Because the fundamental human problem is that people are afraid of change.

In Comme des Garçons, I hardly do any sketches; there's no fittings on bodies, there's no models that come in and say, "Oh, a little bit like this." In the beginning, there isn't even a theme. It's like getting the whole world at your feet - to empty your mind of everything that's ever happened before, to get an empty space.

I've always said that growing up in postwar Japan, I never felt any connection to my work through those experiences. The work I do really comes from inside myself. For me, being born in Japan was an accident.

My intention is not to make clothes. My head would be too restricted if I only thought about making clothes.

Because the fundamental human problem is that people are afraid of change.

Celebrity doesn't really affect the work. What affects the work is the expectations from the outside. This is what no one understands.

The first thing we do is sit around a table and discuss what we could pick up from daily life, from space. That's how it starts, completely abstract. There's no kind of, "Oh, let's do Peru," or "Let's do pleats," you know?