Tokidoki - Simone Legno Interview

Tokidoki and the playful, smart and provocative world created by Italian artist Simone Legno began as a portfolio website to showcase his work while studying. Fast forward a few years later and Tokidoki is an iconic international label dabbling in everything from vinyl toys, skateboards, to shoes and watches.

Since moving to L.A Simone has far from slowed down. Collaborating with labels such as New Era, Onitsuka Tiger, Levi’s and Hello Kitty, while landing clients such as MTV, Volkswagen, Renault, Microsoft to name a few. The Japanese influenced illustrations and characters are hard not fall in love with, and not surprisingly the future is looking very bright for the Tokidoki empire. We had the chance to talk to Simone about his story.

GR: You set out as an illustrator in your earlier days - how did you end up designing jewelry, vinyl toys, clothing and more under the Tokidoki label?

Simone: I think for a artist exposure is one of the most important things. it’s our shout and we want the most of people to hear and see what we have inside. I started with doing tee shirts and I loved to see my design in the walking crowd. From there I started to contact other companies, to research manufacturers but mostly some companies looked for tokidoki for licensing or coobranding. Every product is a new challenge and new fun for me so I am always very happy to try. I even think that the style I design is pretty good and fits product well..is pop, is simple, stylized, has vibrant color, strong communication, and visual impact.

GR: What were some of the difficulties you faced in growing your label from a one man show into the international icon it is today?

Simone: It was very hard to refuse the mass mark offers and being patient to grow up the market slowly and organically, it was hard and scary to make the wrong choices. the big >

> challenge is always to be innovative and keep on producing new stuff constantly. Sometimes it really puts you to much under stress and anxiety. It’s even hard to deal with the world of business, it’s full of sharks and hard for an artist to be focused properly on the real art and inspiration.

Anyway I didn’t do everything by myself but with the hard work of my dear two business partners Ivan and Pooneh Arnold that supported me in everything and believed so much in my art.

I really feel Tokidoki is at the beginning, and far from being a icon. There’s lot to do and to learn and the way up there is still extremely long and hard. Probably the constantly feeling small makes me improve and look for more and better things inside myself.

GR: How did you first start getting your illustrations noticed, or has it been a fairy tale

success story from the beginning?

Simone: It’s a long and hard tale..but it’s a nice story I guess and I am sure lot of young fellow designers dream of. I will I was very lucky but at the end I feel that without dedicating your life and all your time ad energies to it you can’t make it. Luck doesn’t come if you just wait on your sofa playing video games.

I think the key of Tokidoki is the mixture of visual inputs, cultures and perfect blending of opposites living together. Tokidoki is like my artistic life diary. I grew up in Italy with my Italian classic background, I was dreaming about Japan so my art got influenced by it. Then moving to L.A i got all the typical glamorous, urban street wear influence from this unique city but even added to the design more elements from my own culture, since with the passing of the time I started to get nostalgic and miss many unique things >

> that I had in Italy.

The story is simple, I was in Italy developing design for many brands and projects and promoting myself through my artistic diary website “tokidoki.it”. One day my actual business partners wrote me from California and asked me to move here and try the adventure of turning tokidoki.it into a brand. I took the challenge and everything started from there, we studied a bit, printed some tee shirt and started promoting and showing in trade shows, meeting people that fell in love with my artwork and concept and contributed to make the growth of this lifestyle brand.

It was very hard, many defeats at the beginning, many times I thought I will have to prepare the luggage and go back to Italy, cause buyers and people was not understanding my artwork and concept.

I feel very happy for what is happening, it’s a nice feeling to know people knows your work

and I reached with my message many people of different slices of the society and a bit all over the world. I don’t say I expected it, but i dreamed and fought to get this Tokidoki thing big one day. I think at the end there’s a lot to do and this is the beginning, if I compare my path to who is a huge icon in contemporary art and in the fashion casual industry.

GR: I saw photos of people with full tattoo sleeves of your illustrations - this must be the highest form of flattery?

Simone: Probably the best..yes. I really try to write to everybody send pics ’cause I feel very honored about it.

GR: Japan dominates the high end street fashion industry, and their styles have an obvious influence on tokidoki - what aspects of Japanese designs do you think make it so successful? >

Simone: I think that japanese people mix an incredible originality and creativity with the classiest sophisticated taste. they create really unique things with great quality and design. they are original at any level of creativity from the commercial characters to the interior design, from fine art to architecture….
Japanese people are funny and serious, crazy and classy…this makes their work incredible.

GR: You have designed on so many different mediums and canvas’, is there anything out there your still waiting to apply your designs to?

Simone: I really would love to decorate an airplane, possibly a jumbo of some cool airline…this is one o the things I would really love to do.

GR: Thanks for having a chat with us at Gráfica Real - What exciting plans do you have for the rest of 2009?

Simone: I will keep on developing the brand, in all the categories, apparel, accessories, toys. I am preparing finally a book about my artwork, will open our flagship store in LA (after the ones in MIlan and NY) and I got some cool collaborations I am working on but i can’t speak about. I will do my best to find time to paint more.

What a nice and interesting guy! Definitely one of my favorite interviews… You can see more of Simone’s work, download some cool freebies or find his products at his website here.