LEON, a luxury practical magazine, was started with the ideal male image of glossy Italian dandy men, and has created numerous trends to date. Hiroshi Ishii is the deputy editor-in-chief of Big Yank, which has its roots in American workwear heritage, and LEON, which specializes in Italian-based fashion. With the keyword "smoking culture" as a hook, these two men with different origins have successfully crossed over.

Now Italy's mainstream is becoming an American mix.

-First of all, please tell us about your encounter with Big Yank.

stoneI had originally experienced all aspects of fashion, from vintage clothing to mode to Classico Italia, when I was a student, but I had the impression that "Big Yank" was something you could find at Santa Monica in Harajuku when I was a student wearing vintage clothing. It wasn't until after I became an editor that I began to see Big Yank in the context of clothing history. For this project, I was shown tags from various periods, and I thought to myself, "What is it? I realized that the coveralls I bought back then were "Big Yank.

-It was unexpected that the editor of "Leon," which is based on Italian fashion, and "Big Yank," which is American casual, collaborated with each other.

stoneIt is true that the starting point of "Leon" is Italy, but Italian fashion today is no longer exclusively Italian. It is a mixture of various elements, such as wearing a soft Italian tailored suit with a Vans or denim shirt, or a Sartoria chesterfield coat over a G-jumpsuit. There was a man named Alessandro Scalzi, who was often snapped in Scott Schuman's "The Sartorialist," who wore only John Lobb shoes and custom-made suits, but since becoming an old man, he has become more and more into American mixed styles. He has become more and more into American mixed styles since he became an old man. He has made "Vans" popular in Italy, and now the mainstream of Italian casual wear is becoming an American mix.

-It is true that Italian souching and American workwear have something in common in terms of masculinity.

stoneWhen they started to make products and appear in the mainstream, they became aware that it was okay to wear suits with All-Stars, which we thought were cool. I think that's what happened. Italians also love American casual wear like "Big Yank," and they think it's cool to add shirts like this to their style.

While utilizing the cigarette pockets of "Big Yank," the smoking culture of "Leon" is incorporated into a single shirt.

-The safari jacket is an Italian interpretation of "Big Yank", isn't it?

stone： Actually, we have not really thought about making the items Italian-inspired. When I looked at the lineup of designers participating in this project, there are some of the world's leading authorities on vintage wear, and some of the top creators in fashion design are also participating. The reason why they invited me to participate in this project was because they wanted me to weave a story rather than from a fashion designer's point of view. When I thought about what could be the hook for spinning a story, I realized that BIG YANK had developed cigarette pockets, and that Léon prides itself on spreading cigar culture, so I wanted to incorporate smoking culture, from cigarettes to cigars to electronic cigarettes, into a single shirt. I wanted to incorporate all aspects of smoking culture, from cigarettes to cigars to e-cigarettes, into a single shirt. After repeated discussions with various staff members, I think we ended up with a shape that is linked to the current Italian fashion trend.

-The pockets have a playful feel, such as a cigar pocket disguised as a pen pocket, a pocket for iQOS, and an etiquette pocket for frisks, while of course retaining the cigarette pocket characteristic of "Big Yank.

stoneIt is also possible to put a condom in the etiquette pocket on the back of the chest (laugh). We make them specifically for this purpose, but of course you are free to use them in any way you like. But men are creatures that like to hear the words "for 00" or "function," aren't they? We took that into consideration.

It feels like you are creating a page. It's completely from the editor's point of view.

-Was the decision to use a safari shirt also made with the trend in mind?

stoneI have a feeling that next season's trend will be a relaxed, laid-back style with a sense of openness. I also wanted to do an open-collared shirt, which Leon has been pushing since last year or so. In addition to the standard colors of safari shirts, such as khaki and ivory, we have also included a rattan color in the lineup because we knew that no one else would use these colors in this project. I felt like I wrote a rough draft so that I could realize various elements at the same time, such as "making the theme of smoking culture," "a shirt worn like a jacket," and "an open collar with a sense of freedom," and as a result, I ended up with a short-sleeved safari shirt. I thought it would be a better accent for "The Third Edition" as a whole. It was more like making a page than making a garment, and it was completely made from an editor's point of view.

-What kind of coordination do you think this shirt should have?

stoneThis shirt is designed to be worn over a white T or tank top and worn like a jacket with one or two sleeves rolled up in the middle. The shirt is intended to be worn with slacks or dress shoes, with the edge up and the sleeves rolled up twice. For this reason, the top button position is slightly higher and the sleeve length has been adjusted. Actually, Italians never wore short-sleeved shirts until now. They used to think it was cool to wear long-sleeved shirts with their arms rolled up, even in summer. It was only after they started wearing short-sleeved shirts in the past four to five years that they began to mix American casual wear.

A shirt that can be worn over a T-shirt as a jacket.

-It is positioned as a cool top outerwear that can be worn in place of a jacket in summer.

stoneOlder men in their 40s or older are not able to wear just a T-shirt. I would like them to wear one over a T-shirt when they feel embarrassed about their nipples standing out or when they feel that their stomachs are getting loose, but they can't work out again. If you want to wear it as a shirt jacket, a shirt with pockets like this one is easier to wear than one that is plain and smooth with no pockets on the front. We are a magazine that insists on the value of being "irresistible," so we wanted something shiny, and we thought it would be better to have a sense of cinched in rather than a boxy silhouette, so we had side adjustments made as well.

-If I wear this shirt, will I attract women?

stoneI don't think there are that many women who are familiar with cigars: it would be a good excuse to invite them to a cigar bar (laughs). But let's not talk about the clothes. Men who talk too much about cigars are not popular with women.