Nakata's dream come true
A warm round of applause greeted Hidetoshi Nakata as he walked into the room. It was interesting to see Japan’s erstwhile golden boy of football still elicited such a reaction, even though he has been away from the game for almost a decade. Then again, he hasn’t exactly strayed from the public eye.
A warm round of applause greeted Hidetoshi Nakata as he walked into the room. It was interesting to see Japan’s erstwhile golden boy of football still elicited such a reaction, even though he has been away from the game for almost a decade. Then again, he hasn’t exactly strayed from the public eye.
Often dubbed the “David Beckham of Asia” because of his penchant for fashion, he has graced the pages (and webpages) of fashion and lifestyle magazines such as MrPorter.com, GQ and J-Collabo. And, yes, he still looks trim and fit, with a sense of style to match.
Hence, the response when the former midfielder came to town to launch his new line of jewellery. Called Metropolitan Dream by H. Nakata, the collection was in collaboration with Italian luxury jewellery brand Damiani and consists of pendants and bracelets.
Unlike the high-end jewellery items for women its parent line Metropolitan Dream proffers, Metropolitan Dream by H. Nakata is intended for the “metropolitan man, although, really, it is unisex”, said Giorgio Damiani, the Damiani Group’s vice president. He added this new line took about a year to produce and was really Nakata’s reinterpretation of the brand’s Metropolitan Dream collection.
“He gives it his own vision,” Damiani said, citing their long friendship as one of the reasons he asked the ex-footballer to design a new collection.
“I’m not a designer. I’m not creating this from nothing. I’m using an existing design but translating it into my way, my style for other people,” said Nakata. “Giorgio said that he wanted to create something for a younger market, more unisex, more sporty ... so we use things such as leather, which Damiani didn’t use before.”
The pendants and bracelets, which will be available at the Damiani boutique in Scotts Square, come in burnished gold or pink gold with diamonds). The bracelets come in two versions — with a cord or rigid leather; while the pendants come in two sizes, large and small, and with one or more diamonds.
The small version is also available with double cross pendants, an idea that Nakata joked Damiani did not like at first. “But later, we worked things out — over a couple of glasses of wine!” he quipped.
Nakata’s reasons for participating in this collaboration are myriad — his close ties with Damiani, his desire to create accessible jewellery for men, to tap into the growing men’s jewellery market — but one key factor was the charitable aspect of this collection: Part of the proceeds from the sale of Metropolitan Dream by H. Nakata will be used to support the Clean Water Project, a humanitarian project to construct clean water wells in Africa.
“That’s the important thing for me,” said Nakata. “For Damiani, this is a business — and it is for me too, in a way — but the charity project is also important.”
He added: “Actually, one of the conditions for me to agree to do this project was that I would get a chance to go to Africa to see this Clean Water Project for myself. Giorgio said okay and next year, we’re going there. If he had said no, then I probably would not have signed on.”
Surprisingly, though, Nakata said he was not a big fan of jewellery (“I don’t really use a lot of jewellery, not like Johnny Depp”), which is why the collection is more subtle than most men’s jewellery out there.
“We only made necklaces and bracelets, which you can always hide if you are shy by pulling on your collar or your cuff. It’s not so obvious,” he said. “We made it very simple — but it does still look nice. You can wear these at any time: Morning, day, night. You can wear it with jeans or with a suit.”
Some may say that Nakata’s fashionista tendencies began after he hung up his football boots in 2006, but the 38-year-old has said that his interest in fashion actually began when he was 18 and based in Italy. He started spending his football pay on outfits and dyeing his hair a range of colours.
These days, he sports facial stubble and Buddy Holly glasses. His dress sense is muted yet carries an air of confidence (no one wears brogues like he does).
“My style is very natural. I don’t wear anything with a big logo ... that shows any brand names. If you look at all my photos, I don’t wear anything with a logo. I don’t need to show the brand, I think it’s better to show the quality of the product,” he explained.
“My style is more towards elegance. Whether you’re wearing jeans or shorts, you should look elegant.”
How does one make wearing shorts elegant? “With attitude, of course,” he quipped.
“I try to be a dress-up guy. You can dress-down anywhere — it’s easy. I’d rather do something a little more difficult! And you never know who you’re going to meet, so you might as well look good. Of course, dressing-down is nice; but to dress up is more important.”
One key style essential is his jacket — he never leaves home without one. “I always make sure I bring a jacket everywhere I go,” he said, adding it isn’t just for fashion’s sake. “For me, the jacket can also be like a wallet. You don’t want to put everything in your trouser pockets because it will bulge out and look ugly. So you can put things in your jacket pockets.”
But surely a jacket in a hot climate like Singapore’s is too much? “I don’t have to wear it — I just need to bring it,” he said. “But Singapore, outside it is very hot — inside it’s very cold! So it’s good to have one.”
Another fashion essential he said all men should have is a nice pair of shoes. “Shoes are very important. So many people wear nice suits, but they don’t wear nice shoes. It’s important to wear nice shoes … it doesn’t matter whether they’re expensive or not.”
It’s all about having fun, Nakata said — and not just with your wardrobe. “For example, I loved football, so I wanted to be a great football player. It wasn’t because I wanted the fame or fortune. I don’t care about the fame. I just wanted to be the best football player,” he said.
“Today, I just want to have fun every day. It’s not easy. Having fun is very difficult. To have an easy life — that is very easy. To have great fun — not so easy.”
He continued: “Do you have fun every day? Do you have great memories every day? No. You have to put in a lot of effort to make something fun. And you cannot have fun by yourself. That’s why I try to meet as many people as possible — so that we all can have fun together.”
If this collection takes off, Nakata could well be having more fun with Damiani. The latter said that they were exploring the idea of more collaborations.
“Metropolitan Dream With H. Nakata is not a capsule collection,” Damiani added. “We want this to be long-term. So even if we come up with something new, we will keep the original line very alive.”
As for Nataka, having to do a new collection spells one thing: “The good thing is that I can create something for me to wear!”