Kitsuné storefront

Kitsuné is the Japanese word for “fox.” It also happens to be the name of a small boutique located in Paris, France. Owned by Gildas Loaëc and Masaya Kuroki, Kitsuné merges the worlds of fashion and music. It’s an eclectic France-meets-Japan cross-pollination: a fashion brand recognized for its high-quality, chic, preppy, Parisian clothing, and a record label known for its soothing house/rock compilations.

Let me be clear: Gildas Loaëc and Masaya Kuroki are both friends of Loïc Prigent’s and mine. We like to make small videos together every season, and despite a few unhappy golfers, we did so again this season. Who doesn’t like two almost-naked models stripping and dancing in the middle of a golf course? I’ll let you be the judge. Check out the Q&A we put together especially for you:

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(L) Masaya Kuroki with (R) Gildas Loaëc

Fabien Constant: Why do you call yourself Fox?
Masaya Kuroki: Because we are foxy!
Gildas Loaëc: Some Japanese stories give the fox different faces. As we are a music label and a clothes line — and maybe in the future more — we were thinking the kitsuné would represent us well.

F.C.: What is the biggest difference between the fashion world and the music world?
M.K.: Today, I think their value.
G.L.: It is difficult to download an Italian cashmere jumper for free.

F.C.: Is it more difficult to manage a young band from Northern Ireland or an old Italian tailor?
M.K.: When you go to see an old Italian tailor, you have to bring some good wine and prosciutto from the south of Italy — then he is easy to talk to!
G.L.: Two Door Cinema Club, our Irish band, are sweet and super-easy, talented boys; they just need a good line check before getting on stage.

F.C.: Tommy Hilfiger and Diesel have started to sell records. Are you upset they copied you or do you take it as a compliment?
G.L.: It has always been the case that big companies are inspired by young creative minds. They try to stay cool by staying connected to younger generations.

Looks from Kitsuné’s spring/summer 2010 collection

F.C.: Your next spring/summer collection is “Golf Club.” It’s a very conservative choice for such young designers and a musical, fun-oriented brand, no?
M.K.: I would like to start to play golf next spring, but I can’t find golfer garments that are cool, with a chic touch — so why not do a collection myself? A collection with an old-school dress code of sport chic updated with modern shapes, a lot of pastel and funky colors — gingham seersucker short pants with bi-color maille-piqué polo. I often get inspired by old movies from the ’60s or old French fashion magazines. While my working base has many older references, in my office we are listening to the coolest and freshest bands of the year.

F.C.: You’re always looking for new ideas in music, but it seems like you’re more interested in old forms in fashion. Isn’t this contradictory?
G.L.: We are really passionate about what we do. We love music, we love clothes. Both the music label and the clothing line reflect our tastes. We like the general idea of classic and pop and have adopted a similar philosophy behind our music and clothing: quality, timelessness. We like the music we release to touch a lot of people and forever stay in their minds. Same for clothes. We like for our clothes to be of great quality, nice shape, and timeless, one day becoming great vintage finds.

Interior of Kitsuné boutique

F.C.: There is always the feeling of a party in your videos. Is it easy to throw a party on a golf course? Were you surprised that people screamed at us all day?
G.L.: Golf courses have lots of strict rules and golfers are way less cool than one would think. Apparently, walking on beautiful green gardens isn’t that relaxing. It was really funny to undress our models and make them dance, but it distracted the golfers from making good swings.

F.C.: Is golf the new punk?
M.K.: I will say new funk.
G.L.: Bourgeois is the new punk.

Check out Kitsuné’s spring/summer 2010 and fall/winter 2009 looks below, produced by Fabien and Loïc: