Interview: Behind the pages of Uniqlo LifeWear magazine with Takahiro Kinoshita

Let's dive into the world of Uniqlo LifeWear magazine with its creative director Takahiro Kinoshita where he talks about inspiration, the highlight of the Spring/Summer 2023 issue and more.

As we march forward into an increasingly digitised world, UNIQLO continues on with their belief on creating a timeless, well-curated fashion and lifestyle publication - the UNIQLO LifeWear magazine.

A bi-annual print magazine that showcases not only UNIQLO collections of the season but also interesting stories and personality features gathered from around the world. And curating this print magazine is its creative director Takahiro Kinoshita, a celebrated voice in Japan's fashion, lifestyle and publication industries with over three decades of experience.

Here, we spoke to the man of the hour in a group interview during his trip to Singapore for the UNIQLO spring/summer 2023 collection showcase to talk about inspiration, motivation and what makes LifeWear, LifeWear.

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How do you define what is and what is not “LifeWear”?

I had to think carefully about this answer. What I came to realise is if it is not something you would wear again one year later, then that is not LifeWear.

LifeWear should be something you would want to wear for many, many years. I think that is one of the key focus for Uniqlo in their efforts for sustainability.

It’s been over 4 years since the start of the Uniqlo LifeWear magazine, how do you think the creative direction has changed, from then to now?

Essentially, my attitude towards the readers has not changed since the beginning.

What are the trends today that you think will be classics in the future?

I think classic itself has become one of the key trends now. Things that focus on authenticity will be another thing to look into.

If you’re talking about something new that might be a classic, then I think is the concept of evolving materials and the technology that is involved when creating a garment. For example, the classic down jacket can be enhanced and the goose feather used can be replaced with artificial materials.

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Are there any great stories out there in the world that you want to share with the readers?

What I saw and was very impressed with were the Hamburg National Youth Ballet and the talented young dancers’ personal stories. They are so pure and innocent. Just by looking at them practicing, I felt like tearing up.

It made me wonder what made me so emotional when looking at them and that motivated me to share their story in this issue of the LifeWear magazine.

How do you keep yourself inspired to create such amazing content for LifeWear magazine?

I think talking to people and understanding their stories, even like us now in this interview, gets my mind going through various possibilities and keeps me inspired.

Normally when we find something interesting, we will do our research online or through books and materials but that limits our framework.

I find that when you take a step outside and meet people, the limitations will not exist and you can expand your knowledge and be exposed to something new.