(Continued from Vol. 1)
--Does fashion designers not need the Internet?--
"It's free and open to see works like 'Oriental Made by Japanese' being shared all over the world via the Internet, regardless of country or race." -- Michiko Nakayama (Fashion Designer)
--In terms of analog, I feel like fashion designers are the best example of this.
Nakayama: Yes, it's true. Compared to fast fashion and the like, we're already longing for developed countries... (laughs).
Tominaga: Do you feel it's not necessary?
Nakayama: Not at all, it is. With online shopping becoming so commonplace, how can we foster a relationship where customers can have conversations and develop long-term relationships, just like when they buy in a store? Hmm...it's difficult, isn't it?
I think the experience of buying things online needs to be improved. Like the experience of the sender and receiver of a message in the music video game mentioned earlier (see Vol. 1), a connection, a relationship that may be virtual but remains, is very important when buying something.

—On the other hand, when thinking about the theme of a collection, do you feel the need to get information from the internet?

Nakayama: When I think about the image of my collection, after the previous season ends, a vague idea of what I want to do next pops into my head, and I start to make it concrete. I'm sure that vague idea includes the news I see every day, social conditions, or things I see on the internet. I don't get inspiration from anything specific, but rather the experiences, feelings, and thoughts in my daily life, the state and atmosphere of society, are the source of my next idea.

Tominaga: The internet is merely a tool, but it still has an influence. It certainly has a big impact on the mood of the world.

Nakayama: Fashion is really becoming more diverse. In a world where you can research anything and simulate any experience, you can create all sorts of fantasies by mixing them with the images in your head, and you can go on virtual trips or whatever. That's why the barriers between Japanese and foreign works are gradually disappearing, and I find it fascinating that country and race are no longer relevant, as clothes are made by people who speak different languages and have different cultures. The kind of Oriental fashion made by Japanese people that was around in the 1980s is gradually disappearing, and now it can be created anywhere in the world through the Internet. It's fiercely competitive, but interesting. I feel it's free and open. ...Although it's embarrassing to talk about this at 11 a.m. (laughs).