AKIKO AOKI is a fashion brand whose appeal lies in its constant glimpses of girlishness, transcending each season's theme. Where does this creativity come from? We spoke to designer Akiko Aoki at her atelier in Taito Ward's Designers Village. --I understand your family home is in the heart of Tokyo. What was your childhood like? When I was little, I would say "Good morning" to the florist and the security guard at the local parking lot every day on my way to school. They would also say hello when I came home, and I feel like I still had quite a lot of friendly relationships with my neighbors. There were few apartment buildings and no high-rise buildings. I was an only child, so I think I was good at playing alone. I was active, had short hair, and was often mistaken for a boy, asking, "Am I okay?" (laughs). --That's surprising. The late 1980s was the so-called bubble period, wasn't it?

Yes, it was when the bubble was starting to decline a bit. Because of the location of my house, there were a lot of foreigners around. There was a church nearby, and half-Japanese kids came. I also went to Sunday school every week. There were nativity plays and mass, and I talked to kids my age of various nationalities and their parents. In Japanese, though (laughs).

--So you're international.

I went to a mission school from kindergarten to high school, and I think that was also an influence from going to Sunday school.

--I went to Joshibi University, so it was an all-girls school?!

That's right. Central Saint Martins in London is the only co-ed school, and I thought, "Finally, it's co-ed," but then I found out that almost all the boys were gay (laughs). I was like, "Huh? They're kind of elegant, they're cute" (laughs).



--You said you were like a boy when you were a child, but at what point did you start to change?

Even now, I don't really feel like I've changed that much in essence. When I was in kindergarten, I didn't like the color pink. While all the other kids around me chose pink or red, I was the only one who chose blue. Nowadays I use a variety of colors in my collections, but fundamentally I like a slightly cooler feel in terms of temperature.



--I see. That somewhat cool feeling always permeates Aoki's collections. When did you become interested in fashion?

I think I probably started to become conscious of fashion around kindergarten, when my ego started to awaken and I wanted to choose my own clothes.

--That was early.

My school was very strict and there were strict restrictions on what you could wear at school. So I enjoyed the time I had to express myself through my own clothes. My parents weren't particularly strict about what was allowed or not allowed, but even as a child, I felt bad when my parents were called in for breaking the school rules. My parents were called in because of me, and they got seriously scolded by the school (laughs). For a little kid, it was quite serious. Looking back, I think it's a cute thing to do (laughs).

--Did you follow all the rules when you were at school?

Yes. In kindergarten, they even decided on the type of tissues we had (laughs). They had these tiny tissues that were about half the size of regular pocket tissues. They had a design that looked like a rose.

--Oh, they're so cute.

They were cute, but they were tiny, and I think there were only about three sheets in each (laughs).

--That's so small! Maybe they could commercialize that? (laughs)

I wonder if they still have them? School rules seem to be a lot more relaxed now, but they were strict back then. Also, there were some alumni who would report students in town dressed in violation of the rules, so the teacher would tell us to "come forward" at morning assembly (laughs). Now I realize it was a unique environment, but back then I was still young and didn't really have much of an outside world, so that was all I knew.

--So it was an environment where you were always under the assumption that you were being watched. But the school's policies included things like "be disciplined," "obey," and "some kind of spirituality that comes from that."

Yes. Our school mottos were "conscience" and "pure, righteous, and beautiful." I'm not sure if that's the reason, but a fairly high percentage of my classmates are working in the professions they wanted to be at the time. They seem to be quite independent for girls, with many becoming doctors, TV station assistant directors, announcers, and entertainers. However, there weren't many students who went on to study art; only three, including me, did so in my year. While everyone else was slaving away at their desks studying Japanese history or math, we were busy sketching at our easels (laughs).

--What made you decide to go to art school?

I've loved drawing since I was in elementary school, and to be honest, I'd always dreamed of becoming a fashion designer. I also considered becoming a philosopher or psychologist. Perhaps it was the school rules, but I often found myself asking "why?" about reality and all kinds of phenomena that seemed to oppress me. I loved thinking, "Why is it like this?" and "Why are people the way they are?"

When I was deciding on my career path, I wanted to work in fashion, but I didn't think it would be the type that focuses on objects like a fashion school. So I looked for an art school where I could express fashion with a background and concept, and decided to go to Joshibi University of Art and Design. I felt that many of my seniors were creators with a fashion element, such as designers Eri Utsugi and Nagi Noda.

--Who were the designers you admired or who influenced you at the time?

When I was in high school, I was blown away by John Galliano's Dior collection. I think I was also influenced by seeing the works of (Yoshikazu) Yamagata and (Mikio) Sakabe at 21_21 DESIGN SIGHT in Roppongi Midtown when I was 19 and had just entered art school.

--The "New Faces Encountered in Europe" exhibition was organized as part of JFW in 2007. Was that where you met Yamagata and Sakabe?

No, it was a little before that. At the time, there was a private fashion school called "Cork Room" run by (Ichizo) Adachi, who taught at Joshibi University of Art and Design, and they regularly held talk events. I had always wanted to study abroad, so I talked to Professor Adachi about it. He invited me to attend a talk event with Ota Nobuyuki, then of Issey Miyake, which also featured young designers who had studied abroad. When I attended, both Sakabe and Yamagata were there. This was before the "coconogacco" school even existed, and before writtenafterwards' first collection. At the time, I heard them say, "We're going to do this next time," and that's how I ended up helping out with the production of writtenafterwards' first collection.

--I see. So Professor Adachi was a key person.

Yes. Professor Adachi really listened to my concerns and helped me expand my network outside of school. He still comes to see my collections every time, and gives me all sorts of advice.

Continued from "Asking the 'futures' of fashion: The moment I learned at Saint Martins that trash turns into awesome -- Akiko Aoki -- 2/2."