Meet Fiona “Pio” Okada

Today we’d like to introduce you to Fiona “Pio” Okada.

Every artist has a unique story. Can you briefly walk us through yours?
My story starts in my childhood where I grew up struggling against my shyness and social anxiety. I remember first being labeled as shy when I was just three years old, and this labeling continued as I grew up, trapping me in this shell until I finally realized how much it was suffocating me. My fear of communicating with people was controlling not just my words, but the way I dressed, choosing my clothes depending on where I’ll be and who I’ll be around to make sure I wouldn’t attract any attention, any need to talk.

As a second generation Japanese American I had constantly tried to find connections to my heritage, and during my teenage years, the uniqueness of j-fashion caught my attention. This interest in j-fashion introduced me into a world of self-expression unconstrained by words and changed not only how I dressed but my path in life. Ultimately my move from a small city in the USA to Tokyo, Japan became the final push for me to continue living and follow my passion.

Moving to Japan meant leaving behind the stable career path that was already set in front of me, it meant entering a foreign community that I didn’t quite belong despite the shared ethnic background because of the lack of connect in mindsets and language. The sudden change in environment and the realization of not belonging caused a sense of defeat, a loss in my will to live. Having to struggle through this dark part of my life and knowing I had already left behind the chance of me living a normal life with a normal job back in the states, I decided to seriously take a step into the fashion world in anyway I can, from simply being a fashion blogger/influencer, to grasping at job opportunities as a model or stylist, and to starting my own clothing brand.

Please tell us about your art.
My art is self-expression through clothes, whether it be mine or someone else’s. As a fashion influencer, my art is simply the clothes I put on my body and the different ways I combine pieces to create new looks. My goal is to come up with new ideas inspired by my life and the environment around me instead of simply posting trendy looks everyone else is already wearing for the sake of likes and follows. Through posting my own styling on social media, I have been given opportunities to work as a model or stylists for various shoots. In these situations, I strive to express the ideas of the creators involved by creating unique outfits. By purposefully straying away from trends and wearing/displaying clothes for my own happiness and self-expression, I hope to inspire people to stop worrying about others’ opinions and wear what they like for themselves.

Apart from styling myself and others, I have started designing and creating clothes. Although it started as something personal and for my own use, recently I have developed my own brand, To Live, which is made “for everyone trying their best to live” in hopes of helping people through fashion as it has helped me, especially in terms of mental health. To Live’s first collection features unique but wearable clothes to appeal to my audience. The pieces feature this collection’s slogan “what does it mean to live” in hopes to make the audience raise questions and think about what they can do with their lives in a positive matter rather than simply trudge through day after day. The idea and initial startup of this brand came to life during the time I struggled the most, making this project, not just a business, but the way I personally ran into the thought “what does it mean to live”, and decided to turn my life problems into a positive product that can help others.

How do you think about success, as an artist, and what quality do you feel is most helpful?
People are lost in the ideology of success, chasing after fame and fortune just because thats what we are taught what success is supposed to be. Each person should define what success means to them, and to me as long as I am creating what I truly like and not being influenced by the popular trends, whether it be coordinating outfits or designing new pieces, I am successful in terms of what I want to do in fashion. In the future, I do want to be successful with my brand in terms of business as well, but I hope I do not stray away from the reason I first started it and continue to create pieces that I think can help others, even if it may only be one person.

How or where can people see your work? How can people support your work?
As of now, I have no physical location where my work is exhibited, but I use Instagram to share my works as a fashion influencer, stylist, and designer. My personal Instagram features my styling for specific photo shoots and jobs as well as my day to day life, while my brand’s Instagram and website shows the pieces I have put both mind and body into creating and sharing with my audience. Showing support by looking forward to the collections that will be up for sale on To Live’s website or even a simple comment on my personal stylings is helpful and encouraging.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://tolive-jp.com
• Email: [email protected]
• Instagram: @tabesugita

Image Credit:
Seoyoung Chung
Lyena Kang
Ryuuki Liu
Ryan Scullin
Ilieen
Tokyo Fashion

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