I went to high school in New England, and coming from Japan to a countryside with more animals than people, I was exposed to hunting and guns for the first time. It was fascinating because in Japan, guns were nonexistent and hunting was rare. This collection is inspired by my guy friends, who were the toughest yet kindest people I knew, able to go from dirty barn clothes to perfectly fitted suits.

The society around me was full of contradictions. There were those who embraced hunting, yet there were also many hippies who were vegetarians and opposed to killing animals—another concept that was foreign to me coming from Japan.

The entire collection is based on white, inspired by the beautiful, pure white snow that blanketed New England.