Emerging Fervour

Last week, I wrote about Tetsuya Uenobe and his amazing footwear…this week I have something even better…words from Tetsuya himself. Check out his interview below.

Tetsuya, I adore your work and it’s obvious passion is your drive. But do you find it difficult breaking into the mainstream fashion market with such unusual creations?

Yes I understand that. My artline is like a performance to show my ability and passion. I hope people like my other lines on my website. At the beginning, I just made shoes that were only slightly ‘arty’, which I exhibited at a few trade shows; however this left very little interest from buyers. There were probably two main reasons for this, cost, and of course nothing was particularly eye-catching. This is the reason why I have changed my train of though and instead, decided that making people smile and ignoring budget issues would be the way forward. And besides, If I did not have my artline, you would not be interested in my works!?

Hmmm, you have a point there…So we know that you worked with Hanae Mori, that must have been a dream come true for you, what did you learn from your time spent with her?

She was an organiser for the exhibitions you mentioned in your previous post (the Open Gallery and the Art Tower Mito). She managed whole concepts and checked the themes and quality of the work on display. I had an interview with her once and the opportunity to have a chat each time during both exhibitions. She was always curious about the work going up. I took a lot from the talks we had; she asked me in the interview if I read newspaper – I think this means I have to be open minded and not just look straight ahead, but all around. She also advised me that I should hire at least 3 employees within 5 years. I took from that, that I should increase my brand awareness and grow it into a respected and stable label.

The first time I checked out Tetsuya’s work, I was a little lost for words. I mean, it’s not every day that you see something like this from a footwear designer…

Or how about these?

Tetsuya Uenobe studied shoe design at the London College of Fashion after moving from Japan. After this little stint in London, Tetsuya moved back to Japan to set up his label ‘UENOBE’ in 2003, where he’s become a household name for his out-there creations.

You may think that these creations are more like pieces of art than ready-to-wear…and you’d be right because Tetsuya has exhibited his collection at the Open Gallery at Omotesando, Tokyo and contemporary art museum, Art Tower Mito – both of these exhibitions were recommendations by Hanae Mori, Japans most prominent and respected fashion designers AND the only female Japanese designer to have presented her collections on the London and Paris runways.