■ Welcoming Apparel Director Konno

About a year after opening, around May of this year, KAWS and we were discussing how it might be good to bring in a director for fashion.
We needed someone who could better embody his vision, something that exists in the space between street and high fashion.

That's when we thought of Tomohiro Konno from the fashion brand "NEXUSVII(R)".
When we subtly sounded him out, he responded with, "Sounds interesting. I'll definitely do it!"
We were all overjoyed. Especially since KAWS was also a big fan of NEXUSVII(R) clothing.

Konno-san had apparently received offers from more established, larger companies at the time, but he had turned them all down, citing potential conflicts with his work at NEXUSVII(R). Yet, for some reason, he accepted our project.
There must be a part of him that liked KAWS and Medicom Toy, and the timing was likely fortunate as well. I believe it was a lucky event that occurred because all the various conditions aligned perfectly.

■ The Implication Behind the New "Tarot Collection"

The project involving Konno-san began at the end of last year. Within that, this "Tarot Collection" was the first to be released. We started with light apparel like T-shirts, and more products will be introduced from August to October.

The workflow involves KAWS defining the concept and basic graphics, and then Konno-san elaborating on that to consolidate the inspiration.
KAWS and Konno-san seem to be creating things on an equal footing, and watching them is incredibly exciting for me.

I believe KAWS chose the "Tarot" motif as an intimation of the judgment OriginalFake will face in the world of apparel going forward.





→ In the next "OriginalFake (3)," we will discuss the new project, future prospects, and more. Stay tuned!