SPOT LIGHTS by TOMO KOIZUMI
A community that can grow together.
TOMO KOIZUMI
Show your face where you find it interesting
→ Create an opportunity to see the work
Mr. Koizumi came to think "I want to push the back of creators who do not know how to go out to the world" because his career is different from the so-called royal road of designers, so there are various ways to make design work. I thought I could show it in the field.
The starting point for Mr. Koizumi to become a "dressmaker who does not sell", which receives offers from overseas, is a photo of Dior's show by John Galliano, which he saw in the summer of Chunibyo. "This is fashion! I was shocked and asked him to buy a sewing machine as a Christmas present and started making dresses. At university, he belongs to a fashion circle and presents a collection of about 4 to 5 bodies twice a year. While working as a stylist assistant, I was using my own clothes for the test shoot, and the snap caught the eye of a select shop in Harajuku. Invited to wholesale clothes, he launched the brand in his fourth year of college.
"At that time, a big company went bankrupt after the Lehman shock, so it's not safe to get a job, and if there is a risk, I want to do what I like. I've been making clothes all the time, showing up. "
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Reduce the mismatch between what you want to do and your work
→ Appeal the work you want to do
I wasn't conscious of costume design, but the stylists I met started to ask me to make costumes. At first I was making what I wanted, but eventually I mixed the costumes I made with the works I really liked and made a collection every two to three years.
"A real costume designer can make whatever he wants. I end up using it as a costume, and it's clear what I want to make and what I can make. As a collection, tell the stylist what I can do. I showed them so that there wasn't much mismatch between what they wanted to do and what they were asked to do. "
Since the work is used in the form of costumes, Mr. Koizumi's design work will become established as a leasing business rather than a sale. We have established a style that allows us to pursue individuality without being bound by factors such as mass production and daily use.
It's not that there was no talk of sales. After the show in NY, an unexpected offer came in. "I was hoping that the number of celebrity leasing contracts would increase, but unexpectedly I received offers from buyers and a super-major online shopping company in the United States. I think it's amazing. I refused, because I had decided not to make anything to sell. "
As a business, there was also a rush to ask if we didn't have to make something to sell. But if I really wanted to do it, I would do it. It's okay to have a designer who doesn't make something to sell. With that in mind, Mr. Koizumi has maintained that style until now. Recently, I've been collaborating with other brands to release works for sale, but that's because I came across the timing of "I'll do it because I wanted to do it" and the project I wanted to do.
Go meet someone introduced by someone you like
→ The door to the new world is in an unexpected place
In the summer of 2020, I was introduced to accessory designer Chris Havana, who I met at a bar in Paris, and met Takahisa Muramatsu, CEO of Ash P. France. Muramatsu, who claims to be a modern adventurer, saw Koizumi's work and said, "I don't know you, but if you look at it, you know you're an innovator." In Japan, where there is a strong tendency to emphasize titles and awards, Mr. Koizumi, who came to me with the words that he evaluated himself as "I do not know who I am, but I know who I am", said, "A person with this kind of feeling. If it increases, the world will change even more. "
"A world where something starts when you see something, and good things are evaluated as good. I wondered if I could do a little help to make it. I have a sense and passion, but how do I make a work? There are people who don't know if it's okay to put it out into the world. If you push it a little, it will fly. I may be able to teach you, and I also want to be inspired by such people. I wonder if such a platform can be created. , I consulted with the rooms team introduced by Mr. Muramatsu. "
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Shed light on exciting works
→ Create an inspiring community
As a result, "SPOT LIGHTS by TOMO KOIZUMI" was launched. Mr. Koizumi selected "exciting" works from a large number of applicants, exchanged messages with creators, and three groups of creators will exhibit their works at the special booth of rooms41.
"I'm not their teacher, I feel like creating a community that stimulates each other. I thought about it myself, but I don't know. We will continue to recruit regularly and increase the number of friends. Among them, I think that some people may ask me to leave the members, "I wonder if I have lost my motivation." It's not a school, so it's not just a place to get something done or taught. It's a community where we can give each other. "
Mr. Koizumi hopes that his style of "a dressmaker who does not sell" will become one role model. "I want to shed light on the" people who don't apply "who have a lot of one-of-a-kind items, or which aren't very popular, but who make something really interesting. I'm always here with the stance of doing what is needed and what is required at that time. Please come with the feeling of communicating with each other rather than being passive. waiting"
BRAND PROFILE
TOMO KOIZUMI
As a world-class fashion designer, he is active in many fields, including custom-made costumes. His collections and costumes are characterized by bright colors and bold silhouettes, and are well-received by actresses and artists both in Japan and overseas. It is also fresh in my memory that I was selected as one of the 2020 LVMH prize winners.