Fashion’s quiet revolutionary, Atsuro Tayama, opens up about his life and style
At 61, Japanese entrepreneur who trained with Yohji Yamamoto and makes mannish ‘but not masculine’ clothes for career women, has written a book about the ideas he lives and designs by
Atsuro Tayama has always had grand ambitions for the clothes he designs.
“I always thought fashion is what I should do, and I have the same intentions now as I did when I started out,” he says, looking back at his 40-plus years in the business. “Regarding fashion, the revolution is the most important thing.”
For Tayama, it’s the detail that’s revolutionary. The 61-year-old runs two fashion lines – Atsuro Tayama and diffusion label A.T. by Atsuro Tayama. He delivers classically tailored collections with a feminine flourish that are shown in Paris and sold around the world.
Tayama graduated in 1975 from the Bunka Fashion College – alma mater of fellow Japanese designers Junya Watanabe, Kenzo Takada and Yohji Yamamoto. He had an extended apprenticeship with Yamamoto’s studio when it was still a small enterprise of just five people. He likens this period to “entering a fashion boarding school”.
After that he branched out on his own and launched his label in Paris. Tayama quickly found the world was keener for him to be a Japanese designer than it was on the idea of him adopting a more Western style.