Since there has been recent interest in fashion designer Alice Kobayashi, I thought I would translate this interview with her. It is from KERA Magazine issue 26, from November 2000.
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"When I was 17, 18 years old... I already specialized in design when I was in junior high school."
Since she had decided to go to school, she had no worries. She went to clubs and she encountered a lot of fashion and music. She was thinking about what she needed to do to become a designer. While working a part-time job selling clothes, she studied for the National Examination, and also attended a dressmaker's office and an English school.
Career: Dropped out of high school → Sales at NICE CLAP (NICE CLAUP) for a year and a half (in addition, selling children's clothing, part-time job at a flower shop, etc.) → After passing the exam, she entered Vantan Design Institute. While she was still in school, she made costumes for Koitsukihime dolls. → Joined Midi:Nette after graduation. She was involved from the launch of Moi-même-Moitié.
(Koitsukihimi dolls were known to Mana and featured in the MALICE MIZER Gardenia video and cover of their CD single)
How you got into your current job: Since I was 10 years old, I wanted to be a designer, but I couldn't think of it. For me, making clothes is the only way to express myself, and I am a clumsy person who can only do that...
If you hadn't been on this job: I can't imagine.
Job Description: All designs and patterns from clothes to accessories for Moitié's EGL department. When they first launched the brand, I started by buying irons and sewing machines, and really did anything. I used to walk around Shibuya with a lot of luggage.
What would you say to someone who wants to get this job? And, whether it's music, painting, or fashion, pursue whatever you like. As you do so, you can clearly see what you can do and what you should express. If you want to be a designer, playing is also important. Meet a lot of people and things, come into contact with a variety of ideas and sensibilities, and improve yourself. If you do that, you will be able to carve out a future and a dream with the friends you meet and your own efforts and energy!
Future goals: I hope to be able to do a show in the near future. I want to improve my skills and sensibilities, and create products that will make people even happier. I want to keep making them until I die.
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・Company structure of Midi:Nette Co., Ltd.
Including Producer Mana-sama, there are 2 Designers & Patterners, 1 Production Control & Patterner, 1 Small Product Production Control, and 5 shop staff, for a total of 10 people. We each have our own responsibilities, but when we are short of hands, we work together to make up for each other.
eta: I thought I would add a little information about Alice's career. She joined Moitié after graduating so it was her first job designing clothes for people. Moi-même-Moitié launched in 1999 but did not have a full line-up of items. In 2003, Alice began Fairywish, her own fashion company. So her time with Moitié was only a few years.
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