The importance of accepting everything with love.
Shirley: Watching the film, I was reminded of "abundance that is not money. What kind of thoughts and intentions did you put into the film?
Ziggy: Bob as a human being, before he was a musician, had that mindset. So I decided to focus on that in the film.
Shirley: I have been to Africa several times and felt the "richness that is not money" so I was able to reconfirm it in the film. The reason I am going to Africa is also to feel "affluence that is not money. In fact, I am going to Africa just tomorrow.
Ziggy: Where are you going? Have you been vaccinated?
Shirley: To Egypt and Morocco. I did get my vaccinations in the meantime. Next year I would like to go to Jamaica.
Ziggy: Very nice! Enjoy your trip.
-Now that Shirley has encouraged you on your journey, let me backtrack a bit to Bob's exile to England and living away from you. How did you feel about that?
Ziggy: There was an assassination attempt on Bob, and we children were sent to boarding school and lived in the US for a time. But when Bob came back to Jamaica, I remember how happy and proud I was that he came to pick us up from boarding school.
Shirley: You were also portrayed in the play. What other memories do you have of Bob?
Ziggy: Bob took us kids to many places. The Wailers were good to us at the studio at 56 Hope Road. I remember going to the Zimbabwe Independence Day concert and being brought up on stage to dance with them at the One Love concert.
Shirley: Reggae music changes with the times while incorporating elements of other music. Japanese fashion has also evolved in its own unique way, drawing on American and European influences. What do you think is important when taking influence from other sources?
Ziggy: It is important to have an open mind and a broad perspective. I believe that you should not be a frog in a well. If you have a broad perspective, you can accept anything. You need to have the depth of spirit to accept new things without fear. Also, it is not good to stay in one place all the time. You have to keep evolving.
Shirley: Yes, I sympathize with you very much. I believe that the strength of Japanese fashion is its diversity, which can be expressed by flexibly accepting and mixing cultures and styles from all over the world. I would like to continue to be a fashion designer with an open mind and love for the world so that I can continue to travel around the world, experience the cultures of different countries firsthand, create through a Japanese filter, and continue to evolve.
During the interview, Ziggy said, "If I had brought my [Ramroff] clothes, I could have worn them and taken a picture with them. In fact, he had brought the brand's iconic item, a "net cardigan" made for the 2024SS collection, which was inspired by the "net shirts" often worn by Jamaicans, as a gift to Ziggy. When Ziggy handed it to me, he looked delighted, and his wife said, "It's lovely. It looks good on you. In this way, the interview was friendly from start to finish and filled with Ziggy's love.
-Now, finally, please give a message to your Japanese fans.
Ziggy: There is nothing more important than to treat each other with love. If we can do that, the world will be a better place. I believe that with love, we can all be united and happy.
