5 minutes with Noemie Sebayashi

French/Japanese. Says no to commercialisation and capitalism. Noemie Sebayashi. Founder of one of the most original brands of the 21st century.

What is NattoFranco? Nattofranco is the brand I started in October 2013, "Natto" is a traditional Japanese meal, it is fermented soybean, has the weirdest aspect and smells very hard, in Japan it would be like blue cheese in Europe, "franco" is the French reference that runs through the first part, in a sense Nattofranco means "half French half Japanese" in my own language.

Your brand is a rare gem in todays commercially hungry market, how do you differentiate your brand to others? I try to keep focusing on the development at every steps for each collection, from the product to photoshoots with casting etc, I like to mark every step of the way. That way I feel the message is honest. I love taking references from my childhood, I have witnessed things that other people have seen too or used when they were younger, that way it creates a link with past references.

Who is the most relevant person in fashion today? Rei Kawakubo