Atsushi Hasegawa, the head of creative at luxury hotel The Newt in Somerset, can be spotted wandering around its verdant grounds in a straw boater, longline linen shirt or even a kimono-inspired work jacket that he designed for UK gardening brand Niwaki. Hasegawa was born in Japan and became fascinated with fashion in the late 1980s, when he worked at Vivienne Westwood’s Tokyo shop. A passion for fly fishing brought him to Paris, where he worked at Maison de la Mouche, a shop that caters to the outdoors hobby. After about 10 years in the city, where he also worked in textile design, Hasegawa crossed the Channel to become the head of creative concept at footwear brand Clarks. Today he oversees The Newt’s visual identity, marketing activities and cultural partnerships. He tells Monocle about his spontaneous approach to getting dressed and his many sartorial obsessions.

How has your style evolved?
In the 1980s I went to university in Tokyo at the same time as Kenzo Takada [the founder of Kenzo] and Yohji Yamamoto. That’s my generation. I would read magazines such as The Face and i-D, and I was into hip-hop. These things weren’t mainstream in Japan at the time. Since then I have been addicted to fashion. In Tokyo at the time, there were codes. If you were a skater, you’d wear Stüssy. If you were into reggae, you wore Kangol hats. You were either a Yohji man or a Comme des Garçons lady. Nowadays fusion is completely normal but it wasn’t allowed back then. So when I moved to Paris I loved the freedom. Parisians wear anything naturally. Now I dress according to how I feel. Sometimes I’m more expressive; at others I’m more humble in how I present myself. My colleagues would probably describe me as a peacock.

Do you mean that your style reflects your state of mind?
When life gets stressful, I become almost punk and more expressive. When I’m more relaxed, it’s reflected in my laidback clothing. Clothes protect you so I’m serious about what I wear. As I get older, I know that what matters is what suits your body, your height, your posture. I’m quite obsessed with understanding what kind of hats suit me or how a T-shirt is made. I collect clothes and never throw anything away. I still have clothes that I bought when I was 18 because I don’t want to be a part of throwaway culture.

How would you describe your everyday style?
I’m a chameleon. I like the unexpected. Yesterday I wore an all-pink jumpsuit to the beach and my daughters said that it was cool. In some ways, hospitality is like show business, so as head of creative I want people to see my outfits and think, “Oh, wow.” When I left Japan, I slowly understood that there is unique craftsmanship there and I’ve since become obsessed with it. I might mix a kimono with European clothes. I look to 1920s and 1930s society fashion for inspiration: white trousers, a chain, a funny way of doing a tie. I’m now enjoying this phase of my life and being myself completely.

Do you pre-plan your outfits?
No, I wake up and start from there. I’m a DJ and only mix with seven-inch vinyls with the aim of seamlessly connecting everything without planning. I like to do the same with getting dressed, almost in a half-stressed state and with only 20 minutes to put together an outfit. I start with one item and then co-ordinate from there. Fashion is where I find joy.