Considering the future of fashion—a big and elusive question, there's no doubt that young creators are one of the defining elements of that future.

In this series, we'll be highlighting Tokyo-based creators and delving into their creations and roots. This first installment focuses on Keisuke Yoshida, designer of "KEISUKEYOSHIDA," a pop-up shop at the "TOKYO Kaihoku" concept shop on the second floor of the Isetan Shinjuku Main Building, which opened on May 25th.

His 2016 Spring/Summer collection, unveiled at "Tokyo New Age," the official schedule for Tokyo Collection in October last year (the "gamer-inspired" first look was retweeted over 2,000 times on Twitter), garnered a great response, and Diane Pernet and buyers at the renowned Parisian select shop Colette have also praised Yoshida's skills. Now 25 years old, he is one of the most promising talents in the Japanese fashion industry. We spoke to him on the campus of his alma mater, Rikkyo University.



--Why did you go into fashion even though you graduated from a four-year university?

Actually, I went to Rikkyo University from elementary school onwards. Among Rikkyo students, I was what they call a "Rikkyo Junior and Senior High School graduate," and I felt a sense of inferiority that is unique to internal students. When I was in high school, I was on the verge of passing the internal entrance exam to get into university. I had always been interested in fashion, but I was annoyed that people would think, "That guy got into fashion because he couldn't get into university," so I studied hard and somehow managed to get into university. Looking back, I'm glad I went to university. If I had gone to a vocational school, I think I would have been completely immersed in fashion, but I went to a regular four-year university and felt a sense of unease that I couldn't fully pursue fashion. That's when I met Yamagata Yoshikazu (designer of writtenafterwards, founder of Coconogacco, which has produced Nakazato Shuko and others, who we'll talk about below), and I became friends with Nakazato Shuko (designer of NORIKO NAKAZATO, who held a pop-up at TOKYO Kaihoku from the end of last year to the beginning of this year), who was also attending the same university, and I was able to get inspiration from her in many ways.

--When did you first become interested in fashion?

Around middle school. I wanted to be cool (laughs). I went to an all-boys school, so rather than wanting to be popular, I just wanted to be part of a cool group. When I was around 15, Joe Odagiri was a fashion icon, Hedi Slimane's Dior Homme was popular, and Japan had Number Nine. I admired Joe Odagiri and cut my head like his at the time—half long, half shaved. I got weird looks at school and even got bashed on 2ch message boards at school... But I think that feeling of "I want to be cool" back then is the core and essence of my current collections.

--So your insecurities are the driving force behind your creations?

The theme for the three seasons since Keisuke Yoshida's debut has been "empathy for insecurities." I personally don't think insecurities are uncool. Insecurities are generally embarrassing and something people don't want to talk about, but at their core is a pure, gentle, innocent feeling. I think that's a universal emotion we all have.

--The first look for SS16 really gave me a strong feeling of "I want to be that cool guy" (laughs)

For SS16, our second season, we aimed to take empathy to the next level. We wanted people to share the emotion by actually wearing the clothes. We wanted to create a collection that would convey that the feeling and attitude of an average boy when he thinks, "I want to be cool, I want to be that cool guy," is cool in itself. I think the reason people mocked the first look, which caused a Twitter uproar, as being uncool is because they know what it was like when they weren't cool. I mean, if you think back to the first clothes you picked out and bought yourself in middle school, you'll understand, but they probably wouldn't have been considered cool by today's standards. But a kid who knew nothing about fashion thought they were incredibly cool at the time. The essential part of it isn't "uncool" at all; it might just be purely cool, or perhaps it's something universally human.

--What are your thoughts on how to "present" your collection?

For the past two seasons, I've been presenting my collections in runway format, and I'm particularly conscious of the act of presenting them on a runway. When it comes to runways during fashion week, the image is that it's normal for tall, good-looking international models to appear one after another. But in that context, it's refreshing to see a mysterious middle school-like model suddenly strut out. I wanted to convey that it's okay for ordinary people to confidently step out in a place where cool people are the norm, and that this is also part of what makes them cool.

Continued in the second part.