With the Singapore Toy, Game and Comic Convention (STGCC) happening this weekend at Suntec City, in2it.sg got to talk to Simone Legno, creator and designer of Tokidoki about his Japanese inspiration and how social media helped to expand his ideas.

Tokidoki means “sometimes” in Japanese. This lifestyle brand, inspired by the Japanese lifestyle and culture, was founded by Simone Legno in 2003. The brand includes apparel, accessories, cosmetics and more. Over the years, it has collaborated with other high-profile brands such as Marvel, Hello Kitty, Levi’s, Xbox and Karl Lagerfeld.


1. Who inspires you most?
I don't have one real person that really inspires me, but there are many artists that I like, like Yoshitomo Nara, Aya Takano, Murakami, some music artists. But I think more than just inspire me, they touch my heart and make me want to create art and do more and do it better. Generally, I try to look at everyday life to get inspiration. I watch the world around me and I’m always looking for new ideas. Not just from books, magazines, and the internet but in simple things, even a person walking could give me a great idea.

The main sources of inspiration for me are memories, dreams, daily life, good feelings, trips, and somehow, they are all related to Japan. I look, search, stylize, study, filter and transform continuously in my mind the elements around me.

The Japanese influence was predominant in the first period of my life, and then I think moving to LA changed my work radically. Before moving to LA, a huge part of my work was about reinterpretation, remixing the Japanese world in my own way, the mix of traditional Japanese and cute pop characters and icons, all in the mind of a guy that grew up with punk rock bands and squatted in clubs full of people with tattoos and coloured hair. After being here in LA, I started to incorporate many icons or inputs from LA’s street culture and the glamorous LA lifestyle, such as the bling bling and the classic Americana icons. The fact that I was far away from my own country made me rediscover many things that come from my cultural background and iconography.

2. Where do your best ideas come to you?
When I travel in general. I am alone; there are no distractions and just an avalanche of thoughts passing through my mind as I observe the things around me, people walking, street lights…sometimes some drinks help! Walking around Japan definitely gives me a lot of ideas, the people, lights, signs, stores, colours, noises; all of this gives me a lot of ideas.

Actually, I find major Asian cities way more visually crowded compared to European or American cities.

3. What is it about Japan and its culture/people that attracts you?
I think first of all, there's a natural, strong, passionate attraction one will have to certain things, and Japan is so magical that some people fall totally in love with it and it's hard to explain. I think it's hard to explain my love for this wonderful country. It’s something called "Japanisme" and is a term coined to describe the craze for all things Japanese. It's something I feel inside, I am totally astonished by everything that comes from Japan, from the beauty of their traditions to the super flashy pop aspects of this super modern city.

I love Japanese people. I love their kindness, politeness, seriousness, and even so, they can be quite funny, playful and extremely creative. I still have sketches of Japanese people and Japanese elements that I designed when I was in kindergarten. It’s not only my art but my everyday world that is coloured and decorated by Japanese objects, souvenirs, junk packages, toys, books, prints, t shirts and food. I think Japan is the most inspiring place for anybody working in the creative field. They are extremely innovative in graphic design, and art, street and couture fashion.

But I think what awoke this feeling in me was probably the media influx of Japanese animation and shows on Italian TV during the 80's. It was not just about the characters and the stories, but it was through animation that I could experience the lifestyle of Japanese people, the way they ate, their houses, neighbourhoods, trains, cherry blossoms, student uniforms, rice balls etc, everything that is iconic of Japan. As a little kid, I was stoked by all of this and developed a love and admiration for it. Even the drawings I did in kindergarten were influenced by this. When I was a teenager, I made going to Japan my number one dream. Now, I travel there all the time (I’ve been there 23 times so far) and I even live in a Japanese neighbourhood here in LA.

4. How has the Internet and social media helped you to get to where you are today?
I think tokidoki exists thanks to the internet. It’s called tokidoki because when I put up my website, I wanted it to be my message in a bottle, someone will see it and things will start to change. I met my first business and design community contacts through the website and over emails and from there, my story began, becoming a global underground phenomenon thanks to the internet and growing into something more mainstream. We have never invested much in classic marketing, print advertisements, TV ads etc. It was all viral, thanks to my lovely and loyal fans that help spread the word around. And our Facebook, twitter and blog are very important platforms for us.

Check out more of Simone Legno’s designs at tokidoki, and don’t forget to get to STGCC happening this weekend down at Suntec City!

Article by Sarah Ko