Motoshi "Poggy" Ogi, director of United Arrows and Sons, a style icon with many fans around the world, has launched a capsule collection with Levi's® Made and Crafted®. The collaboration between Mr. Ogi personally and the world's number one denim brand, Levi's®, rather than a brand or a store, is truly an achievement. Mr. Ogi was given a big hint for this project by Fujihara Yutaka, the director of "Berberzine," who is well known to us. In this article, we will compare the vintage pieces brought by Mr. Fujiwara to unravel the particularities and charms of this capsule collection.
(Left) Motoshi "POGGY" Ogi / Director, UNITED ARROWS AND SONS
Born in 1976 . Born in Sapporo, Hokkaido, Japan. POGGY has been named one of the most important figures in the world of men's fashion, and is now supported both in Japan and abroad. As the director of "UNITED ARROWS & SONS," he travels the world, attracting attention for his style that freely moves between dress and street wear.
(Right) Fujihara Yutaka / Director, Berberzine
Born in 1977 . . Born in Kochi Prefecture. After graduating from high school, he moved to Tokyo and joined a vintage store "Berber Gin" in Harajuku, Tokyo. . In recent years, he has been active as a vintage denim advisor, collaborating with various companies. Recently, he opened his own channel "Vintage Denim Advisor Fujihara Yutaka CH" on YouTube, which has become a hot topic.
Pogie's first reissue of McQueen pants, a hidden Levi's® classic!
First of all, how did you come to collaborate with "Levi's® Made and Crafted®"?
small treeI was approached by Levi's® to collaborate with a buyer who has an influencer-like element. The first collaboration was with Josh Peskowitz of the LA boutique Magasin, and I was asked to represent Asia in the second collaboration. Going further back, when I was invited to do an exhibition called "Poggy's World" at an overseas trade show in 2015, Darren Romanelli of "Dr. Romanelli" introduced me to someone from the home country of "Levi's®.
It is interesting that you are collaborating not with "United Arrows" but with Mr. Ogi personally this time. . It is exhilarating to think that "Pogie the Man" items will be lined up all over the world.
small tree. Of course, we are backed by "UNITED ARROWS". This project is being handled not only by "United Arrows and Sons" and directly managed "Levi's®" stores around the world, but also by stores such as "Isetan" in Japan and "Fred Segal" overseas. We are truly grateful.
Once this collaboration was decided, how did you conceive of the project?
small treeFirst of all, I contacted Mr. Yutaka of "Berberzine" and Mr. Konno of "NEXUSⅦ." before anyone else, and we decided to go out for a drink (laughs). Before going to Levi's® headquarters to talk about the project, I wanted to get some kind of direction. What items from the vast archives of "Levi's®" would be interesting to pick up and arrange in what way? To get an idea, I wanted to get an opinion from a vintage specialist.
Fujiwara:I got a call from Mr. Ogi, and the three of us got together in a private Italian room on the second floor of "Berberzine" (laughs).
. The combination of Mr. Ogi and Mr. Fujiwara is somewhat surprising.
Fujiwara:Mr. Ogi has been a great help to me for a long time, and about 15 years ago, he reissued the "606" in a triple collaboration with "Levi's®," "United Arrows Blue Label Store," and "Berberzine.
small treeYes, I happened to meet Yutaka at a tavern in Harajuku, and he was wearing a "606," and I asked him what it was. . It started as a chat again, but this time it was at this drinking session that the core of this collection was born. (Laughs). Again, it started as small talk, but during this drinking session, he told me about the "McQueen pants," which would be the core of this collection. I had known of their existence for a long time, but I don't think I would have remembered them if Yutaka hadn't told me.
These belt loopless pants were released in the 1960s. Steve McQueen wore these pants, and they are still a hidden masterpiece of Levi's®. This is the original.
Fujiwara:I know Mr. Ogi's taste, and they fit his image perfectly. They are commonly called "McQueen pants" because Steve McQueen wore them, but the official part number is "6614B. This model was introduced in the 1960s, and has no belt loops and a slim-fitting silhouette. At the time of the rise of Ivy fashion in the 1960s, these pants were also designed with a fashion approach.
small treeThe original McQueen pants are made of cotton satin and corduroy, so we thought it would be interesting to have them in denim . So I borrowed some of Yutaka's personal belongings and immediately took them to the Levi's® headquarters in , where I found out that McQueen had been wearing these pants. The staff at the headquarters didn't know that McQueen used to wear these pants, and they were very interested in them.
McQueen pants with a tight and beautiful silhouette, specially ordered by Pogey the Man. The fabric has been boldly rearranged by replacing it with denim. The belt loops have been newly added to make them much easier to wear. mcqueen pant ¥22,000+tax
Surprisingly, McQueen pants have never been reissued by "Levi's®" before. The arrangement into denim is also brilliant.
small tree. I never thought of faithfully reprinting vintage pieces. Pioneers have made wonderful products, and there are many people like Yutaka who are very picky (laughs). . I have always liked denim, and I wear it a lot on a regular basis, so I decided to go with denim this time.
Fujiwara:By the way, this denim is from the White Oak factory in Cone Mills, isn't it? There was news this year that the White Oak factory is closing, but you didn't know that when you were planning this project?
small treeI had no idea about it at all. We had planned to use denim from the White Oak factory from the beginning, but when I heard about it later, I even rushed to contact the person in charge to ask him to somehow secure the fabric. That's how we were able to secure it just in time. So we were lucky to be able to use denim woven at the White Oak factory in Cone Mills for these McQueen pants.
A capsule collection by Poggy the Man that dares to focus on workwear.
How did you go about putting together the lineup for this collection of nine models?
small treeI took a hint from the conversations I had with Yutaka and Konno and created a few coordinated pieces in my mind, and then I fit the Levi's® archives into them. The collection focuses on workwear such as coveralls and overalls.
This sack coat was created based on a circa 1910s coverall. . It is available in two colors: denim woven at the Cone Mills' White Oak factory and a striking yellow. The golden buttons are also a nice accent. sack coat ¥45,000+TAX
The OVERALL ¥25,000+TAX is a rare overalls lineup for Levi's®, based on a model produced in the 1930s and designed with a moderately tight silhouette so that it can be worn under jackets as well.
Fujiwara:Work is often associated with other brands, but Mr. Ogi's sense of style in daring to pick up on that is amazing. Today, I also brought a pair of overalls from the 1920s, which is quite rare because Levi's® began to offer this type of workwear in the 1930s, and the number of such items declined dramatically. I'm surprised you spotted this place. Did you find these originals in the archive room at " Levi's®"?
Very rare overalls from " Levi's® " produced in the mid-1920s.
small treeYes, yes. Levi's® has a lot of great archives, doesn't it? I was afraid that I would end up looking at too many different things, so I asked him to show me the archives focusing on work.
Fujiwara:You are probably the first person in the Japanese apparel industry to enter the archive room at Levi's® headquarters, aren't you, Mr. Ogi? I'd like to go there someday, too. I really envy you.
small treeWhen I go to the archive room, it's really tightly stored, and just to get one vintage out, it takes about 5 minutes because I have to put on gloves and unpack it. So I felt bad asking them to show me a bunch of different numbers (laughs).
Fujiwara:The respect that Levi's® pays to its archives is amazing, isn't it? There is a "historian," a person in the position of an archaeologist, who not only examines the sewing, fabric, and other aspects of production, but also the historical background in which the items were created.
Although they are based on valuable vintage archives, the items from "Levi's® Made and Crafted®" x "Pogey the Man" all have a modern look. Why is that?
small tree. The details have been partially reproduced, but the size has been modified considerably. I wear a [Levi's®] Type III trucker jacket (557) as an inner layer for my jackets, so I made the armholes a little narrower so that the coveralls can be used as an inner layer, and I also made the overalls more neat and clean.
The overalls on the left from "Pogey the Man" are reinforced with canned stitching, while the model on the right, which was produced in the mid-1920s, is riveted.
Fujiwara:When I heard that you custom made the armholes of a vintage 557 narrower to wear as an inner layer, I thought, "That's a great idea! . Indeed, both the coveralls and overalls are slim. The vintage overalls I brought are almost the same as the ones Mr. Ogi used as the original, but you can see the difference when you compare the silhouettes. The ones I brought are from the mid-1920s with rivets for reinforcement, and the ones sampled by Mr. Ogi are kanuki, so they are probably from the 1930s.
small treeAlso, since this project will be sold all over the world, I wanted to make sure that it was made in Japan. . I wanted people to know the high quality of Japanese sewing techniques and fabrics. The McQueen pants are made of fabrics from Cone Mills, but the other items are made of Japanese fabrics.
Fujiwara:Are you also aiming for a denim fabric that doesn't have a very vintage feel overall?
small tree. I wanted to incorporate some street or 90's taste. . So I used blue tones, yellow stitching, and gold hardware as accents to give it a current street feel in my own way. The western shirts are oversized with drop shoulders.
This Western shirt takes a street-style approach with its big size and drop shoulders. The bright blue color is also impressive.
Fujiwara:In terms of Western shirts, the pocket flap called a sawtooth and the unique Western yoke on the back are unusual designs in the Levi's®" archives, aren't they? The sense of style in this area is quintessential.
The checked fabric is from the Shorthorn era. The impressive western yoke follows this period.
small tree. I simply like the design. . and I also like how I dropped in the yellow and turquoise blues that have become symbolic of this project. I thought it would be nice to wear this big size western shirt with McQueen pants and a B.B. cap.
Baseball cap with a patch attached to the front. The yellow pisname with the name "POGGY" on it adds a nice accent.
Fujiwara:This denim cap is also very Ogi's style. there was a Levi's® cap similar to this one in the 70's, but it has a slightly different nuance.
small treeThe original inspiration for this cap is actually a helmet (laughs). In the archive room of Levi's®, there was a helmet with denim and patches that was worn at the completion ceremony in the past. I wanted to make something like that, but I couldn't, so I decided to make a cap (laughs).
It really is a very typical collection, isn't it, Mr. Ogi? Do you have any plans for the future?
small treeNo, not at the moment . . For myself, however, I have taken care to make sure that the collaborative items can be worn for a long time. I think basic and tough is the essence of Levi's® . I would be happy if they can be used for a long time.
