Article January 1, 2001 Issue

Kazuyo Tan

Fashion designer

with contributions from Kazuyo Tan—Tokyo, Japan

I didn't enter a design career with a burning passion, but rather from the need of supporting myself after my husband passed on — at a time when job opportunities for women were very limited. I was invited to be assistant to the president of a dressmaking school in Kobe. I was a graduate of that school. I think the president gave me the job, not so much because of my ability, but because she felt sorry for me. I was sent to open and manage the Tokyo office.

Because I was eager to improve Japanese women's clothing, I studied dress design in New York and Paris. I didn't make much effort to advance myself. I rather tried to do well what came to me. I was blessed with many opportunities that developed from unexpected encounters.

As a fashion designer, I was always under pressure to create “something new”— to give people a surprise. At the same time, I was always seeking something of lasting value, of lasting good. My heart's deepest desire was to share God's love, and introduce Christianity to people. I was a member of a Protestant church before becoming a Christian Scientist some thirty years ago.