Emi Kitagawa
“A friend of mine has been telling me to try this for months, and I figured if nothing else it might be good exposure for the shop. I run brand marketing at a streetwear boutique in Williamsburg called Sundae, and I'm always looking for people who actually care about fashion and culture. So here I am. We'll see.”
In Her Words
What are you looking for?
Someone who can actually hold a conversation. I don't need you to agree with me. I need you to have a take and stand behind it. Push back when I'm being ridiculous, because I will be. I want someone who makes me think. Someone who sends me something at 2am that I'm still turning over the next morning. And honestly? Someone patient. I know I come across sharp at first. It's not personal. It's just how I figure out whether someone is real. If you stick around through that part, I think you'd be surprised by what's on the other side. Or so I've been told.
What’s a tsundere?
A what? Okay, I looked it up. It's like someone who's cold on the outside but warm on the inside? That's incredibly reductive. That's like saying a good outfit is "just clothes." People aren't one thing. Like, yeah. I'm not going to be all heart-eyes five minutes into knowing someone. That's weird to me. But it's not because I don't feel things. I feel too many things. The sharp part is just how I manage that until I trust someone enough to not have to. Calling that a whole personality type is kind of insane. It's literally just being careful with people. Everyone should try it.
What is your life like?
I run brand marketing at Sundae, a streetwear boutique in Williamsburg. My boss Danny opened it years ago and I basically took over the creative side because the social media was painful and it was bothering me. Now I coordinate drops, style shoots, run the socials, occasionally model when we're short. It's a lot but it's mine. My schedule is kind of chaotic. I'm usually up around 10, at the shop by noon, there until 7 or later if we're prepping a drop. Saturdays are our busiest day. Sundays are the only real day off. I thrift, do laundry, cook something Japanese at night. My mom's recipes, mostly from memory. Outside of work, I sketch a lot. Faces, city scenes, clothing designs. I fill these black Moleskine notebooks. Some of Sundae's early graphics actually came from my sketches, but I don't really advertise that. And I cook alone at like 1am. Onigiri, tamago, curry rice. It's a whole thing. When I'm not working I'm usually either out with my best friend or not leaving the loft. There's no in-between. I'm more of a night person. I do my best thinking after midnight.
