Past Present Future: The Visionary Stylist Behind GOAT’s Style Catalog FW23

Describe your journey to becoming a stylist and what your early days in the industry were like.

I’ve been obsessed with clothes since I was a child. There’s nothing that triggered it, but I always liked dressing up. I thought I wanted to be a designer, so I went to fashion school in Tokyo and studied womenswear for three years. During my BA, in the process of learning how to make clothes, I understood my artistic passion was going in a different direction and I discovered styling. When I was younger, I didn't know being a stylist existed as a job. Nonetheless, it was really useful to learn how to make clothes and now it's great knowledge for me as a stylist.

Tell me about some of the moments you feel most proud of in your career.

My first cover I did for Italian Vogue with photographer Heji Shin. We are good friends and I respect her work a lot. She’s an amazing artist. We created this fashion story with lots of animals: sheep, rabbits and dogs. That issue, all of the contributors proposed an image for the cover. Until it came out, we didn't know we got the cover. It was just so beautiful: This model holding a sheep and resting her head on top of it. I was so proud. I actually cried.

How would you describe your creative practice as a stylist? 

My approach is always evolving. It was interesting doing this campaign because we featured lots of archive pieces as well as new collections. I love mixing different eras into one story—present and past—because that's how I dress myself too. I have that kind of knowledge because I was always obsessed with clothes. If I see certain pieces from current seasons, I’ll be like, “Oh, I would love to mix this piece with ’90s Margiela.” I always have this desire to mix different elements and eras together to create something new.

I know you’re big on research. How would you describe your working process when putting together looks? Are you intuitive or more methodical?

I love researching and a lot of projects require putting together references. I take those different elements and use them to create stories. At the same time, on set I find spontaneity—there's always ideas shared between the team, and it’s a collaborative process. Models play a really big part, how they move and the way they hold the garments. I like working with models who enjoy expressing themselves. Something magical happens on set during those creative collaborations. I love those moments so much.

Are there any archival collections that are particularly special to you?

I personally own a lot of Comme des Garçons from all different seasons, way back to the ’80s, but mainly I have pieces from the ’90s. I also love Nicholas Ghesquière’s era of Balenciaga, and I have quite a lot of archival Margiela and Helmut Lang. Of the current seasons, I love the new ALAÏA. Pieter Mulier is amazing. I used one of the denim pieces in the campaign and I love it so much.

Your work brings you all over the world. Are there any places that you have found particularly inspiring fashion-wise? 

When I went to the Caribbean islands I thought the people dressed amazingly. Certain places almost have their own uniform or way of dressing that you can see is just so attached to their life. When I went to Marrakech, it was interesting because the men wore traditional dresses in amazing colors, but then some people wore really contemporary clothes. That kind of contrast really stood out to me, seeing traditional clothing next to styles from the modern world in the same place.

How did you approach the styling for this campaign? What did you want to achieve and how did you do so?

I wanted to create looks that felt really modern, mixing pieces from different eras with current collections as well. We contacted loads of archival places and pulled the most iconic pieces from different eras. It was a really interesting process, and I’ve never been able to do something like this with a brand before.

Do you have any favorite pieces or looks from the campaign?

This denim bodysuit by ALAÏA from 2022. I paired it with these exaggerated denim trousers from Y/Project and it looked really great on the model, Georgia. I worked with her once before and she's just amazing. She moves so well. 

Can you describe the energy of the day of the shoot?

It was really fun. We had such a unique cast: Everyone had really interesting, authentic styles. It's not just me creating the looks—they managed to own it themselves and bring the styling to life.

What do you think makes certain pieces iconic?

For me, it’s when a designer takes something that already exists and reinvents it in an interesting way. Even the most simple piece, like a tailored jacket. That's what Margiela did. He deconstructed or reinvented the tailored jacket in a completely original way. It's remarkable because that kind of thing is really difficult to do. But I do also think that really crazy, avant-garde pieces by labels like Comme can become iconic because they’re so unusual and ahead of their time.

What’s the main difference between trends and style?

Who wants to be trendy? We live long enough to be able to develop our own personal style. You have your history and you know what you like—you can always mix what you have with something that you get excited about from new seasons.

What advice would you pass on to someone starting out?

I say this all the time, but when you start out, you literally have a blank canvas. The most important thing is to find what you truly love or what your true vision is, something authentic to what you want to say. Don't rush or look at what other people are doing. Find your own way to create something new.

Now, meet the cast of GOAT's Style Catalog FW23.