--How do you balance fashion and art in your creations?

I think it's very difficult, but to me, anything that breaks through the cracks has a more artistic feel. I think fashion is a slightly more controlled version of that. Perhaps fashion is about being able to imagine the person wearing the shoes.

--Do you always put your feet into the completed shoes yourself?

If you're calling them "shoes," I think it's essential to be able to put your feet in them, stand in them, and take a step in them. If you leave out the essential elements of shoes, they'll end up being incomplete. They're a kind of sculpture, but the fact that they can be worn strikes a good balance between art and fashion. Art is often displayed or admired rather than experienced directly, isn't it? But shoes can be worn, right? In that sense, shoes are art that can be experienced directly, and I think they're a new material that brings people closer to the work.

--Why did you create shoes that express Ito Jakuchu's work using Nishijin brocade? I've always been a fan of Ito Jakuchu. I'm currently exhibiting at the Kyoto Museum of Modern Art's "Japanese Fashion: A Continuum of Discontinuity" exhibition, and of all the themes I've been considering, I thought "Ito Jakuchu" would be the best fit. Since Ito Jakuchu was originally from Kyoto's Nishiki Market, I wanted to use materials that were already available in Kyoto at the time he lived, so I used Nishijin-ori fabric. I imagine Ito Jakuchu's approach to craftsmanship is similar to mine. Even though he uses the ancient Japanese painting technique, he has developed techniques that are so detailed they've even been called transcendental. I think this was an "innovation" at the time. In his case, he expressed his techniques in 2D, while in my case, I express them in 3D, using shoes as a base. What do you think the future holds for Japanese fashion? Honestly, I don't think fashion as a whole is going to be interesting. There's so much information about a collection that you get bored between the time it starts on the runway and the actual product release. The promotional aspect is becoming more important, and the excitement and thrill of the moment, the desire to actually go and see it, are disappearing. I don't think we can stop this. In that sense, the future isn't bright. However, because of this, there are bound to be some things that stand out, and only the real thing will remain. I think only things with proper logic and a solid foundation will survive. I may be in the minority, but I personally want to preserve things that make people think, "Fashion is full of dreams, isn't it?"

It's possible that even clothes that aren't that interesting can sell, and I think that such clothes can fulfill a different kind of fulfillment. It's not a division of roles, but I think that kind of thing should be left to those people.

I want a reason for who I am, ever since I was born. Something like an identity. For example, if something made by your ancestors was in a museum, you would be proud of it and simply be happy. In the future, once I've gotten married and had children, I'd like to leave behind a legacy of honest creations that my closest friends can be proud of. Rather than creating something that changes the visible, I want to create things that move the hearts and minds of those who see them. I want to create things that are priceless, timeless, and can pass on a different form of inspiration, like being moved by something I've experienced at an art museum and then creating something.

--My last question: What does fashion mean to you, Kushino?

It's a never-ending pursuit. Fashion is directly connected to our emotions, isn't it? I think wearing bright clothes makes you feel brighter, too. Fashion is inherently something to enjoy. I think the appeal of fashion lies in how you enjoy each day, or the desire to wear something on a date with someone you love. Other animals don't wear clothes, so I believe wearing clothes is a human privilege. That's why it's so important and enriches our emotions. That's why I want to push the level of my creations to the highest level possible. For example, I could create the first shoes to be taken into space (laughs). I think there's a certain romance in that. For me, creating something from my imagination is a never-ending pursuit.

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