Designer Takashi Nakao Weaves "Modern Couture" – TKA, a New-Generation Brand Fusing Japanese & French Aesthetics

Established in Paris in 2023 by Japanese designer Takashi Nakao, TKA is a brand that sublimates the couture craftsmanship and precise cutting honed at luxury maisons into contemporary everyday wear.

In this article, Nakao himself unravels the design philosophy behind the brand, its unique aesthetic that merges the two cultures of Japan and France, and his vision for the future.

A Path Forged by a Parisian Coincidence, an Experience of True Couture

Could you tell us about your journey to becoming a designer?

I originally majored in French literature at a university in Japan. I had always loved fashion, but I never imagined I would be the one making it. The turning point was my older sister, who was attending a fashion school. Watching her create her portfolio and tailor clothes at home sparked my interest in fashion design.

Later, I moved to Paris to study the language, and one day, by pure chance at a laundromat, a teacher from my sister's fashion school approached me and asked, "Are you interested in fashion?" That encounter was the first step that led me to seriously pursue this path.

Through that teacher's introduction, I got an internship opportunity and eventually ended up working at the maison of Haider Ackermann, a designer I had long admired. That's where my career as a designer began.

How have your experiences working at maisons like Bottega Veneta, Lanvin, and Louis Vuitton influenced the philosophy behind TKA?

Working alongside top designers, I witnessed the highest level of garment creation, from draping and sewing to fabric selection.

In every department, there was a "craftsman." The artistic director pursuing beauty is a craftsman, and so is the seamstress who finishes a garment with flawless precision and beauty. The experience of working with them daily and feeling their skills and philosophies firsthand is an invaluable asset.

Working in such an environment naturally raised my own standards of quality. When I became confident that I could create things at this level, the desire to make clothes that expressed my own worldview began to grow, which led to the establishment of my brand. I believe the core value of TKA comes down to this "quality."

The "Elegance" Born from 2 Cultures, a Pursuit of Stripped-Down Beauty

TKA's clothing is distinctive for its fusion of Japanese and French aesthetics. How do these two cultures manifest in your designs?

French couture is a major source of inspiration. However, not all of its traditional techniques are suited to modern lifestyles. While I admire these incredible skills, the challenge is how to translate them into clothes that can be worn every day. I feel that my sensibility as a Japanese person comes alive in this translation process.

French design often excels at decorative, showpiece-like splendor, but I think Japanese people have a talent for skillfully extracting the essence and condensing it into something simple and minimal. It might be similar to the feeling of reconstructing a full-course French meal into a single, compact yet powerful dish.

I believe it is this "power of condensation" that leads to contemporary and modern expression. Using couture techniques while maintaining a modern appearance—at TKA, we want this fusion of two elements to be our brand's strength.

What is the "elegance" you pursue in your designs, and what is your personal definition of beauty?

I have a strong desire to deliver clothes that enhance the wearer's elegance, clothes that make them look beautiful.

For me, "elegance" and "beauty" mean, to put it simply, being "Refining cluttered ideas into a clear vision”. I don't find much beauty in things that are an excessive mixture of various elements. I am strongly drawn to the beauty born from the process of stripping away the unnecessary and abstract things, like in the works of the sculptor Constantin Brancusi.

That's why I don't pursue excessive detail in my clothes. When I was at Louis Vuitton, my work sometimes involved searching for and combining dozens of collar and cuff details, but I feel that for my own expression, something simpler is better. I believe what is truly important for a person to look beautiful in clothes comes down to three elements: the fabric, the color, and the silhouette.

Creation Spun from Hands & Curiosity

How are TKA's garments created?

It often starts with a single piece of fabric. When I find a fabric that captivates me, I first place it on a dress form, draping and pinning it to explore how the fabric moves and what shape it wants to become.

I do make rough sketches, but rather than refining the design through repeated drawings, I value the physical process of actually touching the cloth and shaping it in three dimensions. This analog handwork is the essence of luxury and a core value of TKA.

By creating a rough shape with my own hands first to establish the direction before handing it over to the pattern maker, there is less room for discrepancies in our vision. This physical approach of thinking while making—something that can never be done digitally—underpins the brand's creativity.

What are the advantages of being based in Paris, and are you influenced by cultures other than fashion?

One reason for being based in Paris is that it allows me to have an objective perspective on my home country as a Japanese person. Also, this city, despite being a place where history and all kinds of cultures coexist, is very compact. You can easily access museums, cinemas, and various other places, allowing for a condensed cultural experience in a single day. This environment is a great advantage for creation.

My inspiration is not limited to fashion. I'm influenced by everything from sculpture and architecture to films and music from the 1980s and 90s. When I was working at Bottega Veneta, the director, Mr. Tomas Maier, often said that curiosity is extremely important for human beings. It's curiosity that drives people to go to new places, meet new people, and see and hear new things. This enriches our lives and becomes nourishment for creation.

Also, collections from the 90s by Helmut Lang, for example, may look like simple, minimalist clothing at first glance, but you can feel elements of diverse cultures in their background. If you just make something superficially minimal, it ends up being uninteresting and empty. I believe that a deep minimalism is born only after you input diverse cultures, and then digest and condense them within yourself.

A New Form of Couture, Intimately Connected to the Client

How does feedback from your clients influence your designs?

Client feedback, especially criticism, is a very important source for further enhancing the quality of the collection.

I sometimes receive harsh opinions about the clothes I've made. However, I believe that by taking them seriously and applying them to the next creation, the brand can level up. There is no growth if you are only told, "It's beautiful." If someone says, “It's "boring," I think deeply about why they felt that way. That very process is the driving force that moves me, and TKA, forward.

Could you tell us about the future outlook for the brand and your vision for five years from now?

In the future, I want to move beyond the framework of a so-called prêt-à-porter brand and build more intimate and personal relationships with each and every client.

Just as couture maisons of the past held shows in small salons exclusively for their clients, my ideal is to create a small community with strong connections.

I also want to regularly offer semi-bespoke services to meet more personal requests, such as for size and fit, perhaps in the form of trunk shows. In five years, my goal is to have these couture services functioning solidly as a business. I want to start with small, private events and gradually expand the world of TKA.

By redefining the traditional state of couture for the modern era and building a more intimate relationship between creator and wearer, TKA's endeavors question the very future of luxury.