PROFILE
. Born in 1981. After working as a vintage clothing sales and buying manager at "Jumpin' Jap Flash," he became a store manager at "Lift," where he mainly bought domestic brands. 2007 he became a designer at "Keat. . He has been into running since last year.
PROFILE
. Born in 1985. After working in sales and press for "Factotum," he established his own showroom, "Teenie Ranch," last July. . He is also involved in PR activities for "Keat.
Twelve years have passed without changing the basic stance of the company.
. First of all, please tell us about your relationship.
Takeda:. I think it was about a year and a half ago that I first met Kudose-kun. Our conversation grew out of our former friendship, and I asked him to do PR for "Keat" for the past two seasons.
Kudose:Of course, I knew about Keat, and I had heard a lot about you through mutual friends. I was also interested in working with him when I decided to start my own press.
It has been 12 years since the brand was launched. What was the impetus behind the launch of "Keeto"?
Takeda:I joined the company in 2007 and was immediately entrusted with some of the design work, and the following year I became the director. I have managed to get to this point by working almost exclusively on my own, not only in design, but also in deciding on fabrics, and in the sales department.
If you had to describe it, what kind of brand would you say Keat is?
Takeda:. First of all, it is basic. We are conscious of creating a minimalist appearance by omitting superfluous decorations. Another key point is the pursuit of materials that feel "comfortable" to the wearer. We work with some of the best fabric mills in Japan to create original fabrics.
. So you are trying to make clothes with the wearer's sense of style first and foremost in mind.
Takeda:. Yes, we do. . We then give the brand color by adding features to the parts and weaving in seasonal themes.
A: Did you have an intention in not appearing in the media until now?
Takeda:. I don't think of the brand itself as something too grandiose. I even decided to participate in this project after Kudose suggested that it was important for the designer to be in the forefront of the project. I decided to appear in the show simply because there were not that many offers (laughs).
Kudose:It has been a year and a half since I took charge of the press, and I would have liked Mr. Takeda to step forward more, but he is a very humble person.... But in this day and age, it is very important to express one's individuality, and I think it is meaningful for designers to do so. I proposed this idea because I wanted customers to know the backbone of "Keeto.
. The change in the staff who create the look starting with the Fall-Winter '19 season was also important at this point in time, as the brand was looking for a change.
Takeda:Yes, I agree. It has been 12 years since the brand was launched, but there has been almost no change in the staff.... Until now, I had been working with a team of people my own age or older, but I wanted to see what the younger generation could do, so I called on them. With Kudose's help, I worked on the look with attractive creators such as stylist Kenichi Hiramoto and photographer Riki Yamada.
Kudose:While looking back through the archives to get a new sense of the history of "Keat," Mr. Takeda himself has grown older, and I felt that a more mature and sophisticated creation was needed, so I proposed a change in the staff. While respecting the worldview created by the creators who had been involved in the past, we decided to change the impression of the brand with the power of the new staff.
What did you think of the finished look?
Takeda:Hiramoto's streetwise style and Yamada's dignified and powerful nuance coexist, and I was surprised by the chemical reaction between the two talents. I think the result is a slightly mature look that retains the essence of the younger generation, but also reveals the life-size figure of our generation.
A: You started women's wear in the Fall-Winter 2007 season, didn't you? What was the impetus for this?
Takeda:I think it would be different if it were completely women's wear, but many people had been saying that the size and silhouette of "Keet" could actually be worn by unisex people, so I started making women's items with the idea of taking advantage of that.
