To help people rediscover the appeal of the materials

Regardless of whether it's ISETAN MEN'S or not, there's a growing movement in the fashion industry to return to what excellent creators produce.


To be honest, from a business perspective, getting department stores to stock our products is quite challenging. Our business only works if they properly purchase our products. We also bear the responsibility for the livelihoods of the artisans, so we can't act rashly. Being approached like this is invaluable and an honor.

—When did you start expressing bags as art?

I've always loved art, and in my private life, I continued to create objects and travel the world taking photographs. Then, more than 30 years ago, I had the opportunity to speak with someone from Limonta, an Italian company (one of the world's leading fabric manufacturers, with many famous luxury brands as clients). Perhaps it was unusual for a Japanese person to be involved in art in their private life and making bags for work, but they were very impressed, and that's how my relationship with Limonta began. It's a world-famous company, but they were very fond of me and "Beau Dessin," and they started supplying us with fabric even in small lots.


Limonta has a huge Epson fabric printer, probably the only one of its kind in the world. It all started when they asked if they could print my photos on it. We even exhibited at trade shows in Italy and France. We've been making fabrics together for about 20 years now.

—We're using fabric printed with Ikushima's photographs for this project as well.


The prints are photographs of walls I've taken around the world, which is also my life's work. I've captured illustrations and graffiti drawn by nameless townspeople, as well as technical terms and numbers that were probably written for construction purposes. Walls that have been rained on and blown by the wind. These are works of art that are not intentional, but accidental. I think that by printing these images on Limonta nylon and turning them into bags, they have become something like a portable work of art.

--Finally, could you tell us your thoughts on this initiative?

I hope that even a little of the "artistic spirit" within me will be conveyed, and that this will also be an opportunity for people to learn about Limonta, a material manufacturer with the world's best technology. The store's decoration was done by Mr. Sawamura, a lecturer at Tokyo University of the Arts. I hope that when people pick up a bag amidst the decoration, which is themed around "the five senses and time," they will feel something. I hope this will be an opportunity for people to rediscover the charm of materials.