Tomoki Sukezane
40, Stylist, Tokyo
By Michiko Toyama
Fall 2005 Style & Design
In Tokyon these days, cutting-edge stylists have usurped designers as
the ultimate arbiters of what's in and what's out. The whims of
influential stylists like Tomoki Sukezane can affect the bottom line at
such brands as Gucci and Louis Vuitton—sending fashionistas rushing to
purchase the must-have item, like Balenciaga's $2,000 white jacket,
which flew off shelves the day after he wore it on TV. Sukezane not only
is responsible for fashion features in numerous magazines, such as the
youth fashion bible Popeye, but also dresses celebrities for TV
commercials, lectures at the Kyoto University of Art & Design and
interviews designers for TV shows. His latest endeavor is a popular
men's magazine called Fashion News Men's.
"Sukezane is the most precise observer of men's fashion," says Dior
Homme designer Hedi Slimane. "He has this incredible curiosity for what
is coming."
If Sukezane's name appears on a magazine cover, it is said to increase
sales by 10,000 copies (edgier magazines average fewer than 100,000
copies an issue in Japan). So what's next? "Giving creative directions
to make beautiful but still profitable fashion magazines," says the
perfectionist.
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