Why is designer Yasumichi Morita able to seize one big opportunity after another? (Part 1)

What does it mean to live in the post-COVID era?

Now that COVID is here, I believe what is required is a major paradigm shift. Business, management, organizational operations, work styles, and lifestyles all have to change significantly. The old ways of doing things are no longer working.

So, what does it mean to live in the post-COVID era? I wanted to share this with everyone, so I have been inviting various guests to the online salon "Honda.Lab." for discussions.

This project was conceived with the idea of taking the best essence from those discussions and introducing it in articles on note. It is titled "How to Survive the Post-COVID Era," which I plan to turn into a magazine later.

This time, we have world-renowned designer Yasumichi Morita. Personally, I often go out to eat with him, go to saunas, and even travel together, and I hear many stories from him. His stories are so interesting that I have always wanted to share them with the members of Honda.Lab.

As it happens, Mr. Morita is publishing his book "The Power of Delusion to Predict the Future" on November 19th. I invited him to the salon thinking that if members heard him speak before that and then read the book, they would be able to understand Mr. Morita more deeply.

And starting December 1st, Mr. Morita, who has hardly used social media, will also be starting an online salon called the "Morita Chamber of Commerce and Industry"!! It is now open for applications! You have to join this!!

Turning the disadvantages of a space to your advantage

There are truly many commercial facilities and shops that Mr. Morita has designed the interiors for, but I would like to introduce a few of his recent works.

First is the redevelopment of "Tokyu Plaza Shibuya" located within Shibuya FUKURAS. This was a redevelopment project for the existing commercial facility known as Tokyu Plaza. Even though it is in Shibuya, Tokyu Plaza is a place where people of all ages, not just young people, gather, so natural materials are used extensively, such as escalators wrapped in wood.

©Nacasa＆Partners inc

He also worked on the office space where the internet company GMO is located. It is 500 tsubo per floor, but it is designed in such a way that you cannot tell where the pillars are. In fact, there is a large pillar inside this bookshelf. Mr. Morita says this:

"Design is interesting; every space inevitably has its drawbacks. Sometimes the pillars are large, or the ceilings are low. These are difficult conditions for design, but turning them to our advantage is also our style of design."

Next is "BALCON TOKYO," a restaurant operated by Zetton on the top floor of the Mitsui Garden Hotel Roppongi Premier. It is a restaurant where you can see Tokyo Tower beautifully, but the highlight is the terrace. He cut out a space of over 10 meters and had a Japanese-style painter create a mural on it.

©DAISUKE SHIMA

Since it is a white wall without a ceiling, it is bound to get dirty. So, he had this painting done to make it less noticeable. It is a project that incorporated the passage of time into the design itself.

Furthermore, there is "THE UKAI TAIPEI" in Taiwan. A Taiwanese owner started a franchise of the Japanese teppanyaki restaurant "Ukai-tei," and it is located in a place where you can see the night view very beautifully. However, even with beautiful lighting, everything would reflect in the windows, making the night view invisible. So, he planned the lighting between the windows so that it would not reflect. It is a design that makes the outside scenery look as if it has been cut out.

©SHIMA DAISUKE

Designing almost the entire main building of the Isetan Shinjuku flagship store

　Francfranc's Hiroshima Parco store. To make it easier for customers to shop, we created a space within a space, like a shop-in-shop, and arranged art on slanted walls so that the more you walk, the more the art seems to close in on you.

　Some may find it surprising, but Mr. Morita also works on Japanese-style spaces. An auberge converted from a traditional inn is one such example. Since it is an auberge created by a restaurant, dining is important, but he was also particular about being able to see the ocean while in the bath. Actually, this place used to be from the Showa era. It was transformed like this by Mr. Morita's hands.

©SHIMA DAISUKE

　From the basement floor 2, which houses basic cosmetics and organic products, to the B1 floor through the 6th floor, almost the entire Isetan Shinjuku store was designed by Mr. Morita.

“There is an interesting episode. Children's clothing floors aren't places where children go to shop with money in their hands, right? So, I thought about creating a children's clothing section that adults would want to go to. And sure enough, it sold well.”

　It is said that the sales per tsubo of the Isetan Shinjuku main building are the highest in the world.

“In our childhood, department stores were wonderlands. I strongly felt that I wanted to revive that, so I made proposals and built it accordingly.”

　The last one I will introduce is the Vietnamese restaurant 'DADAI THAI VIETNAMESE DIMSUM' at Miyashita Park. It is operated by HUGE, which runs 'Cafe Rigoletto' and 'Restaurant Dazzle,' but actually, I wanted to introduce the president, Yoshihiro Shinkawa, to Mr. Morita, so I set up a dinner, and to my surprise, the deal was settled right there on the spot.

©Nacasa＆Partners inc

“If Nao (that's me) hadn't been there, this project wouldn't have been realized. The way this job was decided is truly wonderful (laughs). There was a part under the escalator where the ceiling was slanted, which is normally a bad condition, but I thought it could be interesting if we used it instead. By using large art, we were able to create a very interesting space. There are various other spaces created, the menu is reasonable, and it is a highly recommended restaurant.”

A master of this caliber was actually doing his own sales

　When people think of Mr. Morita, many likely have the image of him having worked on big projects for global clients such as Robuchon, Baccarat, and Audemars Piguet. One might think that as such a famous designer, work would be coming in one after another from clients.

　However, that is not the case.In fact, Mr. Morita does his own sales.

“That's right. It's cold-calling (laughs). Everyone thinks, 'I want to work with that kind of company,' right? I think so too, but if you don't have any acquaintances or connections, everyone gives up.But I don't give up there.”

　It is no exaggeration to say that Mr. Morita was handling the main work for Mr. Robuchon in Japan, but the story of his first meeting with Mr. Robuchon was shocking. He was able to get some time in Hong Kong through a slim connection, but he was asked if it would be okay even if Mr. Robuchon left after two minutes, as he had been receiving various presentations until then.

Even so, Morita-san went in and didn't talk about design at all for 30 minutes. He spoke about his own views on what Mr. Robuchon was all about. And when he finally started talking about design, he was told, "I'll make an hour for you tomorrow, can you give me a presentation?" This was because Morita-san's design was so radical that it would have required changing the restaurant's traffic flow. He had confronted Mr. Robuchon with such a design.

In other situations, Morita-san says, "For example, if I go to a famous overseas exhibition and realize that the person there is the president of a company I've always wanted to work with, I'll just walk right up to them. I'll say, 'Excuse me,' (laughs)."

Apparently, in most cases, the reaction is, "Who are you people? What does an Asian want?" If you just start talking about how their company's products are wonderful, the conversation ends right there.

“I show them my profile on the spot. This was exactly the pattern when I worked with the French pottery manufacturer Bernardaud. The only thing I knew in advance was the rumor that the president was good friends with Joël Robuchon. So I brought up Mr. Robuchon's name, and that created a thin thread. He casually said, 'Well, why don't you come visit the factory sometime?' so Ibrought a spectacular presentation document three weeks later. Even though I wasn't asked to (laughs).”

When he was asked if he had really come, and he said he had come to give a presentation, they said, "That's interesting, let's take a look." From there, a formal collaboration began.

Morita-san has released plates with Bernardaud, but this all started with a cold call at an exhibition venue.

Realizing the approximately 9-meter Baccarat chandelier

However, he is not just doing cold calls blindly. If you just imitate him and charge in, you'll just be a nuisance. Morita-san tries to know the other party thoroughly, makes perfect preparations, and charges in only after he understands everything. And then, he presents unconventional ideas. There is no value in making the same common-sense proposals as everyone else.

There was a Baccarat chandelier, one of the largest in the world in Baccarat's history, about 9 meters tall, that was displayed at Yebisu Garden Place during Christmas, and it was Morita-san who proposed this to Baccarat and handled the design.

“Before that, there was a chandelier about 5 meters tall, half the size, on display, and I loved it and went to see it every year. But when I tried to take a picture with the chandelier in the background, I couldn't take it well. Everyone was having trouble (laughs). So, I thought if we made it bigger and brought it down lower, we could take good pictures.”

Morita-san says it was a simple idea, but if you try to build this, it naturally takes a huge amount of cost, production time, and artisan effort.

“I wondered if it could really be built, but I thought I would start by making a proposal.”

Of course, there was no way he would get an easy 'OK'. So, what Morita-san thought of was an outrageous presentation.

“I thought that nobody could probably imagine a full-scale 9-meter chandelier. So, although four people were supposed to participate in the meeting at that time, I asked them to rent the largest conference room. They asked why, since there were only four of us, but I said, 'Please, I really want you to do that.'”

What Morita-san had made was a full-scale drawing nearly 9 meters long. He rolled it up, brought it with him, and unrolled it inside the large conference room.

“I had everyone get on top of chairs and look down from above. I asked them, 'Don't you think it would be amazing if this were built?' Everyone was surprised, they liked it very much, and they said, 'Let's definitely do it,' and the challenge began.”

These stories are also written in his new book, 'The Power of Delusion to Predict the Future,' but it is amazing that a master like Morita-san goes this far.

©Nacasa＆Partners inc

You must not be afraid of being rejected

And even when he is working on incredible projects, he still goes out and does cold calling himself. I think it is normal for someone in their 40s or 50s who has become a big name to just wait for work to come to them. They might think it looks uncool to go out and ask, or that it would be embarrassing to be turned down. But Mr. Morita is different.

I feel that everything he does is driven by an insatiable curiosity to do something interesting, even more so than just increasing sales. He wants to do things that no one else in the world has done. He wants to do interesting things. Whenever he feels a desire to take on a challenge, he just dives right in.

“People often say ‘nothing to lose,’ but it’s always been ‘nothing to lose’ from the start. It’s natural to be rejected. That’s why I think I should just keep going without giving up. I’m willing to go even if I get kicked out. I think if you’re too persistent, people will really start to dislike you (laughs). But there have been times when I was turned down twice, and on the third time, they said, ‘Fine, go ahead and try it.’”

Everyone fears being rejected. But if you live in fear, you can never do what you truly want to do. When it comes to business, there is no time for such hesitation. Especially from now on, you won’t be able to survive otherwise.

In fact, such a big name is taking on challenges with such agility. He is always aiming even higher. If someone at this level is doing this much, there is no way that an ordinary person should just be sitting around waiting.

“Many people think the hurdle for overseas clients is high. That may be true in some respects, but when it comes to creativity, I believe there are no borders in the world. So I think it’s fine to go all or nothing. There are still many companies I want to work with. I can’t say who they are, though (laughs).”

Even when he isn’t asked, he spends his own money to prepare something incredible. Sometimes things don’t go well. But there is no downside to that. Perhaps that is how Mr. Morita has built up his strength.

Surprisingly, Mr. Morita never even went to interior design school. Next time, we will explore how ‘Yasumichi Morita of the world’ came to be.

(Continued in Part 2)

text by Toru Uesaka

Yasumichi Morita
Designer / Representative of GLAMOROUS co., ltd.
Starting with a project in Hong Kong in 2001, he has expanded his field of activity overseas to New York, London, Qatar, Paris, and more, engaging in a wide range of creative activities not limited to interiors, but also including graphics and products. Most recently, amidst the once-in-a-century redevelopment underway in Shibuya, he handled the commercial environment design for the 'Tokyu Plaza Shibuya,' which opened on December 5, 2019. He is also actively involved as an artist and has been holding photography exhibitions in Paris continuously since 2015.

Awards: Numerous awards including the MUSE Design Awards, IDA Design Awards, SEGD Global Design Award, A' Design Award and Competition, Design For Asia Awards, The International Hotel and Property Awards, INTERNATIONAL PROPERTY AWARDS, THE LONDON LIFESTYLE AWARDS, and The Andrew Martin Interior Designers of the Year Awards.