The Dyinginkyoto Interview
Dyinginkyoto, AKA Kyo, is a 21 year old Brazilian multimedia artist, graphic designer, and fashion designer who has been making waves online. He recently dropped a ‘Bat Belt’ which went viral on Twitter and sold out in less than a week. We chatted with him about his creative origins, work and inspirations, and where he’s headed next in the realm of digital art and fashion…
Random question, are you Japanese-Brazilian?
No, I'm just Brazilian. My name is based on a crazy dream I had in Kyoto, and Japanese culture has been very present in my life since I was a kid. I used to watch a lot of anime while playing Call of Duty.
How’d you get into art and design?
Since I was a kid, I used to draw a lot every day and play video games. Call of Duty is definitely the most played game in my life, and we had a small community of players that made this thing cool by forming teams. I was really bad at playing to join a team, so I started doing drawings on my PC. At the time I was trying to do cool designs to join these teams, and I joined every team I wanted lol. I don't know how, but the grind was hard. After this, I got bored of just doing the same thing and started exploring new mediums to make my work better.
How would you describe your style? Is it Y2K?
I think it's not too Y2K right now, but I have some inspiration from the Y2K era to create my current style. I always admired cool game logos from Japanese games and some edgy designs like Drain Gang. I don't have an exact way to describe my style with words, but I like to create based on my mood. Some of my upcoming collections are literally about my insecurity to pursue my career as a fashion designer and start making clothes. It's a new phase where I'm using everything I know to create new things. I fell in love with fashion, and this is the way I want to explore my style and narrative.
What do you like to do besides art and design?
Experimental music, like Witch House and Fashion are literally my top priorities. I also play Call of Duty when I have free time. Right now, I’m trying to explore new mediums in art, such as furniture. I can't say too much about other things since my passion is creating things all day.
When do you feel the most creative?
I don't try to think too much about it. Sometimes, I just have a crazy idea and try to see what I can get from it. However, the most creative times happen in the strangest situations.
What kind of music do you listen to? Favorite movies? What kind of content do you consume the most?
My taste in music is really based on ambient and experimental genres. Recently, I've been really into SALEM. It's been playing on my SoundCloud all day. My favorite movies are "Love" by Gaspar Noe and "Enter the Void." I was trying to choose just one, but I can't leave either out. I mostly consume art-related content, but sometimes I also go really deep into science stuff.
What’s the most memorable moment of discovering something new?
The day I discovered the Call of Duty community was a turning point for me. I'm literally here talking because most of my references came from this age of the "cool kids club" —music, art, and so many other things I absorbed at that time. Call of Duty is the most memorable moment for me, since I was just trying to have fun at the time. Now, I have a new way to see the world and to express my ideas.
How’d you end up working on the Bomb Rush Cyberfunk cover? What was it like to work with Nintendo?
Hmm, this is one of the craziest things to me. I used Jet Set Radio as a reference when I was learning about Y2K, and I saw some guys on Twitter really hyped about this new game called "Bomb Rush Cyberfunk.” I was taking a look, and I noticed that the founder already followed me. After a few days, he sent me a DM and I ended up designing the logo for them. I really enjoyed the process since game logos were a big inspiration for me in the early days.
Metro Boomin wearing your cap, what’s the story behind that?
That's a good one. When I was doing commissions, I met this guy named "M_nerdy.” He asked me to design some cool ideas for him, and we started working together. Afterwards, I saw Metro Boomin wearing it, and it just felt surreal.
Can you tell us about your fashion and clothing work? When and how’d you start?
The fashion stuff started when people started using my designs for clothes, and then people started commissioning me for this kind of work. Creating designs for clothing like t-shirts, hoodies, and other items felt natural to me because I was already doing logo work. The process involves understanding the client's or collaborator's vision and organically translating it into a design that can be applied across different pieces.
What about your own fashion line? How’d that start and what’s your vision for it?
While I was doing these commissions for other brands, I developed my own ideas that I wanted to explore, so I started making my own t-shirts and I fell in love with the process.
Fashion is a way for me to express my opinions or feelings, including insecurity, though I can't go into it much yet as my collection is still in progress. My debut piece, the "exxp shirt," draws from my personal experiences in recent years, hence the name.
Right now, I'm in the process of launching a new product called the "Bat Belt." It’s inspired by my perspective on accessories and my workspace, which is why one of the ads in the campaign features the belt on a monitor on my desk. There’s sooo much other cool stuff for this campaign, including a new idea for testing the item before buying it.
