Japanese author Haruki Murakami designs T-shirt collection inspired by his works

Japanese author Haruki Murakami, who has written global bestsellers including Kafka by the Shore and Norwegian Wood, recently collaborated with high street fashion brand Uniqlo and designed eight graphic T-shirts that are inspired by his love of music as well as his literary works.

When one thinks of Kafka by the Shore author Haruki Murakami, one may not immediately think of him as a fashion icon, but the 72-year-old best-selling author of books including 1Q84 and has recently collaborated with high street fashion brand Uniqlo and designed eight graphic T-shirts that are inspired by his love of music as well as his literary works, and feature some of his favourite things including cats, birds, records, men sitting in bars. One of the T-shirts even feature a quote by the author, saying, "For me, the trick to writing a novel, or shall I say elements, is the same as music. First, there must be a rhythm. Then you need harmony. And improvisations. These three elements are extremely crucial for me.

Haruki Murakami(Instagram)

Courtesy: Uniqlo

In an interview with fashion brand Uniqlo the author of Norwegian Wood had shared what he thinks makes a person stylish saying, "I think it’s great when somebody can make everyday clothes look comfortable. I’m not really impressed when people dress head to toe in brands, or let their clothes dictate their style."

Courtesy: Uniqlo

Talking of his own personal he revealed, "I try to wear plain clothes, the simpler the better. Jeans and a T-shirt, with a sweatshirt or sweater. Since I don’t need to show up at an office, I could wear anything I like. But I always wind up wearing the same thing. I’m not sure I can say why that is."

Courtesy: Uniqlo

He also shared who and what influenced his personal style, sharing, "Since I grew up in the heyday of VAN JACKET and the Ivy League look, we took a lot of cues from American movies. We might copy George Peppard in Breakfast at Tiffany’s or Paul Newman in Harper, wearing a tweed jacket with a button down shirt and tie. These days, I don’t copy anyone."

Courtesy: Uniqlo.

He even opened up about some of his fashion faux pas and how he got out of them, "In summer, I always wear a T-shirt, shorts and flip-flops. One time I got invited to a traditional restaurant in Ginza, but when I showed up dressed like that the host stopped me at the door and said, “No shorts allowed.” This caught me off-guard, since after all I was a guest. Luckily, I always pack a loose pair of pants in my bag for this very situation, so I put them on over my shorts and we were back on track. The host could not believe what they were seeing. I picked up the idea of carrying around a pair of pants from the novelist Komimasa Tanaka. He went to film screenings dressed in shorts almost every day, but the theaters were always freezing. So when he got there, he layered up with a pair of pants he carried in his bag. I thought this was a pretty great idea and started doing the same."