【13th Round】We Ask Fashion Designer, Ms. Jun Nagai, What Travel Will Look Like in Five Years

The New Buds of Tourism, Exploring the Shape and Future of Tourism Five Years Ahead

This column focuses on knowing and pinpointing changes in future tourism and travel trends and brings in expertise from a specialist outside of the travel industry to share their thoughts.
We’re talking today with Ms. Jun Nagai, a fashion designer who’s not only creating new fashions but also “connecting” the world using fashion.
　What is life and what are human memories? These are questions we ask of Ms. Jun Nagai through the lens of fashion with her wide range of experiences as a designer.

Ms. Jun Nagai

　
A Paris Collection designer and owner of made-to-order brand St.ODIM. She’s working on sustainable clothing brand, “from clothes” that introduces younger generations to vintage clothing lying in the closet.

A journey as a designer that has led to this career.

　
Explorer: What was the catalyst for you to become a fashion designer, Ms. Nagai?
　
Ms. Nagai: When I was young, I was good at drawing and so many people suggested that I should go to art school. One day, I saw a commercial for the Seibu department store. I fell in love with the graphic design that embodied the catch copy “Mysteriousness, I love it” that writer Shigesato Itoi created. That was that catalyst that spurred my desire to become a graphic designer and study in that field. I wanted a career that could use the knowledge I learned so I took a clothing company’s PR test and got in. But to my surprise, I wasn’t assigned to PR, but rather to the men’s fashion planning department. At that time, I never studied fashion so I wondered how much design could go into menswear and wasn’t sure what to do. I started from zero and studied fashion as I worked. After that, I quit that job and went back and forth between the US and Japan, working as a freelance designer.
　
Explorer: I’m surprised that you did not set out to become a fashion designer. You’re currently working as the owner of the order made brand St.ODIM. How did that start?
　
Ms. Nagai: When I was working as a freelancer around 2000, a lot of clothing that would sell were casual. I would hear from people that a jacket and suit were too formal for the workplace. However, the casualwear that we would find during that time wasn’t high quality. When I would buy a suit for myself, I couldn’t find one that was easy-to-wear or would accentuate my physique. That’s when I thought it would be my life’s work to design suits. With the help of 200 people giving me feedback for a year, I was able to realize St.ODIM in 2001. I would make suits and jackets for working women, often using flower designs and soft materials. The number of designs would increase from there. I have many repeat customers who often request different colors of the previous pieces they ordered or to use different materials than before. Currently, almost all the products are made to order. I originally focused only on women’s wear, but sometimes couples or families would drop by and the husband would request something for himself. Now, I cater to both men and women. The way clothing is made for men and women is completely different and the crafts people are different as well. I also studied design, but it took around six years for me to start offering selections for men.

　

Clothing That Connects People’s Memories and Their Future

　
Explorer: There were many challenges behind the scenes in establishing St.ODIM. You’re the face of the brand, “from clothes” which tells the story of passing on clothes you no longer wear to a new other. What was the catalyst for you to start that?
　
Ms. Nagai: When I was doing freelance work, I was putting all my effort into designing clothes that would be trendy and sell well the next year. Anything trendy requires a tremendous amount of manufacturing. The most popular item at the time was a pinafore dress. We sold 30,000 of those. In this case, that means we made over 30,000 of them and anything left over meant we had to incinerate them. I felt sad at the idea that something I poured my heart into designing would get incinerated. As a creator, I wanted to create new designs, but I also felt reluctant to continue doing so. Then, a ST.ODIM customer contacted me and ask me if there was anything I could do about the customer’s mother’s mountain of clothing. I went over to their house to discover clothing hanging from all four sides of the eight-tatami-sized room, clothing that couldn’t fit into the closet. The customer told me about how she bought this piece with her first paycheck or how they bought this piece when she went traveling for the first time with her husband. We categorized the clothing and I would listen to her stories about the clothing. I also felt it would be hard to through away some of the pieces too. So I decided to hold onto that clothing for her. After that, I got three other customers asking me about the same thing. My workshop was filled with clothing. At the time, I was lucky to have some student volunteers to help me with it and I would tell them about the stories behind the pieces. They said, “Wow, that’s a good piece of clothing,” “It’s very cute,” and “I can relate to those memories.” I invited those students and put on a sale. We sold around 30 pieces. I thought of there are pieces of clothing that people don’t want anymore and there are people out there who do want it, then why not become a bridge for them? So in 2021, I established the brand, “from clothes.” The brand is now in its fourth year.
　
Explorer: It’s such a happy thing to think about how someone else would treasure the clothing you treasured as well. Do you have a particular piece of clothing you’ve received that left an impression on you?
　
Ms. Nagai: People naturally have different feelings and memories about their clothing. There have been no overlapping memories from the ones I’ve received. If I receive 100 people’s clothing, then I would have 100 people’s life stories. Wearing someone else’s clothing with a history will give you support in a way. I believe that’s why people can relate to this. There was a customer who was a music producer, promoting different genres from all sorts of musicians. The customer couldn’t fit all of their clothing in their room, so they rented a storage unit. I received six boxes of clothing from that customer. She had to appear for various work-related events, so I ended up with dresses, T-shirts, denim, and more. I asked her about the clothing, to which she replied, “I wore that dress when the musician I was producing for had their first concert,” and “I wore those jeans when I visited America, and it was so hot I had a lot of trouble.” Each article of clothing had its own story. It’s amazing to see the power of these articles of clothing they have with the people who wear them. I only created clothing in the past, but when I hear the stories of people who wear them, I can understand what kind of lives they live. I truly feel that the world is made up of all sorts of people.
　
Explorer: It’s a wonderful thought to think that people’s memories and feelings are connected by the clothing they wear. Does the clothing bought from your brand, from clothes, get passed down to the next person when they’re no longer needed?
　
Ms. Nagai: I tell my customers to bring back any articles of clothing they no longer need. I hope each article of clothing develops a history, as the new owner creates a story that adds onto the previous owner’s history. Although I might not wear anything until it’s tattered in my lifetime, I think those pieces of clothing would be happy to part ways until it’s tattered and I would say, “Thanks for all the fun times we’ve had with everyone who wore me.” I’ve created many articles so far, but now I don’t want to just do that. I want to create new pieces but also know how they are being worn and how do customers want them to be. By doing so, I believe the way we make them and the way we wear them will change. I’d be happy to see more fashion designers like that.

　

Clothing and travel can connect with a wave of happiness.

　
Explorer: Does the thought process of clothing connecting people’s memories and lives also share any commonality with travel and other forms of creativity?
　
Ms. Nagai: Travel is the same as clothing. I often go to Paris to visit its art museums and other types of museums for work. The Louvre, for example, changes its exhibitions often. I wonder, “Last time, they had this, but where did it go now?” These experiences give me the ability to relay information such as, “In the past it used to be like that, but now it might be like this,” “Here’s another way to enjoy your trip,” to people who want to go. Travel is about going to places you’ve never been to before. We’re limited to how many places we can go to in our lives, so it’s important to have people tell the people going next what makes that destination fun.
　
Explorer: I hope you can communicate the charms of travel to the people going next. Do you travel for personal leisure too, Ms. Nagai? Does your travel experience influence your thought process and designs?
　
Ms. Nagai: I love being in nature, so I’ll go somewhere like that and relax at my hotel. I’ll sleep by the pool, hold a glass of wine in one hand and go to the beach, read a book and spend time relaxing (laughs). I try not to think about work, but my mind drifts to work at times. I’ll think, “Oh, people wear those types of swimsuits.” Japanese people worry about the style of their swimsuits, but Europeans will wear bikinis no matter their body size or age. I want to age like that too. I think time will allow for more freedom as it goes on.
　
Explorer: I desire such a free way of living too. What do you think travel will look like in five years, Ms. Nagai?
　
Ms. Nagai: I think people will be able to go anywhere more easily. That’s the future, I feel. World events might be full of conflict so it might become harder to go anywhere but I imagine there will be people have become content through travel, creating waves of happiness that will spread. I would be so happy to hear if those people (including those in Japan) delivered waves of happiness by traveling to those who are having a difficult time in life.
　

　

The “Bud” We Found in this Exploration

We discovered that clothing could connect people’s thoughts, feelings, lives and happiness. Reusing clothing isn’t just about concern for the environment, but it’s a baton to pass down memories and feelings to the next owner. At the same time, someone will inherit the previous owner’s experiences in travel, layering upon their own. By doing so, we hope that they can fulfill a well-meaning journey of their own.（YVR）