![【 HOUYHNHNM special order bag special project] It seems easy, but it is difficult. Yuhi Ozaki pours his heart and soul into his special-order items.](https://www.houyhnhnm.jp/wp-content/uploads/2019/12/Brand_2400_1350_CC3-2.jpg)
PROFILE
Born in 1980. Born in Aichi Prefecture. After working as a buyer at a major select store, he was involved in the launch of numerous brands. In 2015, he launched Young and Olsen The Dry Goods Store, which is based on the concept of a small store run by Mr. Young and Ms. Olsen somewhere in the world. He has also worked as the design director of "Outdoor Products" and has created many special order items for his own brand.
It has been haunting my life for some reason or another (laughs).
Mr. Ozaki, you are the design director of "Outdoor Products", aren't you? First of all, please tell us how you came to be in charge of this project.
Ozaki:Originally, I received an offer from the headquarters of "Outdoor Products" in the United States. At the time, the company was in a period of decline, and the brand value in Japan was not very good. In an effort to somehow revive the brand, I and Outdoor Products worked together to create a capsule collection of sorts. There was a showroom in the U.S. that I had been close to for a long time, and I was approached because of my relationship with that company.
I see. So you originally communicated with "Outdoor Products" in your home country.
Ozaki:That's right. Currently, a Japanese company is making products for both domestic and international markets under the name "Outdoor Products. I am in charge of directing their products. How to create cool items without deviating from the direction of the brand. I am in charge of steering the company in this direction.
Ms. Ozaki, when did you first come in contact with "Outdoor Products" items?
Ozaki:I have been using this brand's daypacks since I was a student, around junior high or high school. At that time, the value of "made in the USA" was very important, and people thought, "This is made in the USA, too, so it must be cool," and I had a strong yearning for American items.
That was around the early 90's, wasn't it?
Ozaki:Yes, it was. At that time, it was a rare brand made in the U.S. and could only be purchased at a limited number of stores. Nowadays, you can get it at any store, can't you? From the viewpoint of the values of those days, that is quite unusual (laughs).
Ozaki:A while after that, I entered "EDIFICE," which had French as one of its keywords and also carried "Hervé Chaprier.
Herve Chapelier's backpacks are also known as masterpieces, aren't they?
Ozaki:Although not today, Outdoor Products was the contractor for the production of those backpacks, and they have been a part of my life for some reason or another (laughs).
I like this "452U" shape. It is the basic shape of a daypack. The company that introduced it to the world was "Outdoor Products," so to speak, and it is the original.
The brand is very fashionable in the way it is relaxed.
I think you have to have a good understanding of "Outdoor Products" to be able to control the tremendous amount of items and special orders so that they don't break the bank. What kind of image do you have of this brand?
Ozaki:Looking through old catalogs, you will see models with backpacks on their backs, giving off a "let's climb a mountain" vibe in their photos. However, it is not so much a rigorous mountaineering trip. It's more like hiking. They are dressed very casually, and they are just trying to get in touch with nature. I like this kind of easygoing leisure spirit of the American people. I think this kind of mindset is just right.
It's like a lifestyle proposal in the style of the 80s and 90s.
Ozaki:Yes, that's right. We don't do anything too rigid like other outdoor brands. In this photo (above), he is wearing a poncho and fishing in the ocean, but I think he makes his products with the same level of tension as "We can easily make this kind of thing, so let's do it too. The more I got to know this kind of non-overworking temperature, the more I came to like it.
I see.
Ozaki:There is still a trend that it is cool to wear serious outdoor gear as a fashion item on the street. But what Outdoor Products was proposing at the time was, in a sense, fashionable. It was like, "I can't wear something serious, but I can wear something like this. I thought that kind of relaxed attitude was very fashionable.
You keep this in mind when you work as a design director, don't you?
Ozaki:That's right. I think that timeless simplicity is the essence of "Outdoor Products," and if I don't keep saying it, people will forget about it. I think it is my role to come up with ideas on how to make it fit the current era.
Create a brand that possesses you with a proper understanding of the philosophy.
When I think of "Outdoor Products", the "452U" you mentioned is the first thing that comes to mind, but looking at your catalog, you really make a lot of bags.
On the right is a fanny pack specially ordered by Young & Olsen The Dry Goods Store.
The company has gone to great lengths to use military parts. On the left is a lunch case and behind is a bag for western boots.
Ozaki:Yes, it is. The "fanny pack" waist pouch is a well-known product, as is the "roll-boston" Boston bag. But most of them are daypacks. I am amazed that they come up with so many variations.
Young & Olsen The Dry Goods Store has made a variety of special-order items, not limited to daypacks.
The bag for western boots introduced earlier is from the 1981 catalog.
The prototype was originally designed for ski boots, but it is only possible for Young & Olsen to create Western boots.
Ozaki:We have an archive of catalogs that have been made in the United States. We pick up models from these catalogs that seem to fit the atmosphere of the times, and make them faithful to the archives. However, there is no point in just reprinting them as they are, so we are conscious of the clean, neutral design of the Young & Olsen brand.
Young & Olsen's brand concept includes the statement, "For things that are difficult to make, I sometimes have a neighbor who is good with his hands make them for me. I think that the sense of temperature I mentioned earlier has a high degree of affinity with the worldview of Young & Olsen.
Do you often pick up items from 90's catalogs?
Ozaki:Well, sometimes I use older models depending on my mood at the time. But nowadays, the 90s are often the topic of fashion, so I think that using models from the 90s is more persuasive in that sense.
Do you sometimes come up with designs from scratch?
The leather backpack (right) is a modern piece with a chain strap, a so-called "selfish special order.
The mesh item on the left was sampled from an 80's catalog.
Ozaki:Yes, there is. It's a selfish custom order (laughs). (Laughs.) There are many cases in the world where we borrow the signature of a famous brand and place a special order to increase name recognition, but in my case, I want to deliver the appeal of "Outdoor Products" to people who love fashion.
This is also what is called a "selfish special order. He says happily, "Some people are still using it even though it was made quite a while ago.
Mr. Ozaki. This is because he understands the essence of "Outdoor Products".
Ozaki:So, I think about what the designers of "Outdoor Products" would make, and then I add the "Young & Olsen" style to it, taking into account the sense of the times at that time. It's like I understand the philosophy of the brand and make things by letting the brand take possession of me.
This is something I have valued since I was a buyer for a select store. I try to understand the history of the brand and what is good about the brand. I try to understand what is good about the brand.
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