Around the world (again) with Tokidoki and Le Sportsac

On my way to #Manila!”

When posting about traveling to another city on Instagram, most people upload photos of their planes from their waiting areas at the airport or their boarding passes tucked into their passports. But Simone Legno, the Italian creative director of Tokidoki, posted a special Philippine-themed illustration on his Instagram. It had the Philippine flag, coconut trees and even one of Tokidoki’s punk characters Maxx (a badass monkey with a purple Mohawk) driving a jeepney. But it was the Philippine mango in boxing gloves that everyone noticed.

“I’m a huge fan of boxing,” reveals Legno, now sitting in a coffee shop in Manila in his trademark black T-shirt with the Tokidoki skulls-in-a-heart logo. A little bleary-eyed, he admits to being a little tired from his recent trips promoting Tokidoki’s latest collaboration with LeSportsac, but his tired eyes light up when we talk about the boxing mango — a Pac-Mango, if you will.

“I’m a huge fan of Pacquiao,” he adds. He had been in Indonesia during Manny Pacquiao’s recent fight against Chris Algieri, but that morning he was at the lobby of his hotel, streaming the fight and cheering Pacman on. Also a fan of Nonito Donaire, Legno continues telling me about how he collaborated with the Filipino boxer to create “The Filipino Flash,” a special illustration of Donaire in a red, white, blue and yellow costume that’s a little Superman and a little bit Nacho Libre.

It’s a little hard to believe that this avid boxing fan is famous for sketching the crazy, colorful and incredibly cute world of Tokidoki, the global cult brand of apparel and accessories known for its characters, from a herd of magical unicorns to a “Moofia” of gun-slinging cows. “I think the whole (Tokidoki) universe is a mix of all of my aspects,” says Legno. “I’m the kind of guy who loves Hello Kitty and boxing at the same time. I like horror movies and cute little-girl things.”

Tokidoki (a Japanese word for “sometimes”) started out as Legno’s professional online portfolio and diary while still living in Italy. Legno had always loved drawing as a kid, and growing up he fell in love with Japanese art (especially the animated robots popular during the ’70s and ’80s) and culture and developed a unique style of art. But this was the early 2000s, a time when Facebook stalking hadn’t been invented yet, and so a lot of people assumed he was Japanese — and female, at that. “There would be guys from the Czech Republic thinking that I was a girl, because my name is Simone,” laughs Legno. “They’d say, ‘Let’s not show pictures; let’s discover each other little by little.’”

Two people who did get him were American entrepreneurs Pooneh Mohajer, co-founder of cosmetics brand Hard Candy, and Ivan Arnold. (They got his gender right, too.) When they came across his works, they convinced him to move to Los Angeles to start their own apparel, art, and lifestyle brand. They started with 15 T-shirts in 2005, and when they found that people loved their stuff, took a chance and sent a box of their prints to LeSportsac, who loved it and agreed to collaborate.

Given the great detail of Legno’s art, LeSportsac’s classic nylon bags seemed like the perfect canvas. “It gave me freedom; it’s like printing on paper! On nylon you can really express yourself and show all the details on a fashion item,” explains Legno. “And even the positioning of the brand; it’s affordable luxury. We wanted to make art but make it affordable for everybody.”

Their first collaboration in 2006 was phenomenally successful. People fell in love with the hyper-colorful, “aw”-inducing characters and the idea of carrying them wherever they went. For the next two years Tokidoki and LeSportsac continued releasing new bags and prints every season, which fans were only too happy to snap up. It really put Tokidoki on the map. “The brand means very much to me personally,” says Legno. “They invested so much in me and growing my name, and until today people know me for the LeSportsac bags.”

Indeed, until today many of those bags are selling on Amazon and eBay with bids reaching up to three or four times their original prices, with accompanying guides on how to spot fakes.

Since then Tokidoki has collaborated with several other great brands: Karl Lagerfeld, Marvel, Sephora, Hello Kitty, Skullcandy, Barbie, and Canon being some of them. But that first collaboration with LeSportsac was something else, and fans were elated to discover that the brands were collaborating once again for LeSportsac’s 40th anniversary this year.

“We knew it couldn’t be for just one season,” says D’Arcy Jensen, LeSportsac global vice president and creative director. “We felt like we owed it to all of our loyal fans to continue the fun.”

This time, the bags feature an allover print called Giramondo, which has old and new Tokidoki characters on stamps from all over the world. You’ll see Sandy the Cactus Girl partying in multi-colored sunglasses in Brazil and Ciao Ciao (a skull clad in all pink) riding a Vespa in Rome, but there are a lot of new characters: hula girls riding dolphins in Hawaii, sheep chilling out with a football in New Zealand, and yes, even the boxing mango and the Philippine stamp (the same one we saw on Legno’s Instagram account) is on the print. “I didn’t want a print that was a repeat of the old one,” explains Legno. “And I love travel! If I stop traveling, you might as well kill me.”

He also created a brand-new character exclusively debuting in this collection: Palette is a cute white leopard whose flower-shaped spots change color based on her mood. It’s not hard to spot her on the print, but she also comes as a charm with every bag. The collection also features a few quilted black bags for those who want something a little subdued, and a tote bag called the Carina in a unique Buon Viaggio print for those who want something more exclusive.

Manufactured with iconic LeSportsac materials like its tissue-light and durable nylon, these bags are truly equipped for traveling. Plus, taking in all the stamps gives you a serious dose of wanderlust, and the unique prints allow you to spot your luggage on the conveyor belt quickly, too. Clearly, the print was inspired by Legno’s many, many travels (“Sometimes [traveling] gets too much; it’s really inhuman!” he jokes), but also by his unique worldview. After all, he is an Italian man living in America famous for his Japanese-style illustrations for a global brand.

“My culture and background really shows,” he agrees. “My hand is definitely not like a Japanese illustrator. My style is somehow harder. I live in LA; our style is more street. And I spent 10 years in a punk rock band! So I offer something different. Cross-cultural style.” He pauses to think of a better way to put it, and grins at me. “Harmonic disorder,” he declares. It’s definitely a unique way to describe one’s work, and Legno shrugs. “I love to be the designer of my own future.”

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For more information, visit www.tokidoki.it. LeSportsac is available at Robinsons Magnolia, Rustan’s Makati, Rustan’s Shangri-La Plaza Mall, Rustan’s Gateway Mall, Rustan’s Robinsons Place Manila, Rustan’s Alabang Town Center, and opening in December at Greenbelt 3 and Estancia Capitol Commons.