Tamae Hirokawa, the designer of the brand "SOMARTA," which has attracted attention from all over the world, including being used as a costume by Lady Gaga, visited the school and gave a special lecture to OIF students.

The lecture began with a discussion of Hirokawa's representative work, the "Skin Series," which was created in 2006 with the concept of a "second skin." He explained the origins of the series, saying, "When I was a student, I saw designers like Issey Miyake presenting works on the theme of 'skin' in the 'Skin and Clothing' section of the exhibition 'Dreams of the Body,' and I thought that someday I would like to design clothes that express 'skin' in my own way."

Following this, collaborative works with various companies were introduced, and the possibilities of creativity were discussed, with the speaker stating that "design is a means of enriching people's lives and can be applied to a wide range of fields, not just fashion." Regarding the knitting technology using seamless knitting machines used in the Skin Series, the speaker explained that "in clothing production, it is important to prioritize the comfort and functionality of the wearer." The students listened intently, their eyes shining, as they had a valuable opportunity to hear the thoughts of a top designer directly.

During the Q&A session, students aiming to win the contest asked numerous enthusiastic questions, and it was a very productive time as the students listened attentively, taking notes, to the answers from Mr. Hirokawa, who serves as a judge for major contests including the Soen Award.

■ Profile of Tamae Hirokawa
After working at Issey Miyake Co., Ltd., he established "SOMA DESIGN" in 2006. At the same time, he launched the brand "SOMARTA" and participated in Tokyo Collection. He received the Newcomer Award and the Shiseido Encouragement Award at the 25th Mainichi Fashion Grand Prix. In 2017, SOMARTA's signature item "Skin Series" was acquired by the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) in New York. In 2020, he collaborated with ASICS on the "Japan National Team Podium Jackets" for the Tokyo 2020 Olympic and Paralympic Games, which garnered significant attention.