hype to high fashion

I recently met up with Zenji, who works at a luxury Australian fashion label, to have a chat about his past, present, and promising future in fashion.

Zenji is a name reserved for those with an extra level of subtle cool. I’m talking about the few people who can work drop-hem pants and transform a penchant for sneakers into a successful career in fashion.

Born in Tokyo and named after his great-grandfather, the name Zenji symbolises the values of sincerity, honesty and peace, epitomising his Japanese roots through his steely work ethic and calm approach to dealing with people. A living example of how one’s pathways can diversify after leaving school, Zenji recalls his consistent interest in sport and becoming a physiotherapist throughout his high school life. However, the tides turned when he joined the staff at a Hype shoe store. An initial passion for sneakers quickly diverged into a sixth sense for street style and a university degree in Design Technology. Focussing on the production aspect of fashion, Zenji has a remarkable level of professional experience under his belt. Having interned at Alexander Wang to help out with New York Fashion Week (this is when I completely lost my cool - NEW YORK) and worked at Prada in Sydney, he loved “Seeing what it’s [the fashion industry] like on a global scale and being in the thick of it.”

Nowadays, Zenji works at a luxury Australian fashion label and attributes his incredible achievements to his persistence from the very beginning, and the ‘element of luck’ which is predominant in the Australian fashion industry. In discussing his future, Zenji mentions his desire to shift into the production side of the industry. Embodying the 21st century dynamic, Zenji is influenced in his personal style by music and social media. Always suave and simple, the combination of dark colours, layering and shapes in his everyday street style emanates the very way he holds himself. With his constantly evolving style and focus on the garments rather than the brands, I am sure that Zenji’s transition into production and design will be a glorious one, full of futuristic edge.

Always cool in his Adidas’ (I’m pinning that trend on him), Zenji left me with the message that persistence, experience, and of course sneakers, really “take you that one step further.”

Love, Ingrid