For the redevelopment of the Isetan Shinjuku store, architects Noritaka Tange and Yasumichi Morita chose the theme of a "fashion museum." Their goal was to create a store that fuses fashion and art. Creative director Shigeo Goto was tasked with creating the advertising campaign concept for the museum-like building they created. Goto created "INTO THE FUTURE," a print and web publication that foreshadows the redeveloped Isetan. He also created the main visual featuring Mona as the muse, and edited "Future Curation," a visual book that conveys the worldview of the fashion museum and was published at the same time as the grand opening. We asked him about the aims of this book. --What was the purpose of creating "Future Curation?" To put it simply, it was to spread the word that "Isetan, a Tokyo department store, is thinking about art fusion." Currently, various fashion houses are using art fusion to add value to their brands through the collaboration of artists. Isetan's similar approach calls into question the store's insight into the platform it uses to propose its products to customers. This book provides the answer. --What exactly is it about? The opening pages feature interviews with Yohji Yamamoto, curator Beatrix Ruff, and the graphic design unit Abake about art fusion, as well as a photo page showcasing the work of Kohei Nawa, photographed by Kishin Shinoyama, integrating it with clothing from top fashion houses like Dior and Saint Laurent. The middle section then features the thoughts on art fusion from 51 people active in the art and fashion worlds, both from Japan and overseas. This book offers a glimpse into what fashion designers, directors, curators, and artists are currently thinking about art fusion. Of course, this book will also be sent to them. Overseas, Isetan has worked with Olivier Zahm, Christian Louboutin, Ai Weiwei, and Theseus Chan. This will communicate to the world's cutting-edge artists that Isetan is proposing a platform for art fusion. Combined with the impactful foil-stamped cover and codex binding (without a spine), readers will likely wonder, "What exactly is Isetan trying to do?"

--Tell me about art fusion.

For example, it has become common for contemporary artists to collaborate with fashion houses to create merchandise, such as British artist Ryan Gander's design of a scarf for Hermès and Yayoi Kusama's collaboration with Louis Vuitton. There is now a growing trend in the art world that artists collaborating with brands is considered cool. The fusion of commercial and artistic elements can be said to be a natural progression of art's evolution. Top curators around the world, including Beatrix Ruff, director of the Swiss art museum Kunsthalle Zurich, have also expressed a positive view of this trend. This is an astonishing trend.
This book also aims to serve as a resource for those in the field, artists, and fashion houses, as they consider art fusion in the future. By distributing it worldwide, it's like planting time bombs in various places to make art fusion a trend. It's like a collection of prophecies.
--The title uses the word "curation." Originally an art term, this word has become more commonly used with the development of the Internet, such as in "curation sites." What do you think?
I think the current concept of curation is editing the virtual (online) and the real. With so much virtual information available these days, the roles of selectors, editors, and recommenders are becoming increasingly important. Furthermore, if they don't live a lifestyle that serves as a role model, they won't be respected. Self-branding is becoming increasingly important. Bloggers are like curators. They post about what they've eaten or bought, and readers who read it are inspired to eat or buy it. In other words, the content they post becomes media. People today seem to be searching for the destination of appropriate desires, not luxury. A curator's role is to guide them in this direction. I think it would be interesting if Isetan also cultivated top web bloggers and created a curation site. This would turn the web into a shop window. If such a system were created online and reflected in real life, I believe the structure of retail would change. Finally, what do you think is the significance of incorporating art into sales floors? Art can be used both for peace activities that reveal the truth and as a weapon of destruction. In other words, art fusion cannot propose a perfect solution. It has a dangerous potential. However, introducing such dangerous things into sales floors will be a new form of branding. By demonstrating Isetan's stance and insight through "Future Curation," this will likely become easier in the future.

On March 6th, Nawa Kohei's work and the maison's clothing were exhibited in the window of Isetan, which was an achievement. Until now, it had been unheard of for multiple brands to be lined up in the window. It can be said to be a victory for editing. Advertising and promotion do not directly generate sales, but they are factors that carry a very important weight in branding. The insight of the Women's Division and the Publicity Division, who allowed me to do this, was excellent. I am grateful.