URAWA, Japan >> One Japanese creation that grabbed attention at the Oscars wasn’t a movie: It was the kitsch shoes that seemed to be clenched in Godzilla’s claw.

They were the work of Ryosuke Matsui, who recently described his joy at seeing “Godzilla Minus One” director Takashi Yamazaki and his Shirogumi special-effects team walk the red carpet and win the visual effects Oscar, all while wearing his shoes.

“The director loves my shoes. He calls them his uniform,” Matsui told The Associated Press in an interview.

At 35, with a fashion career that’s barely a decade old, Matsui heads his own brand called Hazama, which translates to “the space in between.”

A small business with just six employees, Hazama offers girlie outfits with fluffy skirts as well as items with Gothic themes, kimono and sweaters in gradient colors, jackets with repetitive motifs evocative of Andy Warhol, even sofas and coffee tables — and the shoes with the crazy heels.

One pair has a pistol trigger you can really pull, though without any bullets, while another looks like it’s stuck in an alien’s blood-red teeth.

“Dark fantasy” is what Matsui calls his motifs. His imaginary world is filled with odd creatures such as witches, scary penguins and iridescent polar bears, where objects suddenly melt, a face might be replaced by a giant rose, or a horrific hand grabs your heel from underground.

“Of course, cool people look great, no matter what they wear, but clothes can change the way you think, how you relate to people around you, work as that doorway into building your confidence,” he said.

Matsui’s no-nonsense and friendly attitude defies his demure first impression. Sitting amid mounds of boxes and packages of clothing at his office on the outskirts of Tokyo, he wore a Hazama-designed hoodie studded with rainbow-tinged fangs of an “aurora shark,” torn Yves Saint Laurent jeans and Nike sneakers. He said he wasn’t wearing his Godzilla shoes because he was working.

The Godzilla shoes originated as a special order from the film’s producer for the Japan premiere in October. Stealing the show at the recent Academy Awards ceremony wasn’t part of the script.

It took Matsui about a year to finish the initial three designs, the 75,000 yen (about $500) red pumps for actress Minami Hamabe, the $600 shoes for Yamazaki, and boots decorated with jagged scales, priced at $700, for Ryunosuke Kamiki, the movie’s co-star alongside Godzilla.

The entire first batch of several hundred pairs presented on the market have already sold out. Plans are underway to produce more, perhaps in different colors, like gold, in homage to the Oscar statue.

Interest has been huge, according to Matsui. Ideally, everyone who’s got their hearts set on a pair of Godzilla shoes should be able to get one eventually.

Matsui grew up in a loving family that sent him to piano and swimming lessons and “juku” cram schools. He is a graduate of the prestigious Keio University and could have easily become a successful “salaryman” like other young Japanese men.

But he didn’t want to part with his then-blond hair.

Although Matsui has always respected renowned fashion designer Yohji Yamamoto, he purposely pursued color and textured fabrics, unlike Yamamoto’s focus on black and stark lines.

When asked about his global ambitions, Matsui acknowledged he is quite happy working in Japan. He said would love to have his own cafe or work on an animation project.And his dream is surprisingly local: to create the fashion for Bump of Chicken, a Japanese rock band.

It’s a perfect fit, since he is afraid of flying.