Emi Suzuki, a model with nearly 20 years of experience, launched her brand Lautashi in 2017. For its fourth season, Spring/Summer 2019, the brand will present its collection as an installation, a first for the brand, during the official schedule of Amazon Fashion Week TOKYO 2019 S/S, which kicked off on October 15th.


Lautashi was born from Suzuki Emi's experience as a model, projecting the emotions she experiences, joy, and pleasure when wearing the clothes. The installation will involve media artist Yoichi Ochiai and sound artist Kaito SAKUMA a.k.a. BATIC, whose background is in cognitive science. Emi Suzuki explains that she chose to present her collection as an installation rather than a runway show because she wants Lautashi to remain "everyday wear." With the big day just around the corner on October 18th, what are her thoughts and feelings?


--Why did you decide to present your collection as an installation?
A friend introduced me to Amazon Fashion and asked me if I would like to enter their "AT TOKYO" program. However, since Lautashi is based on the theme of "everyday wear," I couldn't really picture a typical catwalk show, so I decided to present my collection as an installation.

By incorporating light and sound from everyday life, I hope to express the potential of fashion as a practical item, neither a disposable nor decorative item. As this is the brand's first installation, I hope to express the Lautashi worldview and reaffirm the power of fashion, while also creating a memorable experience for each and every visitor.

--The installation is being done in collaboration with media artist Yoichi Ochiai. How did that come about?
I had been in contact with Ochiai even before this program was decided. By coincidence, we share a hairdresser (laughs). Through that connection, we had a chance to have dinner together, and during that time, we talked about how "fashion can change the world," and I secretly had a faint hope that we might work together on something. Then, after "AT TOKYO" was decided, we officially discussed it again.

--The music will be handled by sound artist KAITO SAKUMA a.k.a. BATIC.
KAITO, who will be composing the music, was recommended by Ochiai. Lautashi is a little too fashionable for a show. We wanted to express something that was a little more conscious of everyday life, so Ochiai and KAITO are coming up with a production system that would give it a sense of everyday life.


--This time, you were looking for models to appear in the installation on social media.
At first, we started the call without any restrictions on age or height. This is because we wanted as many different people as possible to wear Lautashi. From now on, we will look over the composites of all applicants and select the models while keeping the balance in mind as a team. Among the applicants were people in their 50s and housewives living in rural areas, representing a wide range of ages and lifestyles. We've also heard from people who had given up on modeling but now want to give it another go.

--What do you think about Amazon Fashion supporting designers through "AT TOKYO"?
I'm honestly very happy. We don't have any sponsors and are completely self-funded, so I don't think we'd be able to hold a show without an opportunity like this. "AT TOKYO" also has a general audience section, right? This time, I'd like as many members of the public as possible to see the show. I feel that it should be accessible not only to those in the fashion industry, but also to those who actually buy and wear the clothes.

During our first meeting after deciding to participate in Amazon Fashion Week Tokyo, we heard that fashion is not a high priority in Japan. In Paris, everyone on the street, from bakeries to shopkeepers, knows it's fashion week, and I'd like to create a similar environment in Tokyo, where everyone knows it, regardless of age or gender. In that respect, I once again believe that a general viewing section is a must.


--What is the brand's goal?
This time, we will be presenting items using textiles incorporating the traditional Japanese craft of Kyo-Yuzen, known as Sumi-Nagashi dyeing. This is the first time we have traveled to Kyoto and worked with artisans to test and create designs. We plan to continue working with these artisans, and hope to do so every season if possible. We are also secretly planning to collaborate with Ochiai, who is well-versed in technology, to create something using cutting-edge technology like this, such as fabric development, in the future.

--What possibilities does Suzuki Emi see in fashion?
This is a broad question, but many people think that Parisians or New Yorkers are fashionable, but when I travel abroad for work or travel, I feel that Japanese people are actually more fashionable on average. Tokyo may be unique within Japan, but the amount of information available, the ease of buying what you want, and the overall high quality are what I feel.

On the other hand, I feel that we are often so given so much that we end up choosing things without thinking. For example, even people who aren't interested in fashion probably choose their own clothes and wear them every day. I wish more people would use the power that clothes bring to them, so that the conscious act of choosing what they wear every day could become a driving force. It might be like a personal weapon, similar to the feeling you get when you say, "This pen makes my handwriting so much better!" I believe that clothes can give me more of that kind of power, like making a presentation go a little better.

As the Lautashi concept suggests, I've worn a lot of clothes throughout my modeling career, and I've realized how much my feelings change each time, which means I really understand how much power clothing can have. I want to create pieces that inspire others when they wear them, one by one. I'd be happy if people started wearing clothes with more variety and joy.