How important is Onitsuka Tiger’s roots as you move forward?

The roots of Onitsuka Tiger are essential for the brand. It is the base of everything we do. This does not mean that we are stuck with only our heritage. Mr. Kihachiro Onitsuka, founder of Onitsuka Tiger, built the brand with a strong philosophy, which is the philosophy of bringing up sound youth through sports. The company has maintained the tradition of specializing in the manufacturing of sports shoes and clothing using original ideas and applying highly technical techniques to compliment our history and past. We should continue to challenge and find new innovative ways in how we can bring this philosophy to life.

What were some of the design elements and focuses that you set forth in achieving this season?

I focused on a clear construction and organization of a simple design language for my initial collection. “Japan” and “Sports” were both among the inspiration of the design elements. The things I needed to do mainly are to “translate” and “tune” the designs for high-street fashion garments. I created some iconic stripe and check patterns for this collection (skipjack tuna stripe/skipjack tuna check) and applied a water-repellent coated 100% wool fabric for the down jacket I created. We used premium quality down and special hand-polished metal zippers to help convey the message of our brand…. These are good examples of what I want to achieve, remix Japanese roots with luxury functional garments by using the appropriate materials.