experiences and emotions have some tangent points with society.And at this moment, my adolescent memory is indispensable. There are many inferiority complexes for myself and for society. And there are depressed mood, irritation to something with no reason, enthusiasm for the first intention, longing for fashion, and the mood and feelings of that times.And youth is an indispensable element for my fashion. The air surrounding young people, whether bright or dark, is always the mood that is existing at the base of my collection.Freshness is always important in fashion.I think we can’t encounter new outfits if our emotion are got old.KEISUKE YOSHIDA begins always with a very personal history, but I’m trying to have a connection with society when I’m doing creation.
Why do you choose to make clothes that stand out rather than blend in. Does this have to do with your personality?
Fashion has the power to change people.People needs powers when they want to change.I wish the clothes would be chosen at a moment like this. There is nothing usual in the present age. I think each attitude is more important than someone’s decision.
What was the first piece you ever made?
A collection of school uniforms based on my adolescent memories.
Why is fashion important? Why should designers continue to produce new collections every year to infinitum even tho there is such a surplus of clothing for humanity?
Creating fashion is about imagining a little further future. It’s about thinking about the person itself, and it’s the attitude of our way of being.Things are changing little by little every day. And we’re getting new awareness from there. It’s because dressing is what we need to live with a fresh heart.
Is it possible for people to be original anymore ? How do you strive to create unique art in a world of copycats.
I think it’s possible.We always have to face both ourselves and society.It’s necessary to make a conversation with history (reference) for creation.At that moment, what do you think and what do you represent? I think the uniqueness is coming from attitude like this.
How do you balance the artistic vision with the financial side of making clothes
First of all, it is important to create a vision.And it’s necessary that my uniqueness gets empathy of people, and also to connect with many people.Of course fashion brands need to produce and sell their clothes, but that is not the only job that fashion designers can do. I think that new businesses will come from communication existing on the sharing of the vision.
How do you go about designing a piece? Then, how do you go about designing a full collection?
First, I decide a rough theme. It’s like a keyword that makes me feel fresh at that time.I do research based on it. The research is not limited to clothes, but also includes people, places, atmosphere and texture. These inputtings are the work of building my brain. I create a design from that, gain new awareness and repeat the work of designing again.Through this making process, it’s becoming clear that what I wanted to make in the collection. This is the concept. But I’m sure I wanted to make it from the beginning, it’s not the retrofit theme. It’s like paying off the earlier foreshadowing.
You use a lot of interesting techniques to construct your garments particularly the bowtie(brummell) tops. How did you come up with that design?
The moment when a number of references become my own, a fresh design is born.That bowtie shirt was born at the end of the working. The details of the neck choker, which was designed as an accent, were developed throughout the body like a bondage wear. It was a sudden inspiration. The work of shaping the design is always developed through communication with my team including pattern maker and sewer.
What are some of your influences outside of fashion (music,film,places,ect.)
There are casual awarenesses in my everyday life. These are the most of my influences.Of course I like cultures other than fashion, but I don’t have a special attachment.However, I am attracted to things that have textures close to the image I’m thinking, regardless of genre.
You have used rope-toggles a lot in your recent collections as both closures and ornamentation, what drew you to these and what do they represent to you.
The rope-toggle of duffle coat is one of the symbols of “youth” for me.It is derived from the image of a style wearing an unfashionable duffle coat over school uniform.And first of all, I like the design of the toggle itself.
In your AW2020 collection, you made pieces out of reconstructed graphic tops. How is sustainability/recycling a value in your brand and what are your thoughts on the fashion industry’s wastefulness?
What we are trying to do is not to make wasteful things. This does not mean that we only make products that are easy to wear or easy to sell, but that we try not to make not-good designs.First of all, it is important to create a sustainable system without consuming the brand itself. And I think it is important to concentrate on making better things so as not to make wasteful things that are common in the market.
What is your vision for your label moving forward? How do you see it evolving?
Always keep creating exciting and fresh creations. And presenting it in an ideal way that suits my creation. It’s not for the media or the people involved, but it’s for young fashion lovers to experience it directly.SS21, we gathered many young people on the riverbed of my hometown and held a fashion show there. The sight of many fashion lovers gathering on the rural riverbed at dusk was very emotional.I think that the brand is evolving by sharing the presentation that is suitable for the collection, and also sharing the texture and experience. And communication with young fashion lovers has always big impact on my creation.
Who are some new designers you see a lot of potential in?
situationist(Georgia)
STEFAN COOKE (london)
obsess(Japan)
re_qual (japan)