I first met Yayoi Kusama in 2006 when I visited her studio in Tokyo. I’d been told she was quite a special person, and it was incredibly true. She arrived to meet me in a colored wig and a caftan-like creation of hers with all her signature spots. Her eyes never left mine, and she held my hand often as she talked to me. She kept repeating certain phrases: “We must create, we must create, it’s important that we create.” We spent a few hours together, and every time I tried to leave, she’d pull me back in. It made perfect sense with the art she creates—the intensity, the repetition. She just felt like the embodiment of what she makes.
This is a woman who’s been around for a very long time, who’s done some really radical and revolutionary things in the art world. I admire her unapologetic dedication to her vision, which still allows for plenty of growth and change. When people look back at her work decades from now, they’ll see that her idea of creation and infinity has an eternal endurance.
Jacobs is a fashion designer and the former creative director of Louis Vuitton
