Do you know the brand “VIVIANO”, started by Mr. Viviano Sue in 2015? It is a brand whose level of recognition has risen, from becoming an award-winning brand of TOYO FASHION AWARD 2023, with both national and international expectations to continue making great strides here forth.
Their glorious collections filled with thrills of fashion, becomes engraved in peoples’ memories with a powerful impact, once one sees it, and is worn. We spoke to their designer on their overwhelming creations, and the thoughts behind it.

Please tell us how you came to launch the branch.

Immediately after graduating from Bunka Fashion Graduate University, I started up the brand, “VIVIANO SUE”. In 2020, I changed the name to “VIVIANO”, and seven and a half years have already passed since.
Ever since I was a young child, I have always wanted to be involved in creative work, reflected in my majoring in graphics at an art university, and having experience working at an overseas advertising agency. I’ve always loved giving birth to something, and from the opportunity of coming to Japan to study abroad, I chose the road of fashion, which leads to now.

Please tell us what you are particular about as a brand.

Every season, VIVIANO develops a couture line of 5 dresses, along with a ready-to-wear line. The couture line is not created under the premise of being sold. They are created to be offered to the media or to be worn by celebrities, but they are 5 pieces in which I pour in and concentrate all my creativity into. As a line deriving from these 5 pieces, I produce a ready-to-wear line of 100 styles or so. Every season, I draw enormous numbers of sketches, which is then narrowed down into a collection. In producing a collection, up to now, I have followed the flow of deciding on a theme, then researching and drawing design sketches, and then choosing textiles, but in 24AW, I’m thinking of taking a new approach of starting from drawing design sketches. I wish to constantly continue challenging new things.

What is it that VIVIANO holds dear in its creations of fashion?

In the case of VIVIANO, we make only that which we like. Because I am a rather clumsy person, I could never create sellable products based on marketing, so we have never done that. People may have the impression that we are a special brand, but we are especially particular about choosing textiles in order to deliver a taste of extraordinary in daily life. Tulle is a textile representative of the brand, but we make it washable, along with combining it with other designs and/or textiles, such as sweats, jackets, pants, etc. so they can be worn, not only in dress scenes, but also in daily life. The number of people who wear the clothes of our brand has increased as a result of placing our wish to deliver that which we like, rather than producing a MD conscious of business.

What kind of customers do you have mainly?

We have an extremely wide range of customers, so much so that it is surprising even to us or our sales staff, from teenagers choosing us saying they want to wear it to school, to a person in their 60’s who walked into the shop by chance, choosing a jacket with tulle. The worn impression of our tulle items change simply by changing what one wears inside, so the same items are being chosen by customers of a wide age range. Furthermore, we are proud to say that we have many repeating customers, who, once purchase a tulle item, come back for a design without tulle, then pants, and so on, to purchase a whole array of our items.

Where do you get your inspiration for your creations?

I am often influenced by things I’ve seen or felt recently, such as things I’ve seen at museums or places I visited, things I felt watching a movie, or in a dream, etc. I rarely create with a particular muse in mind. Rather, we wish to create things we think are cute. When I first started the brand, the things I wanted to wear were too expensive for me, so there was a feel that if I can’t buy it, I should try making it myself. Design wise, I’ve always preferred ladies’ items, and because I wore them myself, I’ve ended up creating a unisex collection, which can be worn regardless of gender. Genre wise, we are positioned as a ladies’ brand, but in our minds, we have continued to create unisex items, and continue creating jackets, for example, in a men’s finish.

How did the collection theme, “Le Bel Été (Beautiful Summer)” of the 24SS collection you presented earlier this year come to be?

My grandmother loves movies, and ever since I was a young child, I often accompanied her to watch movies with her. The movie, ‘Desmoiselles de Rochefort (The Young Girls of Rochefort)’, which was the inspiration to this time’s theme, was one such impressive movie I saw years ago. To be honest, personally, I dislike summer, and tend to be active at night to avoid the sun during the summer (laugh), but I was attracted to the fun feel of summer, its happy feel depicted in this movie, so I decided on making beautiful summer the theme, this time around.

Including 24SS, you have presented a show at Rakuten Fashion Week TOKYO twice thus far. Honestly speaking, how was it?

Both times we were in such a bustle, and it was such hard work, but it has been a great honor working with models, stylists, hair/makeup teams, etc. representing Japan, I was extremely moved myself. In addition, the guest and celebrities who come to VIVIANO shows are all very glamorous themselves, so it is always a great pleasure to watch their colorful sights on the monitor!

What meaning do shows hold for VIVIANO?

There are shows that are presented for the aim of utilizing movie footage after the presentation, but we intend to continue presenting shows in which importance is placed on moving people with the experience of that space. We are a brand in which the attractiveness of our items are hard to understand when hanging on hangers. The reality of our attractiveness becomes more apparent when models actually wear our items and move around. There are buyers and customers who come to the show interested in seeing our show looks, so we also feel a sure business response to our shows.

Please tell us about your prospects for the brand.

We would like to challenge overseas, centered around Asian regions, as a Japanese brand. Creation wise also, we intend to keep doing new things aggressively, and simply continue delivering things that we think are cute to our customers. And some day, we hope to present a show at Paris.

Is there anything you would like to challenge in the future, as a designer?

Our shoes line which we launched in 23AW is being received extremely well, so it would be interesting challenge doing a collaboration with shoes brands, such as sneakers. We also intend to undertake leather items. This isn’t part of the company’s strategy, but personally, I am interested in trying out my hand in creating a variety of things, such as perfume, cosmetics, interior, etc.