How Satoshi Kuwata bridges East and West through Setchu, his award-winning brand offering inclusive sizes and affordable designs
With influences from Japan, Milan and Savile Row, the 2023 LVMH Prize winner is attracting international interest – as well as from fashion insiders like Dover Street Market’s Adrian Joffe
Designer Satoshi Kuwata, winner of the 2023 LVMH Prize, cuts a fine figure wearing pieces by his brand, Setchu, when I meet him on a bright and sunny morning in Hong Kong – an elevated and dare I say unlikely uniform for someone who’s just gone fishing in Victoria Harbour. “I love to look chic,” he says, grinning from ear to ear. “I love North Face. I love Patagonia. But let other fishermen wear those.”
Kuwata, I soon find out, is full of surprises, on top of being an avid fisherman – something which as he explains later, has more in common with fashion than you may think. His voice rings with the intonation of Japanese, the language of his home country, but his accent is difficult to pin down – I first hear the dignified sounds familiar to Britain, where Kuwata spent years working on Savile Row, then the Italian flourishes with which he finishes his sentences. He’s now based in Milan, where he launched Setchu back in 2020.
“At the beginning, I was a bit embarrassed about my English as well, but this is who I am,” Kuwata admits. Though I only mention it in passing, the story surrounding his intriguing voice and how it came to be soon becomes a focal point of our conversation. “At the end of the day, I’m 41 now – when I won the LVMH [Prize], I was 40 – I started accepting and appreciating who I am finally.”
The prize itself wasn’t even the most affirmative part, Kuwata notes – it was also the first time the LVMH Prize jury had voted unanimously on a winner. “Have you ever left your phone in the car in the summer?” he asks, reflecting on the overnight success which followed. “While I was giving [my] speech, I felt like my lap was really hot, and it was because I got a million messages on Instagram – and went [from] 7,000 followers to 20,000.”
In addition to that pivotal moment, Kuwata – who was recently named guest designer for the 107th edition of Pitti Uomo, Florence’s biannual menswear trade show – certainly has a lot to celebrate, entering this next decade of life. Beyond being honoured by the world’s largest luxury conglomerate, thereby securing the prize money and mentorship of LVMH, he now counts some of the world’s most respected designers as his trusted customers.
“Delphine [Arnault, CEO of LVMH] was really happy to see how much my company grew,” he says. “Maria Grazia Chiuri [Dior creative director], she’s my client. And [Louis Vuitton’s] Nicolas Ghesquière was like, ‘I want to buy, too.’”
Setchu, which as Kuwata puts it, roughly translates to “the bridge between Japan and the West”, is a visual representation of the rich cultural backdrop which has shaped his expansive world view – and confusing accent – over the years. Some of the brand’s styles recall the Japanese greats, borrowing from the functionality of Issey Miyake and the avant-garde aesthetics of Rei Kawakubo and Junya Watanabe, but the design language remains purposefully ambiguous – and wholly Setchu.