2024.08.30
The Emerging Brand "TSTS" – What Are Designer Takuya Sasaki's Aspirations for the 2024 Autumn/Winter Collection?
Takuya Sasaki, who studied at Bunka Fashion College and the Royal Academy of Fine Arts, Antwerp, launched the brand "TSTS." He debuted last year and is officially launching the brand this season, which is its third season. We interviewed designer Sasaki to learn about the themes this season's collection is based on and the inspiration behind establishing the brand.
PROFILE
Takuya Sasaki
TSTS Designer
Originally from Aomori Prefecture. After graduating from high school, he studied fashion design at Bunka Fashion College and the Royal Academy of Fine Arts, Antwerp. At 26, he returned to Japan, having interned at "Sakai" and worked on launching "Tiger Takahashi." He established "TSTS" in 2022 with a pattern maker he befriended during his student days, making him a rare individual who embodies both a designer and brand manager.
The Fashion I Envisioned Existed in Antwerp
"TSTS" made its debut in the 2023 autumn/winter season, impressing discerning buyers. Designer Sasaki graduated from Bunka Fashion College and the Royal Academy of Fine Arts, Antwerp. He shared his experiences from both institutions."Bunka Fashion College provided a foundation of being a 'sewing school' with a strong emphasis on vocational training, allowing me to learn technical aspects like patterns and sewing.
"I also attended a fashion school called 'coconogacco' while at the college for about six months to hone the areas where I was lacking. One of my instructors there was a graduate of Central Saint Martins, one of the world's top three fashion schools alongside Antwerp, where I learned a European approach to garment creation, which led me to study in Antwerp.
"Antwerp has a foundation of art schools that strongly nurtures design sensibilities, focusing more on the conceptual approach to design rather than technical skills. I was surprised by how different this way of thinking was from what I'd learned at Bunka Fashion College."
Living in Antwerp where he could practice the fashion he envisioned was invigorating and trained his design sensibility. The fact that his instructors in Antwerp were actual designers was also immensely helpful in learning that sensibility.
In Antwerp, my instructor was Walter Van Beirendonck, a former designer of "W.&L.T." and "aesthetic terrorists," who also runs a brand under his own name. Under his guidance, Wim Neels, Raf Simons, and Bernhard Wilhelm were amongst those who served as assistants.
"In Antwerp, I spent the days refining my design skills through one-on-one discussions with my instructor, outputting the designs I was genuinely thinking about and receiving advice.
"He referred to us as 'designers' rather than 'students,' which left a deep impression on me as it showed his respect for us as designers.
"My creations tend to utilize bold color schemes, but they are also conceptual and minimal, carrying a somewhat reductive aspect, which in a sense isn't very typical of Antwerp. Nevertheless, Walter's remark, 'Takuya, that's fine,' bolstered my confidence."
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