Yojiro Kake

Picture by: Ruggero Mengoni

Yojiro Kake is a Japanese designer based in Florence, Italy. His latest collection is inspired by "rain" and its effect on garments. Yojiro's collection will be presented during the closing Fashion Show on Sunday the 15th!

Hi Yojiro! What inspires you in general? 

In general, I am inspired by contemporary arts, music and films, but I mainly get my inspirations from my everyday life, as well as the emotions of people in it. Emotions and feelings are more important to me because there are difficult to explain. Using several methods, I like to “translate” those feelings into my design.

What place or city do you find inspiring?

I don’t feel too much from places or cities. I think it’s all about people; different people stimulate me and inspire me.

What is it like to be a young designer in your city/country? 

Here in Florence there aren’t many young designers around. But I’m proud to be ‘based in Florence’, though I’ve heard some negative things from young designers in Italy. However, I do believe that designers can create a trend no matter where they are based.

What attracts you about the FASHIONCLASH platform? 

It’s the first time we participate to FASHIONCLASH, it seems to be a well-organized and efficient team working in a calm atmosphere. We are also glad to participate because of the possible economic offers, especially because we are on a tight budget right now.

Picture by: Yojiro Kake

Your collection is inspired by the rain. What is the message you want to convey through your work?

Let’s say I’m trying to depict the representation of a rain eclipse, such as the transformation of garments under the rain. I want it to look like the rain “eclipsed” the clothes.

Describe your collection with three words:

Phantom/Eclipse/Dreamy

Did you always want to work in the field of fashion? 

I wanted to be a painter, an artist, a cartoonist, or even a farmer... but later on, I became really interested in fashion, because for me fashion is a mysterious thing, more than anything else.

Can you remember the first piece you designed? 

A tote bag. I made it before I went to the school of fashion in Osaka.

Do you have a muse? If yes, who is it and why? 

No, I don’t have one.

What kind of feeling do you want to transfer with your latest collection/creation? 

I always want to transfer some positive feelings with my collection. I sometimes find it difficult to move forward, so I always try to add hopes from darkness into my work.

What is on your playlist when you are working? 

Recently I’ve been playing Mixcloud endlessly and listening to jazz, techno, trip-hop, rock, j-pop, mixed all together. In fact, the only melody I can hear at work is the sound of cutting, sewing, sketching: the sound of work.

Picture by: Ruggero Mengoni

What book shaped you? 

I only read comics.

Who is your favorite fashion designer? 

Miuccia Prada.

What is the latest thing you bought for yourself? 

A bus ticket.

What is your favorite fairy tale and why? 

I don’t know if I ‘like’ it or not, but there’s one that I always remember well – the fable of “the Tortoise and the Hare”. The story is that a hare and a turtle had a race, and of course the hare can run faster than the turtle. The hare takes a nap in the middle of the race. At last the turtle wins because he kept walking and never gave up. Maybe this is the message of my brand?

If your life were a song what would the title be? 

“Extremely Slow River”

What made you smile today? 

When I watched my father’s blog this morning.

Twitter or Instagram? 

I play Instagram.

What is your definition of style? 

To play and put some different objects together to create a fantastic and emotional atmosphere.

What has been the greatest experience in your ‘fashion’ career so far? 

There have been a lot of great experiences in my career. I think I could say that the greatest one so far has been to be chosen as Polimodatalent in 2012. As a result, I held a wonderful exhibition in Milan and Florence. After this opportunity, I decided to start my own label.

What can we expect from you in the future? 

To me it still looks like a child’s dream. My first priority is to have an “haute couture” show full of emotions and surprises. Let’s see!

Want to know more about Yojiro? Have a look at his website: www.yojirokake.com and discover his collection on the FASHIONCLASH catwalk on Sunday 15th at 8pm! You don't have your ticket yet? Get it here: www.fashionclash.nl/tickets