Two Taxes and Seven by Seven. Reunion clothes, born from a coincidence of coincidences.

Honma: The first time was in San Francisco, wasn't it? At the time, there was a "go-getter" named Matsuda-kun, and he and I were traveling around L.A. together buying vintage clothing. We went to San Francisco as a part of that trip, and I was introduced to Junya at that time. You were living in a one-room apartment at the time, right?

Upstream: Yes, that's right. It was a one-bed, and for some reason you slept in the living room (laughs).

Honma: It was a shocking sight (laughs). There were piles and piles of old clothes. I asked him, "Where do you sleep?" He said, "In the living room. (Laughs.) Matsuda-kun didn't care about the situation and started picking out used clothes as if it were a matter of course. He was like a local dealer. I guess my first thought was, "I didn't know they were buying from a place like this.

Upstream: We also went to the "As Is Shop" together, didn't we? It's gone now.

Honma: It's not a thrift store, it's like a warehouse where all the donated stuff is collected. They sell everything for 25 cents on the dollar. It was a real treasure hunt. It was a place where the local poor gathered, and there were no Japanese there. I would pick out used clothes, and just go around every day looking for something like, "I found this! We had a lot of fun doing that every day. Junya was a student at that time, right?

Upstream: Yes, I know. I felt like I had some visa left to worry about.

Honma: When he came back, I had him help me with some work at my home. But he suddenly decided to quit. Since then, we had not seen each other for a long time.

Upstream: It's been about 20 years, right? During that time, I met Mr. Ohana of "N. Hollywood" at his party. And the other day, when Mr. Homma turned 50, I was invited to a party (organized by Mr. Nishino of "Rip Rap") where all the past assistants were present. That was the impetus for this project. That's how this item was born.

Upstream: Yes, I do. I have my own brand, and some of the items are remakes, so I go to the vintage clothing warehouse. I happened to come across a large number of USA-made work shirts, and the moment I found them, I was reminded of those shirts from "Tutacs. It was just the right time for me to meet Mr. Honma again, and I had the sense that many dots had been connected. The idea of "I'm The idea of "I'm not" is very stylish, isn't it?

Honma: I'm glad to hear you say that. But in my mind, that was an item I had completely forgotten about. It was like, "Oh, by the way, there it is."

Upstream: I'm not" was written in makie on a patch with the worker's name on it. I thought it was a nice touch.

Honma: I was about 20 years old when I went to the U.S. for the first time, and I loved "Red Cap" and "Dickies" work shirts at the time. I was wearing them on the plane, thinking of them as a fashion statement. I think it said "John" on it, but when I arrived in the U.S., the airport staff asked me, "Are you really John? I was asked by the airport staff, "Are you really John?

Upstream: (Laughter).

Honma: I was suddenly very embarrassed by that kind of thing. I decided to make a joke out of it, so I wrote "I'm not" in makkie. I wrote "I'm not" on a makie. At that time, I bought a lot of these work shirts, commercialized them, and sold them at "Mr. Hollywood.

Upstream: That's right. If you ask me, it's just a uniform.

Honma: In the 90s, it was popular among skaters to wear short sleeves over a long sleeve T-shirt, and when I was dressed like that, my mother told me, "You're wearing them in the wrong order! (Laughs.) It's a bit like that, isn't it?

Honma: Oh yeah, and if it has an elbow patch, they'll say, "Are you poor?" Like that (laughs). There are moments when you suddenly feel embarrassed when someone says something like that. It's an interpretation that overrides that, or rather, reverses it. I'm not. I'm not.

Honma: That's right. Fashion has become globalized, and there is almost no difference in sizing between Japan and other countries. It has gradually flattened out, and I am sure this is an idea that would never have occurred to me today.

Upstream: I really don't get it. Especially made in the USA. This one is probably from the 80s or 90s. I'm not" was embroidered on it. And it's chain-stitched. So it was all done by hand.

Upstream: I wasn't really in the mood for it, but I thought embroidery would be good this time, and Mr. Homma suggested that if we were going to do it, embroidery would be good.

Honma: These are usually printed or patched. I thought a chain would be the best way to remake it, and it would be fresh and new. When I mentioned this to Junya, he said he was in the same mood.

Upstream: Completely, yes. So I had that background myself, so it was a smooth process.

Honma: It was very fast until it was ready.