Following last year's well-received "ewohaku" sneaker collaboration with PUMA, designer Masahiro Tobita of the Spoken Words Project has released a wearable art-themed T-shirt called "ewokiru." We visited his Kameido atelier to ask him about his approach to fashion, as he handcrafts his clothes, even dyeing and printing them himself.

■ Aiming to Create "Something That Doesn't Exist in the World"

-- Recently, the fashion world has been paying attention to "handmade" work, and Tobita has been handcrafting clothes for the Spoken Words Project.

Yes. I've been doing it for so long that it's getting tiresome to even talk about it (laughs). Whether it's making fabric or drawing patterns, there are specialized specialists out there who make clothes. However, there are many rules and regulations involved, and sometimes I find myself wondering, "Huh?" While what has been cultivated is important, nothing new can be created without breaking down preconceived notions. That's why I do it myself to avoid being trapped.

However, there are disadvantages. If you draw the original artwork, dye it yourself, and print it yourself, the amount you can produce is naturally limited, and you start to wonder how much of this routine work is necessary. But for me, "fashion x art" is an unchanging theme, and I'm always thinking, "I want to create something that doesn't exist in the world."



--Have you had that approach since the start?

I had many twists and turns. I studied at art school (graduated from Tama Art University's Department of Textile Design), but even though I'd failed the entrance exam four times, I barely attended school and only focused on music. I was a terrible student (lol). When I sewed my first piece of clothing for my graduation project, I realized, "Ah, this is what I wanted to do." From there, I self-taught myself on how to make clothes. However, I couldn't think of it as "making a product." Because I'd always made music, I felt like I was "making a work of art." At the time, there were many people around me who were purely pursuing art, so I had no qualms about making a living centered around "expression." Looking back, it was quite reckless.

But that wouldn't sell clothes (lol). After experiencing many conflicts, I gave up dyeing and printing for a while and even tried a mass-produced "ready-to-wear" apparel business. However, the more I tried to force myself to make ready-to-wear clothes, the worse it got. So I decided this would be my last project, narrowing it down to just one style of dress, and released a collection in which each piece was individually crafted. It was well-received, and I got an agent and started a business. What looked like one big block on the rack was mass-produced by hand, each one unique when you picked them up. I was convinced that this was it. It was the first time I was able to fuse "art" and "commerce."

--By breaking the seal, the path I was meant to follow opened up.

I didn't follow the traditional path of apparel, so I took many detours and struggled due to my ignorance. But I feel like I learned the most about design during my time as a ronin, and I was able to see things because I was lost. Now, I don't really care about being a "handmade brand." My project with PUMA has made it even clearer to me that, ultimately, I want to do art. That means it has to be constantly stimulating and fresh. As long as you have a strong story and concept, the method of making the clothes doesn't matter. Rather than fixating on techniques such as dyeing and printing, it's important to simply face the "work."

Continued in the second half: "A sense of mission to do something that is unthinkable in the apparel business: Spoken Words Project Designer Tobita Masahiro -- 2/2."