10 Questions With Tomo Koizumi

When Tomo Koizumi made his New York Fashion Week debut in 2019, the maverick of ruffles and rainbows not only went viral, he stitched his way into the hearts of fashion fanatics around the world. Discovered by super stylist Katie Grand on Instagram—who orchestrated the affair at Marc Jacobs’ Madison Avenue flagship and corralled A-list models like Bella Hadid, Joan Smalls, and Karen Elson in his otherworldly, voluminous frills—the self-taught Japanese designer skyrocketed from relative unknown costume designer to being canonised in the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s exhibition ‘Camp: Notes on Fashion’, and in 2020, he was one of the eight recipients of the coveted LVMH Prize.

While the last five years have proved to be the designer’s most exciting, his eponymous brand was launched in 2011. Over the years, Koizumi has refined his approach, consistently resisting the pressures of mass production in favour of a bespoke approach that grants him complete creative control. By blending fantasy with technical skill, he has emerged as one of the industry’s most inventive talents, leading the charge in a world where commercial concerns often take precedence. Now, with the release of his book Stitching Dreams, he offers an insider’s look at his journey, creative process, and everything he’s learned for aspiring designers.

We caught up with Koizumi to discuss life lessons, his favourite John Galliano collection, and Kirby nightmares.

Joshua Graham: Colour plays such a big role in your work. Do you have a favourite colour?

Tomo Koizumi: ‘It’s always changing, but right now I love khaki and navy blue. I mostly like to use neon in my work. I have favourite colours, but I don’t have any non-favourites. It’s all about colour combinations.’

JG: Stitching Dreams is full of advice for young designers. Why was it important to include that alongside chronicling your career?

TK: ‘I write about a lot of the practical things I’ve learned—how to use social media to stand out, how to navigate stylists and magazines, and how to ship garments. I want to be the kind of person I wanted to look up to when I was young.'

JG: What’s do you wish you knew when you were starting out?

TK: ‘That uniqueness is subjective. Even if you don’t think your work is unique enough, people will always see it differently. People will decide what’s unique or not, so you can’t approach your work by forcing it.’

JG: Do you always make for yourself first?

TK: 'There’s a line in a song by Rick Nelson: ‘You can’t please everyone, so you’ve got to please yourself.’ It helped me a lot because after my first New York show, the industry in Japan really started to pay attention to my work, even though I’d been doing the same thing for years. They stopped seeing me as a costume designer and started to welcome me. But I never changed—how they saw me changed.'

JG: What do you think is missing in fashion right now?

TK: ‘I saw the Maison Margiela Artisanal exhibition in Tokyo and saw the entire process behind the S/S 24 collection and got to speak to John and the team. I’m a millennial, so my era of fashion growing up was in the 2000s, and it was very different from fashion now. Even with ready-to-wear, designers were showcasing haute couture-level fantasy, and John was at the forefront of that. He’s more than a designer; he’s an artist. I hope there are more designers heading in that direction.’

JG: Do you have a favourite John Galliano show?

TK: ‘It was Dior haute couture A/W 03, inspired by flamenco. When I was 15, there was no social media, so I saw it in a magazine. That moment was when I decided I wanted to be in this world.’

JG: What are your plans for the new year?

TK: ‘Next year, I want to explore more mediums—making installations, sculptures, and painting. I've been so busy this year so I've been less motivated. Now I’m excited to try something new. I’ve just got a new studio in my hometown outside of Tokyo.’

JG: Do you like being in your hometown more than Tokyo?

TK: ‘I love Tokyo, but sometimes I need a different environment. When I’m in Tokyo, it’s nonstop. When I’m home, I can be with my mum. There’s less to do, but the boredom helps me be more creative. I’m not the type who tries to stimulate myself all the time. I need the quiet.’

JG: Because the book is Stitching Dreams, what was the last dream you had while you were sleeping?

TK: ‘I have scary dreams sometimes. I remember a weird one where I was fighting Kirby. I don’t know why—I’m not a person who fights with people.’

JG: What’s the next dream in regards to your career?

TK: ‘I just want to make people happy with what I’m making. At the very least, I want to try.’