I really do love clothes.
Born and raised in Kyoto, Yoshida says she’s “loved clothes ever since I was little.”
Her parents worked in textile design for curtains and interiors, and she would often bring home fabric swatches to make clothes for her dolls. It was one of her favorite ways to play.
“At the time, I didn’t fully understand it, but my mother would create the designs, and my father would translate them into weaving patterns,” Yoshida explains. “Maybe having people around me who were making things had some influence on me.
My son also enjoys creating and drawing. Sometimes, when I’m working, he’ll sit next to me and start drawing, as if copying what I’m doing.
My mother lives nearby, and since she used to work as a textile designer, she still has a lot of paints at home. She often lets my son use them to paint, and recently she’s even started dyeing fabrics again at home. She’ll invite him, saying, ‘Why don’t you give it a try?’ and they work on it together.”
In university, Yoshida majored in Life Design, a field that allowed her to study a wide range of subjects related to daily living—architecture, household items, clothing, and more.
As she explored various areas, she realized once again how much she loved clothing. Wanting to build on what she had learned at university, she went on to study for another year at a fashion vocational school to deepen her knowledge and skills.
“At the time, I wanted to become a designer,” Yoshida recalls.
“But one of my teachers told me, ‘In the end, it’s the pattern makers who actually create the clothes! You should study it more.’ She even introduced me to a job opportunity.
After graduation, I worked as an assistant to the instructor at a company that ran training courses for pattern makers, learning as I worked.
Even now, I still have much to learn and often find myself uncertain, but I really enjoy making patterns and feel grateful to my teacher for guiding me down this path.
Later, I wanted to work as a pattern maker for a brand that suited my taste. While walking around Tokyo, I came across a shop with a sign saying they were hiring pattern makers.
I thought, ‘This is it!’ and applied right away. But I was a little too late—they had already filled the position. I was turned down twice, but I didn’t give up. I wrote letters and kept trying, and eventually they gave me the opportunity to work there.
After that, I worked for several brands in Kobe and Osaka. When my son started kindergarten, I returned to Kyoto. At every company, I gained incredibly rich experiences.”
I want to add something of my own.
As she describes herself, Yoshida has “a little bit of interest in all kinds of things.”
Her curiosity reaches far and wide—films, museums, music festivals, and shops filled with miscellaneous goods. She enjoys picking up inspiration from many different places, each offering its own kind of stimulation.
Most of the time, she works with her hands in her home studio, letting the radio or a podcast play softly in the background.
“I feel more at ease when there’s someone talking in the background, rather than complete silence,” Yoshida says.
“I often listen to FM802 from Osaka, or Flag Radio on Kyoto’s α-station, where the band Quruli hosts the Monday program. I catch up on the shows using radiko’s time-shift feature.
In the past, I used to think I should make use of every spare moment—even if I had just 15 minutes, I would squeeze in some work. But eventually, it started to take a toll on my health, and I realized that I had been pushing myself too hard.
Nowadays, I usually work until around 6 p.m. In the late afternoon, when my son comes home from school, we chat for a bit before I head back into my studio to do a little more work.”
It’s been about eight years since Yoshida founded ETONOVA.
Over the years, we’ve heard from more and more REN customers who eagerly look forward to each ETONOVA pop-up event.
As we wrapped up the interview, we asked Yoshida about what she hopes to create next, and what she would like to explore in the future.
“Lately, I haven’t been making much clothing, so I’d like to do more of that,” Yoshida says.
“The portrait motif I often use still feels a little like I’m borrowing from something outside myself. So I hope to create versions where I can add more of my own original touch.
Also, when I’m constantly creating, it’s easy to run out of new input. I’ve been thinking that I should get out a bit more, too.
I just want to keep a good balance and enjoy the process as I go.”
On the day of the interview, a customer visited the shop shortly after opening and purchased one of ETONOVA’s pieces.
With a smile, Yoshida gently introduced herself at the register, saying, “I’m the creator.” The warm exchange between them left a lasting impression.
Her Frida Kahlo shirt, the REN collaboration bag she carried—both seemed to suit her perfectly. It was a day that reminded us once again of the quiet joy of seeing the personalities of both maker and wearer reflected so beautifully in the pieces themselves.
《ETONOVA POP UP SHOP》
**Kuramae**
June 7 (Sat) – 15 (Sun), 2025 — *Ended*
**Kagurazaka**
June 20 (Fri) – 29 (Sun), 2025
**JOINUS Yokohama**
July 4 (Fri) – 21 (Mon, public holiday), 2025
**Hanshin Umeda**
Starting July 11 (Fri), 2025
In addition to the **ETONOVA × REN Collaboration Bag**, a variety of other items such as shirts will also be available. We invite you to stop by and take a look.
-PROFILE-
ETONOVA
Founded by Ai Yoshida in 2017, ETONOVA takes its name from a playful reference to the Japanese character for “thought” (思), which contains the shapes resembling the katakana characters for "E-to-no-ba."
The brand gives new life to vintage clothing and fabric remnants that have carried someone’s stories, creating pieces that add a small lift to everyday life.
Instagram：https://www.instagram.com/et.nova
◀︎BACK 1/2ー 〈interview〉- ETONOVA / "Reji-bukuro"