Sit Down With DAKS x Mr. Slowboy
I have always been passionate about drawing since my childhood and never gave it up, even when I was working in advertising. The most fascinating thing for me is to create artworks with subtle hints of hidden stories or information which allow people to read and interpret the drawing through their own imagination and that’s exactly the essence of illustration.
My illustrations are all done by hand with watercolour and colour pencil on paper in a traditional fashion which is nothing special. However, as fashion illustrations, my work was focused on the humour and pleasant mood brought out by the clothes and the wearers.
My major inspiration is from the stylish people I come across on the street, each one of their styles is so authentic and unique which blend their personalities and clothes perfectly in a charming way. It’s so enjoyable to just wander around the city watching and studying people. In terms of artistic expression, the Ivy Boy created by Mr Kazuo Hozumi and the caricatures from the Vanity magazine in the late 19th and early 20th century influenced my work the most when I started creating Mr Slowboy.
Men’s fashion is the main subject of my art, and working with fashion brands allows me to focus on this subject without distraction, while developing my techniques and artistic styles. It also provides me opportunities to learn from extensive amounts of creativity and stylings through studying the lookbook or accessing the archive that offers me an even deeper understanding of the development of the concepts and ideas behind the garments.
Interestingly enough I got to know DAKS through the illustrations made by Max Hoff, who in some sense founded the visual identity of DAKS, and the classic British retro styled suits from 2018 SS collection also impressed me to a great extent.
The Gentlemen portrayed by Max Hoff and René Gruau who was also a world renowned fashion illustrator at the time are the best representation of the men’s image in the 1950s and 60s during the cultural boom after World War II. They all looked extremely confident and cheerful, celebrating the greatest recovery in human history by dressing up nicely. The uplifting spirit and optimism expressed through the signature smiling faces in his work are so powerful and unforgettable, which profoundly influenced my work too. It makes perfect sense again as we are coping with another recession now.
The leading character in this series of anniversary illustrations is the dachshund which used to be the motif of DAKS. I tried to revive it with an updated look and feel.
That's a very difficult one, I love them all, honestly.
Definitely the knitted jumper in superfine merino. The translation from my drawing to the design pattern was done brilliantly with crazy details.
I’m currently working on a personal project which is documenting the well-dressed, stylish gentlemen across regions and ethnicities in different parts of the world by making life sketches for them. The style is more expressive and relaxed than what I’m doing now and I hope I can put them together into another book soon.