“Creators, if they are serious about their work,
tend to end up poor.”

From Asahi Shimbun Digital, “Moving Forward Through Fashion”
This is an unauthorized cut-up of Asahi Shimbun Digital.
http://digital.asahi.com/20120107/pages/shasetsu.html#

What an encouraging statement.

This doesn't mean accepting poverty, but rather

that the excuse of “I can't do it because I don't have money”

has been squarely shut down. That's how I interpret it.

If you truly want to do it, you can, right?

That's how I understand Ms. Kawakubo's words.

Pretending to have something you want to do when you don't is unacceptable.

However, if you have the will to do it, projecting confidence is necessary.

“Projecting confidence is sometimes necessary. It’s okay to just project it. Because if you don’t, you can’t move forward. Just being dejected, thinking ‘This is tough, what should I do?’ won’t change anything. Every season, I too fall into despair, wondering if my collection was insufficient, and then I manage to pull myself back up.”

From Asahi Shimbun Digital, “Moving Forward Through Fashion”
This is an unauthorized cut-up of Asahi Shimbun Digital.
http://digital.asahi.com/20120107/pages/shasetsu.html#

I was astonished that Ms. Kawakubo would speak so candidly.

For nearly twenty years, I had the honor of selecting music for her fashion shows,
but I never imagined I would hear such words from her.

Still,
I believe Ms. Kawakubo's clothing embodies eternal romance.
Whenever I see her designs, the words that come to mind are
the melody of “Maiden’s Prayer.”

“Newness equals freedom, and freedom equals moving forward.
If you take one step forward, many things can be resolved.”

From Asahi Shimbun Digital, “Moving Forward Through Fashion”
This is an unauthorized cut-up of Asahi Shimbun Digital.
http://digital.asahi.com/20120107/pages/shasetsu.html#

Something never seen before. This is truly difficult.
Perhaps that is why Ms. Kawakubo is called a genius.
It feels like something I've never seen before. This is difficult, but somehow manageable...
When you look closely, newness is actually a cycle of reincarnation, like a Möbius strip. As long as one person creates, this may be an unavoidable reality. And, of course,

the overall impression is new. This continuity is nothing short of miraculous.

“New things are stronger than old things.”

This is a quote from some book, and I truly agree.

“There are times when I think, ‘I might have lost.’ It’s a fact that I haven’t been able to change the situation. However, I believe that fashion still has the power to make people feel positive and give them the impetus to try something new.”

“Fashion is only for this very moment, and it’s fashion because you want to wear it now. It’s ephemeral, like a bubble. Precisely because it’s so fleeting, it can convey something very important right now.”

From Asahi Shimbun Digital, “Moving Forward Through Fashion”
This is an unauthorized cut-up of Asahi Shimbun Digital.
http://digital.asahi.com/20120107/pages/shasetsu.html#

Living is only for this very moment...

That's how it sounds to me.

Because life is fleeting,
we must live each moment to the fullest.

Fashion still has the power to make people feel positive,

and love still has the power to make people feel positive,

the will to challenge new things,

Perhaps being positive means having the will to challenge. If things are fine as they are,

freedom will never arrive.

“First, go out into the world with nothing but yourself, and show your work, even if it’s just on the roadside. Just having people in the world see it will make you nervous and push you. Even if there’s waste or failure, it becomes the strength to overcome the next wall you encounter.”

From Asahi Shimbun Digital, “Moving Forward Through Fashion”
This is an unauthorized cut-up of Asahi Shimbun Digital.
http://digital.asahi.com/20120107/pages/shasetsu.html#

To truly understand Japan today,
it is essential and universal to take action and experience the world for oneself.

If you move, if you take one step into the world,

surely, from that land and its people,
you will be granted the bright energy of courage and hope.

Even if it’s tough, even if you feel utterly discouraged,
even while enduring pain, moving first, moving your body, will surely change something.

“Don’t let your youth end.” Ms. Kawakubo’s words,

once again, sound like this to me.

“If the person’s inner self is new, what they wear will also appear new.
Fashion encompasses the inner self of the person wearing it.”

Newness is freedom. Those who create freedom are dazzlingly beautiful.

Ms. Kawakubo, who embodies and creates the definition of human beauty,

is truly beautiful.

Moreover, she becomes more beautiful with each passing year.

To live is to become increasingly free.

Therefore, those who sing of freedom

must absolutely never die.

Even clinging to a cliff face... even if your nails tear off,

Let's live today~.

Tomorrow's menu.

“Freedom”

← Diary-T 189–194