A person's character shows through their shoes.
—Mr. Kaji and Mr. Ebe, what kinds of shoes have caught your eye lately?
Kaji: Lately, I've started taking better care of my feet for my health. While appearance is important, I've also started placing more importance on comfort.
Ebe: In my case, there are some shoes I’d like to try, but I never end up doing it… I’ve been curious about chunky styles and stylized sneakers, and I’ve even tried them on, but I always end up realizing they just don’t work for me.
—I get the impression that both of you tend to wear simple sneakers.
Ebe: That might be true. It made me realize once again that, deep down, I just prefer things that are ordinary and anonymous. I do keep an eye on trends for work, but when it comes to doing it myself, I just can’t seem to get into it.
Kaji: In the end, I end up with a lot of things that don’t stand out, don’t I? I like finding shoes that no one else has worn yet and figuring out how to style them. I’ve always been in the habit of breaking in items that don’t make much of an impression and incorporating them into my own style.
—Even while eliminating symbolism, do you still feel a desire to make a statement, even if only on a small scale?
Kaji: I don’t really feel the need to make a statement with just a pair of shoes. When putting together an outfit with a top, bottoms, and shoes, I want to create harmony through that combination. But wearing the same thing every day is boring. In that sense, I think shoes are an item that can easily become a focal point.
Ebe: I feel the same way. It’s just that my criteria for thinking, “These shoes are nice,” aren’t exactly mainstream. I think shoes really reflect a person’s personality, but I’m not really comfortable with that. So I want to keep my personality from showing through as much as possible. I’ve been thinking about how I can do that.
Kaji: On the other hand, though, I also like to try to figure out a person’s personality just by looking at their shoes (laughs). So when someone is wearing interesting shoes, it really sparks my imagination. There’s a part of me that craves that kind of fantasy.
