I'm always looking to make something that didn't exist before, fumbling about in the dark, not just while making a collection. The search for something new is a constant in my everyday life. But constantly searching for something new is like looking for a well in a desert.
— Rei Kawakubo
I built my work from within instead of satisfying a demand for sexualised and ostentatious clothing.
I want to show people that tailoring has value, which I don't see anymore in men's fashion.
For me, creation can only come out of a certain kind of unhappiness. They say in Japan, this thing like the hungry spirit - the hungry mind - is what gets you going forward.
When you put on clothes that are fighting against something, you can feel your courage grow. Clothing can set you free.
The Dover Street Markets bring brands of all disciplines together to sell their products in an open atmosphere that, most importantly, incites creativity. They are, along with the 'Comme des Garcons' stores, usually located in areas off the beaten track.
I've always said that, growing up in postwar Japan, I never felt any connection to my work through those experiences. The work I do really comes from inside myself. For me, being born in Japan was an accident.
If you have total freedom to design, you won't get anything interesting. So I give myself restraints in order to kind of push myself through, to create something new. It's the torture that I give myself, the pain and the struggle that I go through.
What someone wears is an expression of oneself. When you're just comfortable with what you're wearing, you don't have new thoughts. I want people to feel something and think about who they are.
The first thing you need in order to make a business viable is to preserve a cash flow. I made sure I didn't have any financial backing or support.
The most successful achievers in sports are people that are really driven and have that spirit of hunger.
