Meet Tomomi Okubo | Bridal designer & Pattern maker

We had the good fortune of connecting with Tomomi Okubo and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Tomomi, we’d love to hear about how you approach risk and risk-taking
I have taken two big risks in my life: the first, when I moved to New York from Japan at age 27, without even knowing the language. And the second, when I quit my full-time job to launch my own business. I believe that whenever you want change in your life, you must take some risks. Otherwise, your circumstances will always stay as they are. Things might not end up how you expected after taking a big chance, but for me, I’ve met new people and I’ve experienced things I couldn’t before. Of course, it feels stressful to face something new, but at the same time, I enjoy seeing what happens.

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
After graduating from fashion school, I wanted to do more than just draw my designs on paper. I wanted to work in a creative field. My dream was to become a patternmaker at Comme des Garçons. But I failed their entrance exam, and so I took a job at a different company. But I wasn’t willing to give up. I quit that company and took the exam a second time, but… failed again. Instead, after hearing that Comme des Garçons was looking for part-time seamstresses, I applied, and got that job. Only after working there for some time was I asked if I was interested in a full-time patternmaker position. Even though I knew the job would require long hours, I felt it was my last chance. I took all their exams and joined the company.

How things worked at Comme des Garçons was different from most fashion companies. Normally, patternmakers are expected to interpret the drawings given to them by their designers. But from the beginning, head designer Junya Watanabe picked some patternmakers and gave them only verbal instructions on what he wanted to see in his next collection. With no sketches, and sometimes only vague directions to go on, the patternmakers were under tremendous pressure to distinguish themselves creatively.

Once I reached the muslin draping process for the first time, I needed to create one dress to fit Watanabe’s concept. But nothing worked. It was a hellish challenge: to create a model-ready runway dress without making any cuts to the fabric! Even after months spent trying countless options, none of my concepts were approved. My manager finally pulled me off the assignment, and gave me an easier piece to work on for a few weeks. I was heartbroken. But then, something amazing happened—I returned to that nightmare dress, and finished it in just a few days! It felt like a miracle. My dress was worn at the Junya Watanabe runway show in Paris. I was so proud of myself for pushing through my failures.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
I would like to take my friend to the Brooklyn Heights Promenade and walk along the Brooklyn Bridge to Manhattan. The view around sunset time is so beautiful—a uniquely New York experience! I lived in the Lower East Side for long time, and I still think of it as my old neighborhood. I want to take my friend to eat chicken on a biscuit at Cheeky, a vegan prix fixe at Dirt Candy, and pork kimchee soba at Cocoron.
It is fun to walk around the LES. We can visit small shops like BODE and Desert Vintage, and stroll around the new Essex Market, to chat with the staff at all the little shops and food stalls.
Finally, I would take my friend to see New York’s famous museums, like the Met, the MoMa and the Whitney.

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
In my fourth year at fashion school in Japan, I had an influential teacher I never forgot: Gomi-sensei.

At the time, I didn’t have much confidence about being a fashion designer, so I chose a three-year patternmaking program. But I couldn’t give up on fashion design, so I added a fourth year which focused on it.

The class was so small—around ten students. Everyone got along and Gomi-sensei teacher treated us warmly. She had a passion for fashion and art, and we loved to hear her advice, because what she told us gave us hope. She always encouraged and guided us, and we loved her. In that class, I suppose I was the least confident student. But she pushed me to join fashion contests, and one time, my design took second place. As a result, I got to produce a finished garment from my own sketches that year. I think that’s when it really started for me.

Website: https://www.tomomiokubo.com

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/stories/tomomiokubobridal/2940986117160925415/