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| ── I see. Your relationship is the source of creativity. |
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| HK: |
Some people wonder what Hiroshi-san’s role is in UNIFORM EXPERIMENT. I think Hiroshi-san provides me with the right mood. To be more specific, Hiroshi-san lets me see his world. I am being a bit vague here, but it's like that. |
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| HF: |
Talking about collaboration ── well, I actually don't want to use the word “collaboration” ── a fair, 50-50 balance is important for me when I collaborate with someone else or corporations. I am not talking about the name values or the economic balance between the two parties. If someone asks me without having that spirit, it means he just wants to use my name for selling merchandise. That party is going to take advantage of me, and I won’t feel that I am collaborating with someone to create something. I try to keep away from people and companies like that. But, that situation is spreading all over the world now. I would like to do something like Tiffany and Rolex’s relationship. Tiffany says they would like to collaborate with Rolex and sell a double-named watch, because Tiffany admits Rolex is a great company that creates fabulous watches. That's an ideal relationship for me when I work with somebody.  |
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| HK: |
This is an extreme case, but the first thing I hear out of people’s mouths when I tell them I have collaborated with Hiroshi-san is, “Oh, where is Hiroshi’s thunder logo?” I kind of barked back after hearing this, and said, “No, our collaboration is different.” There are enough “Hiroshi Fujiwara icons” available already. I don’t want to create an another icon. I won't do that, but it was necessary to include Hiroshi-san's tastes in the clothes in some way. That was my theme for the collaboration. |
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| ── Basically, you two pursued a clear conception of “UNIFORM EXPERIMENT” and tried to create something special, truly worthy of being called UNIFORM EXPERIMENT's items. |
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| HK: |
I think we are able to lay the foundations of the brand through this first collection. Or, I'd can say it's the true theme of this first collection. I was able to reflect the brand's identity in the main items, such as the shirts, jackets and pants. Those can be called very UNIFORM EXPERIMENT-ish items. I think so, at least.  |
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HF:
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I’d like to rethink the merchandise. I intend to research suits more and would like to put out a tuxedo shirt or something. |
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| HK: |
Yes, exactly. It might be fun to manufacture a tuxedo for the people in our culture. For instance, suspenders are symbols of “formal wear,” but they can be used in informal dress too. I believe we can alter formal dress and can create a new image. |
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| ── Hiroshi-san, you are good at that kind of thing. You always take established brands and remix them to fit your style. |
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| HF: |
Yeah, but I have started to think that maybe I’ve overdone that (smiles). |
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| HF: |
I don't mean I’ve spread myself too thin. There were a lot of ideas that I only helped on a little bit that I already felt like I had done before. Everyone tends to totally forget about the plans or I only helped a little bit anyway, so I shouldn’t really worry about it. I should probably just hit “reset.” But I don't think it's a good idea to push the reset button by myself, so I want somebody else to push it instead of me. |
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| HK: |
Yes, it's our duty to push the button. But if you have too many buttons, the task will be beyond our abilities. (laughs) |
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| ── From that point of view, the partner who tries to bring out Hiroshi-san's creativity must play an important role in the work. |
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| HK: |
For instance, it isn’t hard to reflect Hiroshi-san's creativity in the clothes even though Hiroshi-san never wore them himself.. |
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| ── How will you try to let customers know about UNIFORM EXPERIMENT? Can you give me an idea what kind of positioning you want to establish? Do you have a clear vision regarding the brand? |
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| HF: |
Well, not yet. Everything is an “experiment” - even that. |
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| ── You mean, you used the word “experiment” for the brand name, because the brand's existence itself is experimental too? |
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| HK: |
Yes, I think so. The market and price zone are also experimental, and there's a possibility that we will change the sales policy, etc. in near future too. |
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| HF: |
Well, let’s plan a new trip somewhere to think about the future. (laughs.) |
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Text:Tetsuya Suzuki
Photo:Shoichi Kajino
Translation by Mayumi Horiguchi
Thanks; W. David Marx (http://neojaponisme.com/) |
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