When I am surprised, I have a habit of buying them.
Do you have a passion for fashion?
Shimoda:I know what I like, but I don't know if it looks good on me. Maybe I'm wearing something weird, and I have a habit of buying things when I'm surprised. What's this? and then I kept buying them, and they became full of things I didn't know how to match. Finally, his wife started saying to him, "Tell me what surprised you," so he started calling her when he makes purchases (laughs). I can't think in total.
Upstream:You seem to have your own style.
Shimoda:No, it's all really weird stuff. Especially shoes. I bought some Adidas sneakers a few years ago with a totem pole design. I don't know how to wear them. I don't know how to wear them.
The sneakers in the photo above are adidas Originals by JEREMY SCOTT.
Jeremy Scott designed this model, didn't he?
Shimoda:Yes, that's it. I wear them sometimes because I like them, and people look twice at me when I wear them. I also have a pair of Danner boots that are ray leather. Even though I thought there was no way I could wear them for trekking, I just couldn't resist the feeling that they were beautiful and cool.
Upstream:When you went to the Himalayas, did you wear mountain boots?
Shimoda:No, that's not true. The first time I went to Tibet, I took a long-distance bus, not knowing that it would cross a 5,000-meter mountain pass, and I was wearing beeskin, so I remember how cold it was. It suddenly started blizzarding, and I had to be put in a blanket by someone who was wrapped in a blanket (laughs). Being young is scary, isn't it? It was fun, but I'm glad I didn't die.
Upstream:But the experience has been great.
Shimoda:I was just playing around. It was just a regular sightseeing trip, drawing portraits of people I met there. Kawakami-kun, you have been living in San Francisco since you were 18 years old.
Upstream:At first, I could not speak English at all. When I started living in San Francisco, it was scary. But it was interesting to me because of the danger. If I had not had that experience, I might have led a different life.
Shimoda:I wish I could have gone to the U.S. when I was a teenager.
SEVEN BY SEVEN 2020AW in San Francisco
Upstream:Even if you don't speak the language, Mr. Shimoda, you can make others happy with your pictures and so on. I envy you because I think you can make friends wherever you go.
Shimoda:If anything, he's hyperactive and autistic.
Upstream:Which of the countries you have visited has left the greatest impression on you?
Shimoda:Tibet, I think. I went to a local place where Tibetans were drinking tea, dressed in traditional costumes and carrying large decorative swords on their waists. I was drawing their portraits and we became friends, and they started inviting me to their hotel where I was staying. They would shout my name, "Simodar! The hotel staff were worried because I kept shouting their names (laughs). It was great to walk around the temple with them while shopping.
