BEYOND THE BORDER: KEISUKE YOSHIDA

THE JAPANESE DESIGNER ACHIEVES A STUDIED ELEGANCE, HOLDING THE NAÏVETY OF YOUTH IN MIND

By Morgan Becker

Keisuke Yoshida was born in Tokyo in 1991, and founded his eponymous label there in 2015. In many ways, its evolution reflects the stages of his upbringing in the metropolis, starting with the impressions of a shy, wide-eyed boy and advancing towards lithe, self-assured suiting. Traditionally-cut kimonos bear unexpected prints; dress shirts are tied off in bows; the workwear is beautifully tailored, but hangs playfully off the frame.

Keisuke’s range of influence is wide: German performance art, Japanese pop culture, surrealism, uniforms of all kinds. Constantly, though, the designer holds a “stern and sensitive woman born from the heart” in mind. She’s his North Star—a kind of antidote to the cultural clash and hustle and bustle of Tokyo, guiding the creation of garments that convey a soft sense of humanity. Beyond Noise visited Keisuke in his studio, learning more about the small moments that move him, and how they’ll color his work in the present and the future.

Beyond the Border is a series spotlighting international designers—crossing not just physical boundaries, but also creative ones. It harnesses the power of AI to set designs in motion, photographed traditionally, then animated for the online realm.

MORGAN BECKER: How would you describe the fashion scene in Tokyo, and how does KEISUKEYOSHIDA fit into the mix?

KEISUKE YOSHIDA: I’ve been captivated by European fashion since adolescence, immersing myself in that world. Yet my sensibilities and emotions have also been influenced by Tokyo’s inward energy and Japanese culture—manga, TV, film, music, books. I take Western fashion and reshape it with my city’s sensibilities and emotions to speak globally. As a Tokyo‐based designer, I look outward to society, infusing modern wear with that in-between mood.
While many Tokyo designers draw from international culture and [local] streetwear, my process is somewhat reversed

MB: What’s your earliest memory associated with your love for clothing?

KY: Looking back, my dream of being an astronaut at age five, my admiration for cassocks during elementary school worship, and even taking up kendo were all driven by a desire to wear uniforms. I realize now a strong awareness of dressing from a young age. I vividly remember buying my first pair of distressed jeans with my allowance, in the first year of middle school on a neighborhood shopping street. Sure, they were cheap—like something a bad youth might wear. But the moment I put them on, I felt older and that I had become someone new. I’ve always believed that fashion can change people.

MB: Your last collection plays around with construction, particularly of classic suiting. Where’d the idea come from?

KY: Since Fall/Winter 2023, I’ve started my collections around tailoring. I cut up old suits and experiment with their lines on a body until the mood in my head—a loosely-defined concept—aligns with the silhouette. It’s an act of embodying abstract textures that are otherwise hard to articulate.
Though I design womenswear, masculine clothing and uniform structures are my anchor.

MB: There’s also a look that plays on the kimono, incorporating a bold pattern. What was on your mind as you added these flashes of color, against an otherwise fairly neutral palette?

KY: For Fall/Winter 2025, I wanted to bring the KEISUKEYOSHIDA woman closer to real society. Up until then, she looked more like a mother. That’s how I decided to show the collection in an amusement facility I often visited during adolescence. It had to feel like the models were part of everyday life. Thus, alongside suiting, the collection featured ordinary pieces—jeans, neon sports jackets, floral dresses—items you’d expect to see in the cityscape. Tokyo lacks a strong evening culture or sensual attitude. We take streetwear as equally valid fashion.

MB: What caused your gaze to shift to a more mature look?

KY: When I debuted in 2015, I was thinking of my own adolescence—the fragile, naïve boy who was revealed through raw style. I wanted to empower youth like myself. I came to realize that I should be the designer I longed for as a boy, [eventually] growing into a mature elegance. But the naïve and somber mood has always remained.

MB: Spring/Summer 2025 had garments with satin-y linings, inside tops and dresses with attached jackets. It seems like a metaphor—for a true self hidden under a more traditional exterior. For you, is fashion a means of revealing or transforming?

KY: That reading is entirely valid. Fashion is both a means of revealing and transforming. Transformation requires understanding, acceptance, and overcoming oneself, which exposes rawness. They occur at the same time.

MB: Looking at your recent work, our fashion editor [Sungwon Serena Park] thought of her own mother. The collections beautifully portrayed, for her, a working woman in the city, from the perspective of a child. Do you relate to that at all?

KY: Yes. I’ve often felt overwhelmed by stress and the business of city life and wanted to escape. The female figures in my work were born out of a desire for someone like a mother to watch over me. It’s not so much a youthful perspective, but rather one of emotional vulnerability. They are both gentle and stern. Currently, I’m focused on the struggles and loneliness that people of all genders and ages seem to face.

MB: Is there a historical era or movement in fashion that feels vital to your work today?

KY: Fashion is with the times, so of course it’s always the contemporary that matters. However, I’m particularly influenced by the Japanese designers who took on Europe in the ’80s, and ’90 Antwerp fashion. A rebellious spirit at its core. Diligence and hard work. The texture of dust, like with Joseph Beuys. Surrealism. Shape centered on the neck, shoulders, and waist. When I first encountered high fashion in the 2000s, it was an era of stardom. I remember being shocked and [moved by] their creations.

MB: What moves you most about your city? Where do you go to be inspired?

KY: There is so much information in Tokyo today. When I come into contact with something slow, something from the past, something soft and human-like, my heart is moved. Recently, I was attracted to ceramics made by an artist friend. I felt in them the richness of humanity and expression.

Recently, I haven’t been able to make time to travel very far, so I have been exploring the narrow area within a one-kilometer radius of my home to my office. Despite its smallness, my mind is more organized as I stroll around after work. I am always tense facing my desk; I quiet my mind on the way home. In rigid society, in the city, I’m attracted to moments of relaxation.

MB: What’s a piece of advice you’d give to your younger self, around when you founded the brand?

KY: The brand was built on a combination of coincidence and fate, so much so that a single unnecessary word could have upset the balance. So I would tell myself: “Don’t worry. Have confidence.” I would also tell myself to study English and business earlier!

MB: Do you have a muse?

KY: No specific person. The current muse is a stern and sensitive woman born from the heart. Sometimes she is like a mother, sometimes she is like a neighbor, and the distance between them changes over the seasons. I see my assistant wearing KEISUKEYOSHIDA every day. So, as a practical body, her outfits are an inspiration to me. And the pure boyhood of Keisuke, from when I was crazy about fashion, is integrated into every collection in no small measure.

MB: Where do you hope to take your label from here?

KY: As a brand, we have a strong desire to expand our sales channels globally. In order to do so, there are many categories to achieve in, like expanding sizing, accessories, and cut-and-sew. Balancing business with creativity, growing our recognition… Like the brands I admired as an adolescent, I would like to keep asking questions and challenging the times while exploring human existence.