This past January, during the week between the Milan and Paris collections, I traveled to the island of Ibiza for a shoot with GQ JAPAN. The person pictured with me is the photographer KOTO BOLOFO. I first saw his work around 1986 or '87, not long after I entered this industry, in a cool Italian men's magazine called PER LUI. I was so moved by how brilliant his photographs were. I never imagined that I'd be working with him over 20 years later. That's why this shoot really boosted my motivation.

He was cracking jokes with the same energy before and during the shoot. They were all genuinely hilarious. He was constantly being comical, as if he were on Saturday Night Live, just riffing endlessly. After a while, I got into his rhythm and taught him the traditional Japanese retort, 'Why the hell are you doing that?' It was funny when KOTO, having taken a liking to it, would suddenly exclaim, 'Why the hell are you doing that!' at the most inopportune moments.



The pink cable-knit sweater I'm wearing here is from Ralph Lauren. It's made of cashmere, and its smooth texture feels wonderful. The chino pants are from Cicata. As I've mentioned before, I love this particular width. The sneakers are Lanvin. I like the sleek sheen on the tips. It's not patent leather, perhaps patent rubber? And I also like the off-white soles.

Anyway, it was a fun shoot, but no matter how many times KOTO was told, he kept calling me 'Tomaki.' My name is 'Tomoki'!