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FEATURE| SWITCH INTERVIEW Yuhi Ozaki and Keiji Kaneko Beloved clothing idiots who devote their lives to clothes. Part 1

tailKaneko, "BAYCREW'S (see note)You quit "Edifice" (the management company of Edifice, Inc.) once and came back to it again. Has your awareness when buying changed from then to now?

moneyI don't think it's changed at all in terms of sensory perception.

tail: (Laughs)

moneyI'm the type of person who sticks to a concept. I'm a stickler for concepts, and I'm very faithful to them. Then, I hope to create a variety of feelings depending on my own discretion or editing. For "Edifice," the theme was "French," and for the current "Reshop," the concept is free, so that it can be taken in any way.

tailIn the latter half of the "EDIFICE" period, "French" was no longer the word. Hedi Slimane appeared on the scene, and it was no longer work pants.

Komori-san, too.Exactly the same thing.He said.

moneyIt was certainly a time of change. At that time, I was asked to reorganize a store called "Materiaux" on Fire Street. So I ran Materiaux for about a year.

tailEh: eh! That feels much longer.

moneyI've been involved with "Materio" for only one year, although the restaurant itself has been around for longer.

tailI have a strong image of "Materio" equals Mr. Kaneko, or something like that.

moneyI think so. Anyway, I did what we now call "re-branding. After a year, I decided to leave BAYCREW'S at the 10-year mark of my employment with the company, partly because I wanted to become independent and do things on my own. After that, I didn't see Ozaki for a while, did I?

tailI was a recluse. At that time I had become a recluse, not seeing anyone (laughs).

moneyBut for my part, I was always interested in him as a person, not as a business partner. Even when we went on business trips together, we were more like friends than boss and subordinate. So I contacted him to see if we could meet for the first time in several years.

tail: Yes. But I thought it was not possible to call him a friend, but he said so, so I said, "Well, then, that's how it is. So I said, "Well, that's the way it is. Since then, I always consult with him at every milestone, and when I start something, he is the first person I announce it to. When I started FilMelange and YOUNG & OLSEN The DRYGOODS STORE, I showed them to Kaneko-san first. I asked, "What would Kaneko-san think when he sees this? I asked him what he thought of it. Then, based on the opinions I received, I would make adjustments to make it better.

What kind of person is Mr. Ozaki to you? Did you change from your first impression of him?

moneyWhen I first met him, his eyes made a strong impression on me. I thought he looked like he was going to do something. Then, when I opened the door, I found him to be very interesting. Not only in terms of clothes, but also as a person. I think I was influenced in many ways.

For example?

moneyI wonder: What is it? I think there are many things. First of all, you have a lot of knowledge that I don't have. I am more of a "broad and shallow" kind of guy. It may look like I'm in-depth, but I'm actually quite shallow. Well, I may know a little more than others. But I don't know as much as Ozaki does. He is the type of person who digs deep and has his own specialty. The same goes for vintage clothing.

tailWe both like vintage clothing, but the contents are quite different.

moneyWe have very different views on fashion. We are different, but we share a lot of the same things. We approve of each other in some way. What he thinks is good, I think is interesting, even though I am not interested in it. I feel that we can enhance each other's skills, or something like that. That's why our relationship has been going on for so long (laughs). We have been together for a long time.

tail: It's not like we go out to dinner often or drink together for hours.

moneyI am very comfortable with him, but I can go on business trips with him. But I feel very comfortable with him, and we can go on business trips together. It's a strange relationship.

I understand that you can improve yourself by associating with people who can teach you things you don't know.

tailI really admired Kaneko-san at first, so I was like an imitator. I wanted to have what Kaneko-san had and dress like him. I think there are a lot of people who think like that. No matter what he does, Kaneko-san has followers like that. I still remember you saying that fashion is about "harmony.

moneyYou were talking about that.

tailHe said: "After understanding your own body shape, atmosphere, and so on, it finally harmonizes with your body. Mr. Kaneko has clothes that suit him because of his broad shoulders. And his hair style has always been like this. So, hats with long brims look great on him, and any kind of layered clothing fits him well. On the other hand, I tend to be more orthodox, wearing a normal white shirt and jacket. Just as there are different items that I find interesting, there are also different ways to wear the same item. Even if I find an item in "reshop" that I think is great, not all of them look good on me, so I often find myself saying, "I can't buy this. I want something so badly, but it doesn't suit me at all.

moneyI think it's hard to find people who can share that feeling.

tailI understand what you mean, but you still know everything, don't you? I understand what you are trying to say, but even so, you know everything. The unit of "shallow" is totally different from others. I dig deep locally. So, I don't know anything that I am not interested in. However, I have been digging a lot, so I feel that the number of things I don't know is decreasing.

I can tell that you like different styles because you dress differently every time I see you, but what is your daily attire like, Kaneko-san?

money: Sometimes it totally depends on the day. But I don't know much about my own clothes.

tailKaneko-san, one day you will suddenly dress up like that. You sometimes wear the same items for a long time. And once something goes boom, he sometimes continues to wear the same item for a long time. But when they get tired of it, they stop wearing it altogether.

moneyI think you're right. The switch there could be great.

tailI'm not a fan of trendy clothes, but I don't wear trendy clothes. Also, I don't think it's that I don't like what's popular in the world, but I don't wear trendy clothes. For example, I don't wear shirts made by Como-san (Keijiro Komori).

moneyI don't wear it.

tailI don't think he is intentionally avoiding me, but he seems like a natural. I think it would be fine for them to wear Como's shirts since they are good friends.

And you can find them in the "reshop" as well.

tailYes, that's right. So I think there is such a thing as Kaneko-ism.

money: Hmmm, I really don't know what it is there.

Do you have a simple feeling that you don't want to be the same as other people?

tailI wish I could have heard that, too.

moneyNo, I am not conscious of it at all. I just don't have the desire to choose it in the first place.

tailI'm scared of him, you know? He has his own store's hit item numbers, you know? He never wears them. He makes them himself, buys them himself, and never wears them.

I wonder if the things that are selling are distant from you.

moneyI have no desire to do anything about it (what is selling).

tail: That's why I think it's natural. Normally, if you think about it, since you are the first to make and stock it, you can wear it yourself. But the more popular something is, the less I have it. But that doesn't mean he can't make a hit, which I find strange. Also, as I mentioned earlier, he suddenly wears clothes in a way that I have never seen before. What does that mean? Does he try it in the morning (laughs)?

moneyI think: I think maybe it is. Yeah, it's morning.

tailI was wearing a T-shirt in my pants the other day and a huge belt, wasn't I? He stopped doing that right away, too (laughs). (Laughs) But when I saw that, I thought, "Wow, that's really cool. (Laughs.) But when I saw that, I thought, "That was cool. (laughs).

moneyBut looking back, there was a time when I used to put it in.

tailAnyway, there are followers who admire Mr. Kaneko as much as I do, in every generation.

It's not like Shigeo Nagashima, but it is memorable.


One of Mr. Kaneko's memories. Part 2

moneyThere was a tendency for "Edifice" to be associated with "Corgi. There were not only orthodox items, but also many unusual "Corgi" items. It was around this time that I began to really get into so-called "design" items. This may have been the item that triggered my interest. They were made by a traditional manufacturer, and the shape was not changed drastically. This sense of balance is still with me.

tailI have always admired the argyle that Kaneko-san wears.

moneyThis is a brand called "Chipie" that I purchased this year. It is a brand called "Chipie" and is made in France. There is America from a European point of view, isn't there? For example, "Emisfair" and "Grove," which Pierre of "Anatomica" used to run. Pierre Fournier went to the U.S. in the 1980s to buy items from "Hanes" and "Rocky Mountain Featherbed" and put them in French stores. I love that kind of perspective. This "Chypie" is an extension of that. Chypie" is also completely European American-style.

tailI don't understand (laughs).

moneyYes, I don't understand it (laughs). They look like pants, but they have five pockets. I've been looking for something like this lately, but I haven't been able to find it at all. Mr. Horikiri (CLASS designer) and I are having a lot of fun talking about what we think would be good here.

tailThey are a scary couple (laughs).

moneyThis is a pair of gaucho pants I bought in Argentina. These kinds of bottom pants are in fashion now, but I think these are actually the originals.

tailIt's very tapered. Or rather, the hem is like sleeves, with cuffs.

money: Yes, this is kind of cute. And they said they were going to match this band.

tailCute.

moneyI'm not sure if I'd wear them with: well, I don't know. I thought I might wear them with jeans or something.

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