Ever wonder what an inventor/sound designer wears? Meet Yuri Suzuki

Yuri Suzuki is pretty magical. He was born in Tokyo with a natural curiosity for electronics and taking things apart to see what’s inside, just so he could transform it into something else. He wants to show the world the enormous amount of possibilities when it comes to sound, especially with the technology available in the modern age.

As well as being something of a genius, with a dash of wacky scientist, Yuri is also truly lovely. His friendly, laid back attitude is what makes people return to his music-based workshops all over the world time and time again, and it’s why companies like Wieden + Kennedy, Disney and big dogs like Will.I.Am are begging for a piece of him. If you want your little mind blown apart, go over to his site and check out some of the incredible things he’s made over the years. But first, check out his wardrobe. Here he is…

Tell me about what you are wearing today

This jacket was something I bought for about £10 or something! It’s a brand called Trainer Spotter. Anyway I think it’s kind of special. My T-shirt is from Don’t Hug Me I’m Scared – I’m a really big fan. I helped back them on Kickstarter and I got this for supporting them.

These shoes are super special as well – they are custom made in Morocco! There was a shoe maker there and I asked him if he could make me some, I tried to sort of make Nike shoes but out of leather. It was quite funny. I went to Morocco at the end of last year, I thought I’d get something made that was a little bit fun. Apart from that I don’t wear that much special stuff, these are just normal trousers, you know.

What kind of socks do you wear?

Just normal. I don’t have any fancy ones.

You mentioned you had a T-shirt collection?

Yeah I have quite a lot actually, mostly Abake T-shirts and an Alex Rich one. I have quite a lot of graphic designers’ T-shirts.

How many do you have?

I think about ten? Alex has produced quite a lot of T-shirts. They’re quite beautiful, he designed a few T-shirts inspired by Sigmar Polke, he’s in an exhibition at Tate Modern at the moment. The T-shirts I wear are kind of dedicated to the graphic designer, rather than companies or something. I’d rather wear friends’ shirts. I have a few Teenage Engineering ones as well. Also I have a Kraftwerk one! I like when friends have designed them, which is why I am wearing a Don’t Hug Me I’m Scared one right now.

Do you wear the same clothes to work as you do on the weekend?

Yeah, I do now. My uniform used to be a jumpsuit for a while. I used to wear it all the time. I used to do more construction work so I’d need to wear one, but nowadays I don’t do as much of that. I don’t know if you could call it fashion, but it’s quite interesting.

It looks like something you’d wear at NASA

Yeah! I used to wear it all the time and feel like a kind of professor, but I don’t wear it these days. I keep it for when I do hands-on work.

Where do you normally buy your clothes?

I normally go to Carnaby Street to buy things, and it’s nice to buy things when I’m travelling. Normally my trips around the world allow me a morning or something to go out and buy a few things, I like doing that.

What about watches?

I’m stupid and didn’t wear my watch today, it’s a nice one from Zucca. It’s a Japanese brand that produces really nice watches. I usually wear it but was a bit rushed this morning.

How do you look after your clothes?

I used to be quite nomadic and live everywhere, moving all the time. I didn’t live in my own place for a really, really long time. It was always temporary, so I always looked like a bit of a traveller, hanging my clothes on the wall and things. Now I live in Stoke Newington and have been there for two and a half years, but still it’s temporary because I travel so much for work and I’m barely there.

What about your glasses, why did you choose these ones?

Well, I had my previous glasses for four or five years, and they became dirty so I decided to buy new ones. The problem is I am losing hair, so I wanted glasses that would divert people’s attention to the glasses. That’s something my friend told me, when you start losing your hair just get bigger glasses. These are from a nice label, a Japanese company bought some moulding or shape from an old American glasses manufacturer and made new ones. They’re nice, really classic. My previous previous glasses I had for ten years, so once I choose them I stay with them.

It’s part of your identity isn’t it?

Yeah! I hope so. A weird-looking Asian guy. I remember we had a guy come in to intern with us and he was really stressed and nervous, mainly because he was greeted by me, a weird guy in an orange boiler suit and glasses! I don’t know if that’s what he expected. We became friends in the end.

Workwear

In time for London Fashion Week kicking off on the 20 February, we have spent time travelling around London visiting artists and designers who may or may not be too busy to bother with following fashion, to find out what creative people really wear, and why. From dusty boiler suits and pyjamas, to homemade T-shirts and one-of-a-kind jewellery, the stories behind these creatives’ clothes are far more interesting than they are de rigeur. All photographs were taken by the wonderful Nina Manandhar who created the book What We Wore. Enjoy!