Simone Legno is one of the brighest lights on the indie fashion scene. His cute and clever Tokidoki characters have inspired a cult-like following, appearing on bags, shirts, shoes and even snowboards. Ask any fan and they’ll happily tell you all about their favorites. His appearances create hours-long lines at both stores and tradeshows like the annual ComicCon.
Legno’s innate sweetness and fertile imagination are two of the secrets to his success. That and an obvious head for business. I heard him speak at the AdobeMax conference in San Francisco. Although the presentation was designed to highlight how he uses Adobe products in his design process, it also provided a fascinating glimpse into the artist behind the brand.
Simone took after his mother, a painter, drawing at an early age. He showed the audience several scans of childhood drawings that would later evolve into Tokidoki. His passion for drawing characters started early and included a skeleton drawn at age 4, plus several stylized animals and Japanese cartoon characters. He's often said that "characters can express what words cannot" and it's clear that he still has a child-like fascination with creating characters to make sense of the world.
Most interesting were his explanations of characters such as Sandy (aka Cactus Girl, above) and her dog Bastardino. The cactus spikes are to keep the evils of the outside world away, providing a sanctum for the child. Also, regarding Adios: he’s a grim reaper that got thrown out of hell for being too nice, so now he just wanders around (randomly showing up in pictures).
Unlike Tokidoki's equally cute counterpart Hello Kitty, Legno's characters have large expressive eyes and mouths. Instead of having viewers project feelings and aspirations onto a blank Hello Kitty-like slate, Legno wants viewers to feel what his characters do, all in a joyful, playful way. Cocomando is one of his newer characters, wearing a coconut helmet for protection as he protects the jungles and rainforests. Another personal favorite is Donutella, enjoying the occasional treat and always wearing a colorfully sprinkled bubble skirt.
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addition to childhood experiences, Legno is also influenced by the punk band he joined as a young man. Although he's found fame elsewhere, he remains a fan of "mixing it up," be it music or art. He also spent time in Japan, falling in love with the clean aestethic and "simple things such as sake."
After design school and seeking a career in commercial art, Legno began posting his work online – both his commercial work plus several non-commercial characters inspired from Japanese art sites like Shift Japan. Before long, he was getting 24K hits a month, drawing the attention of the founders of Hard Candy, who contacted him about starting a fashion brand.
Simone is a sketcher at heart, even drawing characters as his autograph. He starts with a sketch, then scans it into his laptop, adding colors and details using Adobe Illustrator (which is why Adobe invited him to speak at the conference). These aren’t simple black and white sketches, they’re colorful, complex and always interrelated. Even his character toys and figures require multiple molds to get them just right.
Look for more Tokidoki innovations and products in 2009, including a line of clothing for infants. Now that major partnerships with LeSportsac and San Rio are finished, Legno and his team have brought everything in-house. They're opening a store on Melrose in LA and will continue designing products for indie boutiques across the world. Stay tuned!
What a fun photograph ;)
Posted by: MY Fashion Frenzy | December 21, 2008 at 08:23 AM