Akio Hasegawa's interview series "Don't Work Seriously!!" Vol.04 ZORN Part 1
This is a series of articles in which fashion director and stylist Akio Hasegawa has serious conversations with experts from various fields about their work. This time, his partner is rapper ZORN. In the summer of 2025, 80 years after the end of the war, ZORN will release his song "War and Girls," which gave him the opportunity to learn about and experience war once again. We headed to Hiroshima with ZORN. This article will be delivered in three parts: Part 1, Part 2, and Part 3.
PROFILE
Akio Hasegawa
Fashion director and stylist. He has been involved in the production of the British magazine "MONOCLE" since its launch and built the foundation for its fashion pages. In 2014, he became the magazine's fashion director. He served as the fashion director of the magazine "POPEYE" from 2012 to the fall of 2018. In 2019, he will launch the fashion web magazine "AH.H" in collaboration with Houyhnhnm, and in 2023, "CAHLUMN" and "andreM hoffwann".
ZORN
Born in 1989. A rapper from Shinkoiwa, Katsushika Ward, Tokyo.
Instagram: @ZORN
Twitter: @__ZORN__
Official Fanclub: Chii Out Club
*The first half of the interview is published on " AH.H. "
ZORN
ZORN
By the way, is it okay if we don't talk about fashion in this interview? I think everyone wants to hear about that sort of thing, Hase-san.
Hasegawa
Hasegawa
I wonder.
ZORN
ZORN
I think the writings on Hase's Instagram are on a paid level. Hase's writings don't just cover clothes, they also capture his entire life. It makes me want to buy something amazing.
Hasegawa
Hasegawa
As I get older, my perspective has changed. Like politics, for example. In fact, live coverage of the Diet and posts of extreme political comments on social media are similar to the excitement of popular movies and dramas, and they are issues that connect to real life, so it would be strange if people weren't interested in them. I don't think there is a better story in the world than that. But I think if I talk about it too much, it gets complicated, so I think it's better to keep it to a moderate level. But people are so uninterested, and if people aren't interested in such things, I think Japan is in quite a dangerous place.
ZORN
ZORN
You've been saying that a lot lately.
Hasegawa
Hasegawa
I mean, regardless of myself, I wonder what will happen to the younger generation when they grow up.
ZORN
ZORN
That's true. I think it might feel different once you have children. By the way, are you interested in fashion now?
Hasegawa
Hasegawa
Yes, there are. I'm completely immersed in fashion after all. I get into politics as a way to kill time. Also, how should I put it, when I look at fashion today, there are a lot of things that make me feel a bit strange.
ZORN
ZORN
I'd like to hear that story.
Hasegawa
Hasegawa
The other day, I had the opportunity to visit a lot of fashion brand press rooms for work, and I realized that the brands I've always liked are cool and I'm not wrong about them. They make really cool things and have originality. I think that's important. It's about whether or not you're properly pursuing what your own expression is. It's the same with rap, right? Rap that lacks the artist's individuality isn't worthless.
zorn
zorn
I agree.
Hasegawa
Hasegawa
Nowadays, there are so many similar brands. It seems like there's no originality whatsoever. When I look at other people's fashion, I can't help but wonder why they wear that kind of clothing. I mean, it doesn't really matter what they wear. But when I see people saying "I like" clothes that are completely unoriginal or that look like they've been copied, I can't help but think they don't understand anything.
ZORN
ZORN
But most people don't know anything about it, right? (laughs)
Hasegawa
Hasegawa
That may be true. Maybe that's why I get angry at the world (laughs). But I think that's what expression is all about. It's the same with music, movies, everything. Sessions with people who don't have that are meaningless and boring. There should be as many creative people as there are creators, but I thought that we shouldn't all be looking in the same direction and being pulled along by popular brands.
Hasegawa
Hasegawa
Didn't Giorgio Armani pass away the other day? A while ago, he was interviewed by an American and asked, "What is something valuable that the world doesn't pay attention to?" and he answered, "Giorgio Armani."
ZORN
ZORN
Wow.
Hasegawa
Hasegawa
I don't think Armani was appreciated at all. Well, of course he was appreciated, but it was still a long way off. But after he passed away, a lot of people made comments about him. Ralph Lauren, Paul Smith, and Stefano Pilati all did too. Surprisingly, there aren't that many designers who represent men's fashion in Italy. After all, the market for women's fashion is bigger, and everyone tends to go there. I think that now that he's passed away, he'll be reevaluated even more.
Hasegawa
Hasegawa
Are there any rappers who have influenced you?
ZORN
ZORN
There are a lot of them. I think I've been influenced by all the rappers I've listened to since I was a kid. At first I started to like mainstream hip hop, but gradually I started to feel that it wasn't enough. I generally went for underground stuff because it has deeper things to say and is more artistic.
Hasegawa
Hasegawa
That's right.
ZORN
ZORN
I think that people in that field are better, and I often find it moving. They do complicated things. But once you've gone around in circles, you end up going back to the mainstream. That's true both for listening to it and for doing it yourself. And actually, that's more difficult. But underground stuff always gets through.
Hasegawa
Hasegawa
I understand that very well. POPEYE is a magazine targeted at young people, so I feel like the staff thinks it's fine for young people to do it, but that's not the case. When we relaunched it, it worked because the staff had a lot of experience in a variety of places. That requires skill and knowledge. We gathered that kind of staff and then created something that was easy to understand.
ZORN
ZORN
That's right. What year was the renewal that you were involved in?
Hasegawa
Hasegawa
2012.
ZORN
ZORN
I saw the cover of that issue and bought it at a convenience store. I have every issue of POPEYE from then until now.
Hasegawa
Hasegawa
That's right. It's a waste of space, so it's better to throw them away. Just leaving things there costs you money, so it's better to look through them all carefully, choose only the good ones, and throw away the low-quality issues.
ZORN
ZORN
I see. When I first started buying Popeye, I didn't know anything about the profession of stylist. I simply bought it because I liked the magazine, so I had no idea who was making it or how. Then, I gradually began to understand, so I think young people in their late teens or early twenties probably don't pay much attention to which stylist is doing what.
Hasegawa
Hasegawa
It's probably the same as not looking at producers or directors in music.
ZORN
ZORN
That may be true. After I met the stylist Akio Hasegawa, I intuitively felt that he was the coolest stylist in Japan, so I've always wanted to work with him. I wondered why he could make ordinary things look so cool in his hands. I was particularly interested in socks.
Hasegawa
Hasegawa
The thing I wanted to do most with POPEYE was to talk about socks.
ZORN
ZORN
That's right.
Hasegawa
Hasegawa
Socks tend to be overlooked, but as a stylist, shoes and socks are extremely important when deciding on an outfit. They're usually not visible, but sometimes they can be seen, right? It'd be awful if you were wearing something strange at that time. That's why, in the first issue of the renewed POPEYE, I created a page focusing on socks. That's the most important thing, and I really wanted to convey that.
Hasegawa
Hasegawa
There was a story a long time ago that Miyashita-san always made the models change their underwear at a NUMBER (N)INE show. At the end of the NUMBER (N)INE show, everyone came out in their underwear. I think he really wanted to show it off. Underwear affects the shape of the clothes, so if you're going to wear wide trousers, trunks are better because they support the shape. Also, for people with a flat butt, trunks will help shape the shape. But if you're wearing skinny pants, tight-fitting underwear is better. I think it's really important to spend money and care on things that you can't see like that.
ZORN
ZORN
When children, or even middle and high school students, wear Calvin Klein underwear, they dress in a way that shows off their body. It's a very expensive item for them, so they want to show it off.
Hasegawa
Hasegawa
Yeah, that's right. I think it's great that people want to show off the things they're spending money on, or that they want to spend money on things that aren't visible. It's a primitive part of them. So if they're going to buy weird clothes, I think they should just buy Calvin Klein underwear and a white T-shirt.
ZORN
ZORN
But when I look at young people, I think that you can't get to plain clothes without going through the gachapon clothes.
Hasegawa
Hasegawa
Ah, maybe so.
ZORN
ZORN
It's the same for B-Boys. But at some point, you end up thinking, "Plain is fine." I think that's what happened to me around my first year of high school.
Hasegawa
Hasegawa
As I get older, I start buying plain but expensive things. But even though they're expensive, I like things that don't look expensive, and there are all kinds of things (laughs).
To be continued in the middle part.
