I Never Dreamed of Being a Designer

—Looking at Pippi's shoes, one senses a dedication born from a love of footwear. What draws you specifically to shoes, rather than clothing?

My mother was very stylish, so a love for fashion might be in my blood. My mother always wore high heels, and I remember as a child looking at her feet and thinking, 'How beautiful.' Perhaps the roots of my love for shoes lie there?
However, I never particularly aspired to be a designer, so I didn't attend fashion school and instead went to a regular junior college. During my university years, I worked part-time at a select shop. After graduating, I started working as an office lady for a company, but I realized I wanted to return to the fashion world, so I became an opening staff member at the United Arrows Harajuku store.

—Did you have an opportunity to become a designer during your time at United Arrows?

Hmm, I don't quite remember the brand, but there was a time when a very charming sandal made of pink suede with a back strap arrived. Seeing it didn't immediately make me think, 'I must make shoes,' but it made me realize anew, 'I really do love shoes,' or rather, it evoked a special feeling. It's true that my feelings for shoes accumulated during my time at United Arrows.

—You were on the consumer side, wearing shoes; what made you decide to move to the design side?

While there are now brands that balance design and price, imported shoes were even more expensive back then than they are now. As a consumer, while imported shoes costing over 100,000 yen were lovely, they were hard for office ladies to afford. Then, if you looked for shoes in the 30,000 to 40,000 yen range, imported options suddenly became very simple in design, and among domestic brands, there were few designs that made my heart leap with 'Wow! So cute! I want it!'
If there weren't appealing designs available in the 20,000 to 30,000 yen range that office ladies could wear every season, I simply thought I'd like to try it myself. That's how it started.

—Indeed, Pippi's shoes often catch the eye with their design, and then you see the price tag and think, 'They're affordable!'

It's not that price is the primary factor, but I do have a benchmark for 'my shoes are around this price range.' However, I'm not calculating to reduce costs or anything (laughs). Some items are quite a stretch for me (laughs).

I'm Happy When People Connect with What I Find Beautiful

—Do you have a goal for where you want Pippi to go in the future?

As I've built my career as a shoe designer, I believe the quality of the products has improved, but I want to study even more and further enhance the quality.
From its inception, Pippi has had a core principle of cherishing everyday life and creating beautiful shoes that can be worn daily. I believe that hasn't wavered, and I have no intention of changing it going forward.
I don't like talking too much about price, but it's certainly important. However, Pippi doesn't have the concept of lowering material quality to create cheaper lines like fast fashion. For Pippi, materials are quite important. In any case, I want to continue creating pieces that make women feel good.

—What do you find rewarding about being a designer?

I don't have a mindset of 'only what's good for me is good,' but I have a strong desire for everyone to happily accept the shoes that reflect my ideals. My goal is always to create pieces that are a perfect blend of everyone's 'good' and my 'good,' so I feel the greatest sense of accomplishment when people say, 'It's good.'
Rather than wanting to be a designer, my starting point as a designer was the desire to do it myself. So, when people say 'I want it,' that's a kind of destination for me.

—Finally, what are shoes to you?

They're close to underwear. High heels make me feel very feminine.
My own shoes are like my children – precious and beloved, so I want them to be happily accepted wherever they go, like giving them away in marriage.

—Thank you very much.



United Arrows Fall/Winter Catalog is Here!
Starting August 28th, for customers who make a purchase at United Arrows nationwide,
we are offering the 2009-10 Fall/Winter catalog, 'PORTRAIT OF UNITED ARROWS 2009 FALL AND WINTER.'
Pippi's Yoko Sato also appears in a column interview page in this commemorative catalog for UA's 20th anniversary!
Please visit UNITED ARROWS.