Masaya Kuroki, Maison Kitsuné’s co-founder and fashion designer gives his 10 essentials to GQ US. Read the full article here.

Interview by Ren McKnight for GQ.

1. Fox Brothers & Co.
“I discovered Fox Brothers a few years ago, and because Kitsuné in Japanese means ‘Fox,’ I was attracted to the logo and name. The fabric is incredible to touch and look at—soft and strong, with an amazing depth of color. We’ve been using it for our two-button men’s jackets for two seasons now, and they’re selling very well.”

2. MontBlanc ballpoint pen
“My girlfriend bought this pen for me six years ago, and I bring it with me everywhere. Of course I have my iPhone and laptop, but this is just more authentic—when you write something down, I think you process your thoughts more fully. MontBlanc is timeless and has never really changed their attitude. The weight of this pen is perfect for writing and I can also do sketches for my collection.”

3. Barry McGee book by Fondazione Prada
“I grew up in the streets of Paris with the culture of street art, and Barry McGee is one of the best. He has this romantic and melancholic style with so many dimensions. There are a lot of books about him, but this one by Fondazione Prada is beautiful, and even after ten years I still look at it all the time. It’s like an old picture you have of your mom or dad; you just always want to look at it, and I discover something new every time that inspires me.”

4. JG Melon
“After high school, I moved to New York and stayed almost a year. I was just finding jobs and being a tourist, and one day I discovered this amazing hamburger place. The king of the junk is Shake Shack, and it’s so good that it goes to your brain, but JG Melon is kind of old school—you’ll feel like you stepped into a family restaurant from the ’50s. The burger is very simple—no fancy stuff—with sweet buns and excellent meat. Whenever I’m in New York, I always come back and eat my burger.”

5. “Les Nympheas”
“My mother is an oil painter. When I moved to Paris with her when I was twelve, the Musée de l’Orangerie in the Jardin des Tuileries was the first museum she took me to, and this is the first thing she wanted to show me. In front of that I was just empty—it blew my mind and I couldn’t understand anything. It was emotional. I still don’t know how to describe it. It’s the most beautiful emotional souvenir I have with my mom.”

6. Ristorante Giacomo
“I’m in Milano often, because it’s where a lot of my manufacturers are, and I always go to Giacomo. You try a lot of restaurants in your life, and sometimes it has too much of something or not enough, or the décor is not nice, or for the price, it’s not good. We always have a lot of complaints, but with Giacomo, you go in, you smile, and you leave smiling. It’s 7 p.m. now, and all I want to do is get on a plane and go there.”

7. NoMad Hotel
“I’m 37, so I knew New York in the ’90s and early 2000s, when it was all about downtown. The NoMad is on 28th and Broadway, and we decided to have our first New York store here because it’s truly beautiful. I followed the construction and watched the building of the entire façade. Each time I came, I took a picture of the progress and put it in my diary. As a hotel, I think it’s one of the best in New York right now. It’s got great service, the rooms are beautiful, the restaurants are amazing, and the rooftop view is unbelievable.”

8. Shoes by Maison Kitsuné x Edward Green (Find the shoes on our webstore here)
“For me, Edward Green are the best shoe makers in the world, and not only because of their history and know-how, but because they stay real—they don’t get influenced by anybody or anything. People freaked out when we did this collaboration and asked how we did it. Well, I just knocked on the door and said, ‘Hello? Can I do shoes with you guys?’ It was like going to see Al Capone in Chicago in the ’30s and saying, ‘Yo dude, let’s do a bottle of whiskey together!’ I learned so much from the experience; it was like going to school. I spent two or three days in their factory and watched the cutting, sewing, and assemblage, and once I understood it we designed the shoe and chose the leather, the finishing, the stitching, the size of the thread. It’s not just a one-shot collaboration to make buzz; it’s a long-term contract, and we’re going to have these in our collection every season. I think we made a kind of new classic.”

9. Alexander Olch silk bow tie
“Olch is the prince of Mott Street. We met each three years ago, and since the first glass of whiskey, we just understood each other. I never really wore ties, but he got me to really discover the culture of the ties. I love the shapes he uses, the sizing, the color, and how well his fabrics go with my collections. His ties are the only ones I wear.”

10. Maison Kitsuné Fall/Winter 2012 men’s shawl-collar cable knit cardigan by Corgi (Find it on our webstore here!)
“Corgi is in the UK, and it’s two hours from London by train. Most of our collection is made in Italy, but ten percent is done with them. They’ve been around since 1892, and on their factory walls they have photos of different generations of the British royal family wearing their cardigans. C’est très noble. You don’t even have to touch it to see the quality. They’re not fighting the industry, because there’s nothing that compares to them.”