‘Be with people you love and eat loads of good food’
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During Christmas or New Year I think it’s nice to dress smart. Maybe a decent shirt, a suit jacket. It depends where you are going, of course. I do like to spend some of Christmas in my pyjamas, and I definitely don’t wear any of my own designs because that just always makes me think about work.
I do get excited about buying gifts for my girlfriend, especially clothes. I dress quite masculine, but I love womenswear. Even when she’s not been sure about a piece of clothing I’ve bought her, she usually comes around. We’ve had recent successes with vintage pieces, such as a wraparound skirt by Hussein Chalayan and a Issey Miyake top.
I was thinking about getting her a tent this year, as I really want to go camping and spend more time outdoors. I like the idea of gifts that can encourage you to do something together. Similarly, I like gifts that are meaningful in some way. My mum [Ruth Toda-Nation] made a book called Our Lockdown Garden which is really special. She captured residents in the garden of the old people’s home where my granddad lives and juxtaposed them with images of flowers. I’ll definitely be giving someone a copy of that.
I will spend Christmas with her and my stepdad in Milton Keynes. It will be very chill. It’s usually a few movies and the classic turkey roast and gammon — though no one seems to ever eat the Christmas pudding, do they? This year my stepsister will be bringing her new baby, Max, so that will be fun. Having kids around makes Christmas more exciting and I’ll probably also be buying him some clothes. Baby clothes are so cute — those little socks! Would I make him a bespoke Sage Nation look? Maybe when he’s a bit bigger. My friend Errol of Touching Bass, who throws the best music nights, has just had a baby and he has made these super cool kids’ Come Dance Nuh T-shirts.
Supporting friends is important to me. Ayaka Uchiyama-Vergain is a family friend and she does amazing metalwork. She has been working under the Japanese master, Susa Makoto. She makes beautiful objects like incense holders and plates which I keep buying. Isamu Noguchi was an early design reference point for me and a big inspiration — I think his lamps are so peaceful, so everyone should have one of those.
I am half Japanese and tend to do more shopping in Japan than in the UK. I love a department store like Hands, which has everything and anything — it’s like John Lewis on steroids. There’s also so many good vintage stores in Japan and I’m very into the Hyaku-en shops — everything is ¥100 [around 50p], so it’s basically a pound shop. But they’re super fun and you can buy loads of great stuff for friends.
It’s quite funny because in Japan they don’t really do Christmas like in the UK. There are not really any gifts or anything as they have other holidays, but everyone goes to KFC. I thought it was a joke, but when I was there for Christmas, that’s what happened.
I’m not very good at holidays, but recently I’ve started trying to be better at it and the thing I’ve realised relaxes me the most is eating out. I’m such a foodie. So, my Christmas advice is mainly to not put too much pressure on it, be with people you love and eat loads of good food. And finally, my mum got me into John Martyn, and I think everyone should have a copy of the album Solid Air.
Sage Toda-Nation is a British Japanese clothing designer who founded his own label Sage Nation in 2020. He was appointed creative director of influential British label YMC in June.
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