Kohei Ohkita's new vision opened up by taking a step back.
VINYL ARCHIVE, a brand that is often referred to as "something that is not so common," has once again collaborated with Reebok Classic, this time for the first time since February 2018. Moreover, it has been decided that the new model will be available globally as well. In recent years, VINAL ARCHIVE has collaborated with a number of international brands, including Marmot and Keen. This is a larger approach than has been possible in the past with the "Vinyl Archive. Why are they actively collaborating now, 10 years after the brand's establishment? We interviewed the designer, Kohei Ohkita, to find out the truth.
In the past few seasons, we have been collaborating more and more with global brands.
Great North JapanI started out by wanting to try collaboration on my own. But when I started, I realized that people were involved in areas that I could not handle on my own (laughs). I realized that my previous approach of creating what I liked would not work.
It's not really how we sell our products, but I started to really think about how this brand would be perceived by people other than the customers who have been buying "Vinyl Archive" until now.
I also learned of the high hurdles involved in a small brand like ours working with a large manufacturer. I also had a momentary flash of thinking that it would be unfair to simply make only what I wanted.
When you say cheating, do you mean for both the collaborating partners and the customers?
Great North JapanThat's what I mean. If I am able to work with a global manufacturer, I think it is my role to make things so that more people will know about them. But in the end, I have only one brain, so it comes down to a balance of color and personality.
In this collaboration with Reebok Classic, we are proposing coloring and creating looks to visually showcase our worldview, but I was thinking about how I could create a new sense of discomfort while appealing to myself.
For example, the Marmot down, which is a joint project with Beauty & Youth, we were conscious of the customers who visit Beauty & Youth stores.
By jointly, do you mean that you hold a pop-up each time?
Great North JapanNo, it's a lot issue. Even the minimum quantity is too much for a small brand like ours. That's where Beauty & Youth came in to support us in terms of sales.
I was grateful for that, but on the other hand, I could not be responsible if the product did not sell. If we were going to do this, we had to make something that would sell at Beauty & Youth. I wanted to convince people who are not familiar with the Vinyl Archive. This will lead to the satisfaction of our collaboration partners.
In other words, I realized that there is a wide range of advantages and disadvantages to doing a large collaboration. But if we don't dare to do it, people won't know about it, and we want people to know our name, or the mass of people.
I was wondering what kind of things "Vinyl Archive" is doing. Until now, I have been a bit skeptical, not that I don't want people to know about it, but I have always had a bit of a tendency to be that way. It was like a weird escape or contradiction, but I think I've gotten over it by doing this collaboration.
Is it because people other than your existing customers will see it?
Great North JapanThey're going to strip you naked. And if it didn't work, it wouldn't work. I knew I didn't have a name, my brand. So how would I get people to know about it? It was a great learning experience for me. I knew that just making and selling products was no longer enough, but I was acutely aware of it.
So the prototype (collaboration) to gain recognition from a wider audience conversely became an opportunity to reevaluate what you have cultivated.
Great North JapanI am of course satisfied and grateful for all the customers I have had so far. But rather than stop, I'd like to let others know about it and see it. But I don't want to oversaturate them. If I go that far, I don't think I will be able to control it.
However, it is better to be known than not to be known at all. The factories and fabric makers that make the clothes for the Vinyl Archive cannot do their work unless they are able to produce in large quantities. Local dealers also have a limit to how much work they can do with only their current customers.
We hold exhibitions at our wholesale customers in Miyazaki each time, and when the lineup of visitors changes, there is a part of me that feels relieved. It also requires a bit of a meekness. I feel that if I wait, the show will be over.
I realized this when I was at my previous company. The economy was booming at the time, and I was so excited that I didn't take any action, thinking I was in a good place. I was a bit taken back by it. It was not that I was intentionally hiding things, but I made it difficult.
There was a tendency to think that advertising was a bad thing. I knew that I had failed because of that. After starting "Vinyl Archive" on my own, I began to see more and more of the people involved, and I began to think about what these people were doing for a living, and what this magazine was doing for a living.
You have become more aware of the people involved.
Great North JapanYes, it is. Collaboration is the culmination of such things, isn't it? There are a lot of people in the cc's in the e-mail exchanges (laughs). But what's interesting is that when you do all that work, you start to see the joys of selling something, such as how you should advertise it, what colors you should use, and of course you want to put your own brand name on it.
What you are doing with "SALT & PEPPER" and "Vinyl Archive" by itself (inline) is also different. Only in terms of collaborations and efforts with collaboration partners, we are not in the same headspace.
When I raised my hand, I was surprised to find that I couldn't do anything.
I see. But you want people to experience the world of the "Vinyl Archive" through this exhibition, don't you?
Great North JapanMaybe that's the only place where the last, old-fashioned part of the company is still there. Besides, I wonder if it is more interesting for the customers. I think it is more interesting for the customers.
That's so many people involved with the brand, so many people who are buying from us! That's a lot of thoughts, isn't it?
Great North JapanYes, there is. Maybe that is the beautiful part. At first I was only thinking about myself, but that's impossible.
Has collaborating with other companies changed the way you think about creating inline items for the so-called "vinyl archives"?
Great North JapanIt's inevitably going to change. I have become very concerned about quality. I can't just say, "I bought good fabrics from a good fabric store and sewed them at a factory that sews clothes for a world-famous brand. I thought I was just doing what I thought I was doing.
When I began to think that as long as customers are paying money to buy something, the better the better is the least I can do, that's how I came to see it. For better or for worse, pursuing too much can lead to ruthlessness, but the trial-and-error aspect of it has become clearer to me than before.
He said he started to pursue quality more.
Great North JapanYes, it is. To do so, we couldn't just keep doing what we are doing. Fabrics and yarns had to be held back more quickly, and sometimes more negotiation was needed to raise the quality of another factory, and I began to think that was part of manufacturing.
Before, I would draw a sketch with a somewhat fuzzy feeling and just say, "We are using good fabrics and good factories! But as I learned about other companies' craftsmanship, I realized that this was not enough.
I see. As I thought, there has been quite a big change, hasn't there?
Great North JapanThere was. Maybe if we hadn't done the collaboration, I would have been at a loss (laughs).
How did you envision the future of the so-called "vinyl archive"?
Great North JapanBefore the collaboration, I hadn't really decided what I wanted to do. To be honest, I had not decided whether I would increase the number of stores that carried our products, or whether I would open my own store.
You have the option of selling your brand to a larger company.
Great North JapanSuch thoughts sometimes cross my mind, but I am also aware that it is not such a brand (laughs). (Laughs.) I thought I could think in that way, but when I tried to imagine it in real life, I realized that it would be absolutely impossible. I am still very attached to the "Vinyl Archive" brand.
But I'm over 40 years old, I've made it this far, and considering how long I can stay as a clothing designer, I'm sure I'll be out of sync in the future... So maybe I was in a hurry when I decided to do the collaboration. Either way, I had to let more people know about it. But when I raised my hand, I was surprised to find that I couldn't do anything.
I thought I had been building up for 10 years.
Great North JapanWhat? Is this how I am? There was something like that. I am glad I was stripped naked.
I've been thinking about what is unique to the "vinyl archive.
When you think about it, this 2018 was a major milestone for both Vinyl Archive and Kohei Ohkita.
Great North JapanYes, I agree. Recently, there has even been talk of a 2020 project, and when you get to that point, it's no longer about trends. There is no color chart. That's what makes it interesting.
Also, in terms of this collaboration, I am looking forward to seeing how it is received overseas. Actually, I had never thought about expanding overseas. I felt that it would be impossible unless I could sell my name properly in Japan.
It is very gratifying to be able to do so at a time like this, and through a product that transcends the nationality of sneakers.
I believe that recognition in Japan is more than sufficient.
Great North JapanWell, but it's hard work. We don't have enough manpower. If we want to expand the size of the company, we will have to change the environment of the current office.
I had never built a team before. Recently, more and more people are helping me, and I realized that it's so much easier. It's almost there. From the location to everything else. If you don't make a place for them, there is no way to do it.
It would be a big boost to collaborate with "Reebok Classic" on a global scale, wouldn't it? Especially in England, where Reebok has its roots.
Great North JapanThere is a branch of a jiu-jitsu dojo that I go to in London, so I can get a chance to go there (laughs).
Is it also significant that you started Jiu-Jitsu? I was at a desk all the time, but I started to move my body.
Great North JapanThat's right. Jiu-jitsu uses your head a lot, too. Also, I learn a lot from listening to the management skills of Mr. Ishikawa, the president of Carpe Diem, the dojo I attend.
The essentials of business are tackled honestly and head-on, and are very easy to understand. I go to the dojo without thinking about it, but when I look at the situation from a bird's eye view, I am convinced once again. By the way, Carpe Diem is sponsored by Reebok. It is an unexpected connection.
Do you mean to make it easier to understand?
Great North JapanI think it is necessary to aim for the top, or to have something that can be quickly and easily associated with something, whether good or bad. That is not everything, but it is very difficult. I think I am also running away from it.
Some people might think that being easy to understand is uncool. It might be misinterpreted as trying to accommodate the customer or flatter them, but I think it's not. But I think it's different. I think it's difficult.
We need capital to do what we love, and we want to strengthen the company. That is why we are starting various projects, and we are thinking about what is the "Vinyl Archive" style that the other side is looking for.
Certainly, in collaborating with others, you may wonder what is unique to your brand. I think I would think about what makes my brand unique.
Great North JapanYes. I value visuals, but I wanted more than just visuals; I wanted a core as a designer. People outside the company don't often ask for work from people or brands like Vinyl Archive, whose name is somehow mentioned and whose products are somehow selling well.
I think I need more reassurance. As a designer, I would like to design for large brands.
You said you didn't have a vision for the future of the vinyl archive, but do you have one now?
Great North JapanI can see up to about 2020, but not beyond that. I have always wanted to create an environment where I can show what I am doing now in a wider place. I don't know if that means staying a designer or becoming more like a selector. I feel that I am becoming able to take a step back and look at brands.
It is a steady process, isn't it? But this collaboration with Reebok Classic could be a chance to make a breakthrough.
Great North JapanIt's also the part I didn't intend to want (laughs). I think the item is definitely well finished, but it's not flashy enough to make a breakthrough (laughs). But in many ways, it will be an opportunity to be widely known, and because of this kind of thing, we can look one year into the future.
