THESKINI.COM

January 2005

Design Dreams: Ivan Arnold

by Martina Priadka

What do you get when you combine animated characters with sultry women, cool blues with vibrant orange, cartoon with fashion and Italian with Japanese? You get tokidoki, the new brand from Ivan Arnold and partners at damnBRAND. Arnold is a man with vision and the motivation and excitement to get things done. He has been involved in many top brand launches and is in the process of starting up his latest discovery, tokidoki products.

Arnold’s interest in design grew steadily until he really became absorbed in it during his college years. Since then he has gone on to be involved in starting online divisions of names such as bebe and bisou-bisou. Arnold is one of those people with a talented eye and a magic touch. With the strong interest he has put into his latest project don’t be surprised if you find yourself wearing a tokidoki t-shirt next week!

TS: How long have you been interested in design?
IA: I have really been fascinated with design since college in Hawaii. I was so struck by the architecture and design of Asian things there. My love for design really started with Architecture. In Hawaii you have so much Asian influence and these gorgeous Polynesian/Asian designed houses with rich hardwoods. People live in incredible spaces that incorporate indoor/outdoor living and all of it was through tremendous design. I was really fortunate to have experienced this and think it really influenced my taste.

TS: What projects have you been involved with in the past?
IA: Since 1997 I have launched and managed the online divisions for many well known fashion and lifestyle brands. I launched the online division of bebe.com in 1997, Bisou-Bisou and Hard Candy in 1998, Charles David and Smashbox Cosmetics in 1999 and now damnBRAND, the eCommerce firm my wife and I own. I also handle the online divisions for 7 for all mankind, ABS By Allen Schwartz, The Black Eyed Peas, Hot Kiss, Oliver Peoples, and Trina Turk.

TS: Who is Simone?
IA: Simone Legno is the creator, Creative Director, and visionary of tokidoki.

TS: What got you interested in Tokidoki?
IA: I was looking for design talent online for damnBRAND when I came across tokidoki.it, a website.

TS: What was the first thing you thought when you saw Simone’s work?
IA: I thought it was simply the most incredible thing that I had ever experienced. I was awestruck. I called my wife Pooneh into the office to take a look at it and she started jumping up and down screaming. I guess she thought it was the most incredible thing she had ever seen as well ;->

TS: What makes Simone’s work so unique?
IA: Simone is from Rome, Italy and is a classically trained Italian Illustrator. He is a world renowned artist that could illustrate just about anything beautifully because he is has exceptional talent. But what makes Simone especially unique is Simone loves Japan and lives for Japan. When Simone creates tokidoki, it is Japan seen through his eyes and so it is like looking at Japan through Italian binoculars with special lenses.

TS: Was it difficult to get Simone to the U.S. for this project?
IA: It wasn’t easy. We had to create a 150 page book of Simone’s accomplishments and then submit them to the US Department of State to apply for an O1 visa, which is a visa granted on extraordinary ability. We had to get letters of recommendation for Simone and put them in the book so that the Visa examiner could see those as well. It was great because the letter on top of the stack was from Daniel Libeskind, the architect for the new world trade center. I was really touched by that and I couldn’t think of anything more American than the architect of the world trade center writing my new business partner a letter of recommendation to come live and work in the US.

TS: What are your plans for the Tokidoki brand?
IA: We are creating a lifestyle brand. Tokidoki is so rich and has so many possibilities that it can be downright overwhelming. We are starting in apparel and we are working on a joint venture with a very popular fashion company. As well, we have just signed a deal in Spain & Portugal for licensed tokidoki product where tokidoki will be rolled into many more wonderful products. We also have a lot of interest from Japan and we are working with a couple of parties there to both distribute and license the tokidoki brand.

TS: Where is Tokidoki most popular now?
IA: In Europe. tokidoki handbags are being sold in boutiques in England, Spain, France and throughout greater Europe and they are performing very well.

TS: When and where will it be available?
IA: tokidoki is slowly becoming available now in the US. The tokidoki tee-shirt line that we just launched is being rolled out to retailers and it is selling very well. tokidoki will be limited mainly to great boutiques that carry better products. We are selling tokidoki to stores that carry brands like 7 jeans and Juicy Couture.

TS: What is the most exciting thing to you about this new
project?
IA: Building a brand from scratch. My entire career I have partnered with brands, but I have never had the chance to really build my own brand. I have worked with scores of other peoples brands and yet I have never seen the possibility that I see in tokidoki. It’s wild but tokidoki attracts everyone from 5-50 years old, male or female. I have 30 year old male friends that beg for shirts and my best friend’s daughter is 7 and all she wanted for Christmas was 7 tokidoki shirts. It is absolutely unexplainable.

TS: What do you see as the future of tokidoki?
IA: I’m a bit of a dreamer, but I want to see tokidoki boutiques and hotels, where you can really experience the tokidoki lifestyle.

TS: What do you see in your future?
IA: Lots and lots of tokidoki!

get more information at www.tokidoki.it

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