Naoki Takizawa: Fashion Design for "People," and the Role of Technology

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With the rapid evolution of technology and changes in the global environment, our clothing and personal surroundings are transforming quickly. In the context of today's fashion, what does it mean to create, wear, and deliver clothing? To commemorate the renewal of Fashion Tech News, we will explore these changes in the technical and social situations surrounding clothing and the body, as well as the future that these transformations depict, through interviews with five individuals.

PROFILE

Naoki Takizawa

Naoki Takizawa is a fashion designer and the head of NAOKI TAKIZAWA DESIGN INC. After serving as the creative director at ISSEY MIYAKE, he became independent in 2007. From 2010, he has been responsible for designing the wardrobe of Empress Michiko. In 2011, he was appointed as the design director for UNIQLO, and since 2014, he has been working as the design director for special projects. He was awarded the Order of Arts and Letters of France in 2007. He served as a special-appointed professor at the University Museum, the University of Tokyo / INTERMEDIATHEQUE Donation Research Department from 2009 to 2013. In 2018, he opened the "NAOKI TAKIZAWA FITTING ROOM" in Daikanyama Hillside Terrace.

Today's Fashion Culture, & the Environment Surrounding Clothing & the Body

Fashion as Entertainment

If we interpret fashion in the sense of trendy clothing, the current state of fashion can be considered entertainment. For instance, luxury brands are now utilizing the entertainment industry, such as K-POP, as a medium, bypassing traditional consumers. The reason luxury brands provide clothing to such artists is because they expect a significant return in terms of information dissemination. This shifts fashion from being a personal matter to becoming a form of media advertising.