Ryoji Okada is one of those artists who cannot be defined in one way. A fusion of fashion and rock’n roll soul, the balance between East Asian culture and Western style.
Wait: It’s very hard to sum up your poliedric personality. Do you consider yourself a musician, an editor, a designer or simply an artist?
Ryoji Okada: Probably “artist” is the most accurate definition. However, I always wanted to be seen as a dreamer and a rebel till I die.
W: How did you get into fashion world?
R.O.: Since my early childhood, I have been interested and fascinated by the world of music and, over time, I became the teenager that copied 80’s Hair Metal bands and Japanese Rock stars style. Of course, I used to want guitars, guitars amplifiers, effecters and those clothes style too.
However, as I didn’t have enough money to purchase new clothes and guitars and so on, I spent most of my time in used clothing stores.
Meanwhile, I got a part-time job in one of my favourite store. Those vintage clothes were like textbooks for me, my first contact with the fashion world.
W.: Where do you find inspiration for your creations?
R.O.: I find inspiration in good music, beautiful architecture, old books, and so on.
Then, sometimes I find it at the gym.
Because when I workout my muscles, my concentration rises very much!
W.: You often mix skulls, spider webs and camouflage patterns with luxury cashmere and fine shirtings from Italy. Experimentation is definitely part of your DNA…
R.O.: Exacly, experimentation is a very important part of my DNA, because I’m a dreamer and a rebel walking on the wild side. I prefer complexity to simplicity, I like the fusion of opposites, in a sort of “balance of imbalance”. To put it briefly, I hardly like ordinary things.
W.: You are an steady exhibitor at Pitti Immagine. What kind of feedback did you get? And what is your relationship with Italian fashion?
R.O.: For two years I have been invited to exhibit with A WORKROOM by Ryoji Okada, in collaboration with a Japanese fashion company. Then I decided to become an independent designer, so I do not exhibit at Pitti at the moment, I just visited it to say hello to my my Italian friends and customers, and to buy some clothes for my store LOUD GARDEN. This year, as I married in November, I had been very busy for several months before and after that, so I gave up visiting Florence this January.
As regarding my relationship with Italian fashion, the strongest link is with fabrics.
I use a lot of Italian fabrics since I worked for the british brand Gives & Hawkes and I have visited Idea Biella for many seasons over the years. And given that I like Italian manufacturing so much, I always look for good Italian producers.
W.: How your japanese cultural heritage affects yuor creative process?
R.O.: I have a deep connection with the old Tokyoite Edoite ideogram 粋（Iki) , that means smart, refined and moderate, considered the ideal behavior during the Edo/Tokugawa period betrween 1603 and 1867. There are a lot of “Iki” sartorial details in my clothes.
W.: Your showroom LOUD GARDEN, in Tokio, can be considered an avant-garde project where fashion meets music and arts (sculpture, interior design, cinema). What does innovation mean to you?
R.O.: For me, being creative is more important than being innovative.
LOUD GARDEN is not only a showroom, but also a store, where we mainly sell made-to-measure and ready-to-wear Ryoji Okada brand. I want to turn it into a crossroad of creativity.
W.: Is there any place in the world you haven’t been yet but you would like to visit from an inspirational point of view?
R.O.: I would really like to visit New Orleans because there is a lot of awesome music! Especially during New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival.
W.: In your opinion, which is the city of the world that best represents “male elegance”?
R.O.: Florence during PITTI IMMAGINE UOMO. Or London of 1930’s, though that style was limited to the upper class.
W.: Tell us a piece of clothing that every man should have in his wardrobe no matter the price tag.
R.O.: It depends on the lifestyle…But I think that classic clothing should be in every man’s wardrobe.
For example: a Chesterfield coat made of luxury wool or cashmere, several single breasted 2B suits made of fine and solid suiting, white shirts with French cuffs, solid ties made with fine silk, black long hose socks, black oxford shoes without medallions etc… As for everything, basics are very important.
W: In your website The Loudest Voice, you dedicate a column to firends and celebrities you met during your travels. Who has inspired you the most?
R.O.: Dennis Morris: he is a teacher, a brother in my heart and a very important friend.
John Malkovich: I was really surprised and honoured that he visited my stand in Pitti and praised my collection!
Antonio Murr: he is the person who first evaluated my talent in Europe.
He always gives me precise advice on how to succeed in European fashion business.
W.: If Ryoji Okada brand could have any celebrity spokesmodel, who would it be?
R.O.: Leonard Cohen
Nick Cave
Zucchero Fornaciari
Jim Jarmusch
Cate Blanchett
LeBron James
W.: What’s the first song that comes to your mind when you are focused on the creative process?
R.O.: I have over 1,000 candidate songs!JThough I list the top ten:
Dance Me To The End Of Love by Leonard Cohen
The Ship Song by Nick Cave And The Bad Sheeds
Hymns To The Silence by Van Morrison
Sweet Jane by The Velvet Underground
Gambler’s Blues by Otis Rush
Kiko And The Lavender Moon by Los Lobos
Yellow Moon by The Neville Brothers
The Bottle by Gill Scott Heron
Feel Like Rain by John Hiatt
Worry Not by Liam Ó Maonlaí
W.: What are your plans for the future?
R.O.: Two or three babies, a suburban villa, new cars…Just kidding!
To come back to Pitti as an exhibitor, as soon as possible.
To work with some Italian companies.
And I want to open some stores in EU someday.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jhoqu8uSj4Y
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