– You like clothes, don’t you?
[Let’s see~, I do like them, but I wouldn’t go as far as to say they’re one of my interests.]
– But you seem to be well aware of what looks good on you.
[No, I just buy what I like. But the thing is, I don’t make good use of what I wear, really. I have a habit of buying tons of clothes. As soon as I hand over my money, something a little different will catch my eye. Not a colour like black, but a rare colour. That’s what I’m after when I shop.]
– Speaking of which, when you were little, you must have been a trendy kid?
[Well…… I ended up being trendy. People around me told me I was.]
– Also, when your mom bought clothes for you and you didn’t like them, were you quick to say so?
[Hmm, yeah, that sort of thing did happen. Early on in elementary school? When I went shopping with my mom, I picked things out myself. By the time I started middle school, I was only wearing what I chose for myself.]
– What kind of clothes did you like when you were in middle school?
[I don’t think it was that different from what I like now. Pop-ish things, cute things. Well, the times have changed, so different things are out now, but the style of things I like hasn’t changed. I was flashy, in middle school. Leopard prints, animal prints, I had lots of those. And fake fur coats and jackets, too.]
– You certainly made a gorgeous middle schooler (laughs). Did you wear rubber soles back then?
[In first year of high school…. or third year of middle school? They were expensive for me, back then. So, I wore battamon ones, not George Cox ones or anything like that(1). You know, if you only have one of the real thing and you wear it every day, it’ll wear out fast (laughs). Genuine rubber soles wear out really quickly, believe it or not. Battamons take longer. Their soles are made stronger.]
– Oh! I didn’t know that! You used your allowance to buy those, right?
[That’s right. I didn’t have anything but my monthly allowance, basically. I’d save my New Years gift money, then get by on that. Oh, and I worked a little, too. I did some newspaper delivery.]
– When you were that age, tetsu-san, was anyone a sort of fashion leader for you?
[I guess the first were Duran Duran? During the New Romantics phase(2). That was in middle school, first and second year. By the end of second year, I was in a band myself, and I was into hard rock and heavy metal. I wore tons of skin tight, slim pants. It was the style, really~. Glam (rock) style.]
– Now you aren’t caught up in those things, you have your own original fashion sense.
[No, that’s not right. Its just that the brands I like change with each era, just like what’s popular in the world changes. I think that’s more or less it.]
– Do you keep up with what’s popular?
[I wouldn’t say I keep up, but to a certain degree I have to read up on the era, so I think I want to know what’s going on. It’s not that I actively work at it, at knowing what’s going on; I make my own choices.]
– Then… please tell me more about how the brands you like have changed.
[Let’s see, when I was in high school, Hysteric Glamour (3) was a big thing, I rather liked it. And Vivienne (Westwood) (4) too. But it was expensive for me, in school. Then, my early 20s were bad, weren’t they? Luna Matiino, Arrston Volaju, Gaultier and so on(5). Expeeeensive foreign stuff. All black, dressed like a host or something (laughs). In my teens, I had an eye for expensive things, even though I couldn’t buy them. Once I had a chance to dress like that, I started liking more casual clothes. I went back to Hys and the like. For the last two, three years, I’ve liked Number (N)ine, UNDER COVER, Dior (Homme), RAF SIMONS, D&G (6). And of course Vivienne. That sort of thing~]
– It seems you’ve gone back to taking it lightly, now, compared to high school. Do you still have any of your old clothes from that time?
[I kept some things. There are clothes I bought ten years ago that I still wear once in a while.]
– Do you think you’ll always buy the same kind of clothes as you do know?
[Hmm, I don’t think ahead like that. I think I’ll just pick out what I like at that particular time.]
– What do clothes mean to you, tetsu-san?
[The way I see it, wearing clothes you like is a way of bracing yourself. It affects your mood. Even though it’s said that “Appearances don’t determine a person,” it’s a fact that a lot of the time, you’re judged on how you look at the moment. For example, you can be sloppy on the inside, but if you dress yourself up a little you’ll be seen as a neater person (laughs). As an unexpected twist, I think that’s a good thing when used effectively.]
Interviewer : Harada Sachi
Translated by Natalie Arnold
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