So, let's talk about Geoffrey B. Small.
Interviewer: So, what shall we talk about today?
T.O: Of course—about Geoffrey B. Small. His clothes are quiet, yet within them lie the weight of time and the sincerity of human hands. Among all the designers we’ve encountered, his philosophy resonates most deeply with that of T.O’s founder. Perhaps I’ll share a few of the stories Geoffrey himself once told us—though I warn you, it may be a long conversation today.
The Beginning — A Needle in a Small Room in Boston
Interviewer: How do you perceive his beginnings?
T.O: Geoffrey didn’t start out as a “designer.” His beginning was deeply personal, even humble. In the late 1970s, in Boston—at a time when handcraft in clothing was slowly losing its place in industry—he picked up a needle simply to make something for his friends.
The only thing he knew how to sew was a shirt. But within that simple form, he began to search for why fabric matters when it touches the human body. He valued seams adjusted by touch, not machine precision; patterns that absorbed the wearer’s habits and posture. It was the start of a journey to rediscover clothing as something made for people, not for commerce.
Paris — Searching for a “New Classic”
Interviewer: After establishing himself in Boston, he moved to Paris. Tell us about that journey.
T.O: His white shirts became a huge sensation in U.S.A, and soon he was invited to present at Paris Fashion Week—an extraordinary opportunity extended by the historic Chambre Syndicale de la Couture. For an American designer, this was almost unheard of.
But that invitation was only the beginning. In Paris, Geoffrey found himself surrounded by a world of “perfect imitations.” He realised something vital—that success lies not in making a better copy, but in creating a new classic that no one has seen before.
That realisation gave his work its quiet tension: a harmony of precision and defiance, discipline and freedom. His creations carried a gravity that couldn’t be imitated.
His designs were soon recognised across Europe, leading him to a new chapter in Italy. Remarkably, he and his wife Diana made that move just after the birth of their twins. To step into an unfamiliar culture, with newborns in their arms, required tremendous courage. I can only imagine the challenges they faced each day—but in that act of bravery, of building a life and a practice simultaneously, lay the essence of Geoffrey’s belief: that creation and living are inseparable.
Deconstruction and Rebirth — Recycling as a “Transmission of Memory”
Interviewer: Can you tell us about his period of deconstruction and recycling?
T.O: Throughout Geoffrey’s career, one principle remains constant: that human hands have the power to transform clothing.
In the early 1990s, he began reworking vintage garments in Boston—long before “upcycling” became fashionable. It wasn’t about trend or thrift; it was an act of resurrection. He was, in a sense, performing surgery—taking apart garments that had already lived a life, and breathing new meaning into them for a new era.
Frayed edges, old buttonholes, traces of wear—he treated these not as flaws, but as fragments of memory. Each reconstruction was an attempt to preserve time within a new form. Those pieces were not industrial products; they were time made tangible. And that idea—of clothing as a vessel of human memory—remains at the heart of how we at T.O. present his work today.
Rebirth in Italy — A Workshop That Feels Like a Laboratory
Interviewer: Why did he choose Italy as his base?
T.O: He once turned away from the world of contracts and commercial efficiency. He wanted to begin again—from the thread upward.
In Italy, his atelier functions less like a factory and more like a research laboratory. The twisting of yarns, the layering of dyes, the rhythm of the hands—each process is examined with patience and respect. He and his craftsmen work side by side until something feels right. That devotion has created not only exceptional quality, but a culture of craftsmanship itself.
While many luxury brands anchor their design offices in Paris or New York—places of visibility—Geoffrey chose Italy, the place of creation. Here, the lineage of true makers still breathes: weavers, dyers, tailors, button makers—generations of artisans who never abandoned their craft.
By staying close to them, Geoffrey keeps his work alive and responsive. When new fabrics are ready, a call comes; when ideas spark, they arrive at his door. Innovation flows not from meetings, but from conversation. He also oversees the training and employment of his artisans himself. For him, ensuring that people can work with dignity is part of the design process. A garment made without integrity can never hold the soul of the person who wears it.
The Language of Materials — Handwoven Silk, Cashmere, and Horn Buttons
Interviewer: His choice of materials seems almost philosophical.
T.O: To Geoffrey, fabric is a language. He studies every stage—who spun the yarn, who wove the cloth, at what pace, and with what heart. Only when he understands that story does he allow the fabric to enter his world.
A handwoven cloth carries hours of human life within its threads.
The sheen of silk is not light—it’s warmth.
Wool and cashmere are chosen for how they breathe as much as how they feel.
Even a single button has a lineage—the person, the tools, the rhythm of carving.
When you touch the inside of his garments, you can feel that lineage with your fingertips. There is not a single millimetre of compromise.
*Photo provided by Carlo Colombo
Expanding Form — A Design That Refuses to Be Final
Interviewer: Recent collections seem to explore “variability.”
T.O: Yes. Geoffrey’s clothes refuse to trap the wearer in a finished form. Their shape changes with movement, their expression shifts with posture. The body itself becomes part of the design.
They are, in his words, “clothes you cannot understand from a still image.” Many of our customers at T.O. realise this only when they start to move in front of the mirror. And years later—after five, ten, twenty years—the same piece evolves with the person’s life. It softens, it remembers, it adjusts. It becomes not just something you wear, but a companion that lives alongside you.
Long-Term Design — Built to Withstand 25 Years
Interviewer: How would you describe his sense of time?
T.O: Geoffrey has a clear philosophy of time. His garments are not made for the peak of a trend, but for the quiet morning twenty-five years from now, when you put it on again and still think, this feels right.
What makes that possible are the invisible details: the way seams are eased; the hand-sewn buttonholes; the linings chosen for longevity, not cost. He values clothing not by price, but by its strength against time. That, too, was the founding philosophy of T.O.—and it’s why we feel so deeply aligned with his work.
Referencing the Past — Napoleon, Baseball, and Medieval Dye
Interviewer: His references to history are fascinating.
T.O: Geoffrey engages in an ongoing conversation with history. He draws from the discipline of military attire and the freedom of early sportswear—two worlds that rarely coexist, yet in his hands they harmonise.
He studies historical garments not to imitate them, but to rediscover the intelligence hidden in their construction. His exploration of medieval dyeing techniques is not merely about colour, but about reawakening a cultural memory. He honours the past, dismantles it, then returns it to us in the language of today. Avant-garde, yes—yet always intelligent, always human. This is why his work resonates so deeply with T.O.’s clientele.
Aside — A “Special Lecture” in the Showroom
Interviewer: What is Geoffrey like when you meet him in the showroom or at his office?
T.O: Every time, he’s intense—in the best way. After he has spoken at length about the last few millimetres of seam allowance and the angle of a button, the conversation somehow shifts to “how we ought to live as people,” “what we should be doing in today’s fashion,” and even “what you should be doing.” It feels like a blazing university seminar; I catch myself wanting to take notes. He even assigns homework—what we ought to tackle for the next season. (Yes, really.)
The only problem… is that our “professor” sometimes forgets about time. Before we know it, the workday is slipping away, and a staff member gives a little tug and whispers, “Professor, the bell has rung.” Geoffrey smiles and says, “Just ten more minutes,” which usually means about thirty. But the ideas that sprout in that extra time often become the seeds of great pieces—so in the end, none of us can quite bring ourselves to stop him.
Epilogue — A Quiet Revolution in Everyday Life
Interviewer: Finally, what would you like people to feel through his clothes?
T.O: Clothing, for us, is a quiet joy. It doesn’t need to shout or dazzle; it simply straightens the spine of one’s everyday life. A well-woven fabric, a living seam, a button carved with honesty—these small truths flow gently from the cuff into one’s day. That, to us, is the quiet revolution that Geoffrey and T.O. continue together.
T.O. is located in Kochi, a small coastal town in southern Japan. It is far from Tokyo, Osaka, New York, or Paris. There are no glamorous restaurants, no glittering parties. And yet, Kochi has its own kind of richness: fresh local food, centuries-old sake breweries, and Japan’s oldest morning market that still thrives at sunrise.
Within this slower rhythm of life, Geoffrey’s clothes reach our customers through T.O.’s lens of beauty. They wear these pieces not for display, but as a natural extension of their daily life—relaxed in posture, honest in spirit, and quietly elegant.
And—when our founder passed away, Geoffrey and his wife Diana reached out from Italy with words of warmth and kindness. That simple act of humanity still supports us to this day. Through them, we learned what it truly means for people to be connected through clothing.
