NEXUS VII.'s 15th Anniversary. A passionate talk session that goes behind the scenes of the gems of collaboration items. CASE1_Daisuke Ohana
Nexus Seven, which celebrated its 15th anniversary in 2016, has been creating various anniversary items this season, as previously reported in Finamu. We will start a series of interviews with Tomohiro Konno, designer of "Nexus Seven," and the creators of each item, who will reveal the backgrounds and behind-the-scenes stories behind the creation of these collaborative items. In this first installment of the series, we present a session with Daisuke Ohana and Tomonori Izumida of "N. Hollywood.
Left: Tomohiro Konno, designer of "Nexus Seven", Middle: Daisuke Ohana, designer of "N. Hollywood", Right: Tomonori Izumida, planner of "N. Hollywood
How long have you known each other?
Konno:At first, I know Izumida-kun before Ohana-kun.
Izumida:Yes, it is.
Oka:We were talking about that just the other day.
Konno:I think it was around the time when Izumida-kun started working at his previous company, maybe from 2002 to 2003.
Izumida:Yoshinori Okada, an actor, was a mutual friend of all of us, and we hung out together.
Konno:He worked part-time at a club where I used to hang out when I was a teenager, and we began to see each other from time to time in the same community. On the other hand, at that time, Mr. Ohana was just someone in a magazine to me (laughs).
Oka:No, no. But you came to our exhibition once.
Konno:That may be so. But at that time, I only bailed. Later, at a vintage clothing event in Ikebukuro, Izumida-kun properly introduced us.
Oka:Ikebukuro! You did it, come to think of it.
Izumida:Eight years ago, that is.
Konno:I remember talking a little about vintage clothing at that time as well.
Oka:Yes, that's right. Well, it seems like it started with the vintage clothing connection.
When you two meet, do you talk a lot about vintage clothing?
Oka:Yes, we do. We often talk about military stuff, since we both like that kind of stuff. I was also impressed by Konno's world when he opened a store near our office (Sendagaya) about three years ago, and I was able to see his world again.
What do you mean?
Oka:I simply don't usually pick up such geeky stuff. And they are inexpensive. You can usually tell a person's vintage clothing style by what he or she selects. You can tell that he/she is a digger. My sense of vintage clothing and Konno's sense of vintage clothing are all connected in terms of "dots," but the "angle" is different. It is interesting that we look at the same thing but in different directions.
Konno:The seniors of Mr. Ohana's generation treated me very well in my hometown, and I was there for quite a long time, so perhaps what I have seen is similar. However, Mr. Ohana was beyond my imagination. I was surprised that he would look that hard. He pays attention to things you don't see in a regular used clothing store.
Oka:The goal of a vintage clothing store is to sell. If vintage clothing is not a business, you can pick up items that are more hobby oriented.
So it seems unlikely that we have the same things in common.
Oka:That's right. I have this one, Konno, you don't have that one, I don't have that one, Konno, you have that one, and so on. It's like a mysterious back-to-back (laughs). (Laughs.) Sometimes it is like a back-to-back of knowledge.
Konno:In general, there are very few rare military items, so there are many stories circulating about who bought them.
Oka:I can't help but buy them at thrift stores. Konno, you also do auctions, don't you?
Konno:I do this from time to time. I'm a bit worried when buying on "eBay" though, so I message the seller first, and when I'm in the US, we meet at the right time and negotiate while looking at the actual item. Anyway, military stuff is not that good.
I see.
Konno:It depends on the era, though. I like myself from the 40's to about the Vietnam War.
Oka:I'm the same way. I almost got into World War I, but then I decided I didn't need it (laughs). The period between World War II and the Vietnam War is very colorful. There was a lot of wasteful production. Nowadays, there are more and more details with no waste, which is also a lot of things to look at.
I could go on and on, but I guess it's time to tell you how we came to create this product.
Konno:First of all, we had assumed that our contract with GORE-TEX® would expire at the end of this year. Since there have been some changes, such as the production background being moved overseas, we decided to make this the last time we would work with GORE-TEX®. When I thought about what to make for the last time, I originally wanted to use GORE-TEX® in a camouflage mountain parka for the U.S. military called "ECWCS (Extended Cold Weather Clothing System)," so I decided to use GORE-TEX® in this project as well. So, I wanted to use "Gore-Tex" in this project as well. I immediately thought of "N. Hollywood" as a brand that I like because of their military products.
I see.
Konno:We immediately contacted Gore-Tex and asked them how we could work with them. I asked them what kind of approach would be feasible.
Oka:We don't do business with Gore-Tex.
Konno:I was told that if it was a project that Mr. Ohana was working on as an individual, rather than as "N. Hollywood," I could name it as an invited designer.
So you named this time "DAISUKE OBANA".
Konno:From there, the three of us came up with a variety of ideas, which we gradually worked out together.
Oka:Gore-Tex" has the image of being the latest material in history, for those who go through vintage clothing anyway. In fact, it is still evolving. For example, they have started to produce a new material called "Miligore" (a common name for gore made for the U.S. military), which does not burn but carbonizes. Also, there is one thing I was careful to keep in mind when working on this project.
What is it?
Oka:If we only provided our military specs, it would give the impression that Imano-kun was asking us to do OEM work for him, which I thought was not right.
Izumida:This is even more so since we also have a military label called "N. HOOLYWOOD EXCHANGE SERVICE.
Oka:I thought it would be nice to have a flirtation with the idea of collaborating in a personal sense, just as a celebration of our 15th anniversary. So, I thought it would be great to create something interesting by using my own personal items as a base and breaking them down. I had the impression that "Nexus Seven" does not make many items of the length of this coat, so I thought it would be interesting to pick up items of the length of a half-coat from my personal belongings and brush up on them. Konno, have you ever used this fabric before?
Konno:No, I used it for the first time. This time, I had a goal of making a coat using "Gore-Tex," so I decided to go with that. Mr. Izumida suggested that I widen the volume, or rather the kick (the overall hem circumference), a little to give it a drape and movement, so I chose the fabric with that in mind. I think it is called "micro rip," a fine ripstop fabric. We have had ripstop fabrics in the military before, but this one is even finer and has a more modern feel. It also has a little stretch.
Oka:Gore-Tex" is too hard to wear for town use, depending on the item, but you have made great improvements in that area. Looking back on it now, I think that unlike our own line, we were able to create products with a sense of fun, in a good way. When we do things at N. HOOLYWOOD EXCHANGE SERVICE, we inevitably have to think of this detail in relation to the specifications of that period. I really thought about how to create something that was unique to Konno-san, while transcending such rules and regulations.
Izumida:However, of course, we also worked on the details. I asked Konno to find parts for the accessories and reproduce them as close to those on the real thing as possible. I also suggested new Velcro tapes that we use. We also provided the silhouettes and patterns.
I see. It's really a mixture of both parties' intentions.
Oka:I am the type of person who likes to fix things one by one, but this time I left it to Konno and Izumida to a certain extent, since they have known each other longer than me, and since they are both type 1, I thought that if we were going to make it like friends, we should go as far as we could and I would just provide samples and supervise the rest. I would provide samples and supervise the rest. That is why I asked Izumida to join us today.
Izumida:We have a lot of things in common that we both like and share, so it wasn't difficult. I think I was able to come up with something cool.
By the way, did N. Hollywood ever decide to make something using Gore-Tex?
Izumida:I was even introduced to the person in charge of "Gore-Tex" by Konno. But in the end, we didn't land on the right spot.
Oka:Even if we had had a relationship with Gore-Tex, we might not have been able to bring it to this point. I think it is because of Konno's past relationship and trust, after all.
Did you make several samples this time?
Konno:Three times. Gore-Tex" can only be sewn in certified factories. You may have heard this story often, but inspections are really strict. If there is even the slightest chance of water getting in, the sewing method may be changed. So I had to fix those parts.
By the way, these are Mr. Ohana's personal belongings, the originals for this project.
Oka:I used two [Patagonia].
Izumida:The logo on the right is not on the front: "Mars (M.A.R.S = Military Advanced Regulator System)".
Oka:How many levels is this?
Konno:Level 6.
Oka:Konno, are you someone who can "see" Patagonia?
Konno:No, I am not that familiar with it. This one has snow with ®, so it would be a model from the late 80's to about 1994.... I have a different color myself, but this jacket is a masterpiece.
Izumida:Was the coat up to size L this time?
Konno:It is available in sizes up to XL.
-There are two colors, black and olive, which would you prefer to wear?
Izumida:I'm olive. I like this color.
Oka:We also make various kinds of black. This coloring is unique to you, Konno. It's the same with the "Pro Leather" by Converse that I'm wearing today.
Konno:The olive color has coyote in it, and the olive drab color has a soft greenish tinge to it. The fabric we used this time had a modern feel, and the Velcro tape was also new, so we wanted to achieve a color that felt somewhat "modern". At first, coyote and grayish colors were on the list, but I felt that gray and black didn't quite convey the military feel, and if we were going to keep black, I wanted to add some greenish tones, so this color was chosen.
Are they basically sold at stores that carry Nexus Seven?
Konno:That's right. Also, the recently renovated Shinjuku store of "Ciao Panic" has also started to offer a little bit of navy as a color-specific order.
How much do you sell this coat for?
Konno:¥85,000() without tax.
Oka:How much does it usually cost to make using "Gore-Tex"?
Konno:Usually, I spend 60,000 to 70,000, but this time, because of the length of the garment and the amount of fabric required to make it, it cost me about that much.
Oka:But when I heard the price now, it seemed cheap.
Konno:The fabric itself is also quite expensive.
Oka:Of course we test the fabrics, but we also test all the sewing regulations and so on. It's a lot of work, isn't it?
Konno:That's right. As I mentioned earlier, GORE-TEX® has a "rain test," in which one piece of clothing is tested in its original condition, and if there is even a trace of water entering, the entire process has to be redone. By the way, this test is not open to the public. Well, it's tough.
Oka:It's no longer clothing.
Konno:Indeed. Perhaps it would be more accurate to say gears.
Oka:Only "Gore-Tex" is that thorough.
Izumida:Outdoor brands do their own testing, don't they? Mountain Hardwear, which we work with, is no exception.
Konno:Everyone is making tremendous corporate efforts to surpass Gore-Tex, but Gore-Tex is still great.
When did you start making products using "GORE-TEX®"?
Konno:We were able to sign the contract in the first year after starting the brand, so that was about 14-15 years ago. At first, I kept sending handwritten love letters to the person in charge of "Gore-Tex" (laughs).
Izumida:So it was.
Konno:So, when the person in charge of the project changed, it seemed that he shared himself with me when he took over the project (laughs). (Laughs) At that time, another brand had just signed a contract, and the person from that brand knew who I was. He advised me and we were finally able to talk.
You must have gone through a lot of hardship.
Konno:In my case, I did not have a title like former XX, so at first no one would take me on. As I asked my old friends to wear and expand my skills, I gradually became able to do many things. Among them, I wanted to do "Gore-Tex" no matter how many years it would take. As Ohana-kun mentioned earlier, many people who go through used clothing feel that "Gore-Tex" itself has a special appeal. Of course, I was one of them.
In that sense, this coat has become a memorable item.
Konno:Yes, I think so. There have been many collaborations in the past, but I think this was the one that gave me the most ideas. Usually, we arrange a piece based on something that already exists, but for this project, we had the original material prepared for the 15th anniversary. It was a really fun project, and it felt like we were creating while having a session.
Izumida:And it is important that I want to wear it myself. I really want one too.
The more I hear about it, the more it sounds like an ideal collaboration.
Konno:As I mentioned earlier, even though we deal with the same military items, the angle is a little different between us and N. Hollywood, so I learn a lot every time. That is why I always look forward to N. Hollywood's exhibitions.
Izumida:I am glad.
Konno:The fact that even when we look at the same material, the way of output is different was a major factor that made me want to ask for your help this time. Even if it is an exhibition, I feel comfortable going to see it from a different angle. If the way of output is close to my own, I get imprinted. So recently, I have been trying to avoid going to exhibitions where that might happen. In the midst of all this, I am always surprised by what N. Hollywood creates.
