PROFILE
Born in 1977, he started "NEXUSⅦ." in 2001 with the concept of "Multiple Maniax & Technix". In 2013, he started the "Beyondex" project. He has collaborated with brands such as "Lee," "Sacai," and "N.HOOLYWOOD.
PROFILE
Born in 1977. Director of "Berberzine," a long-established vintage clothing store in Harajuku. He has the deepest knowledge of vintage clothing in the industry, and uses this knowledge to supervise related books and serve as an advisor for denim brands. He has also provided valuable vintage items and materials to Beyondex, and has played a key role in helping the brand move forward.
The important thing is to convey the feeling of "good" to customers.
Please tell us what kind of brand "Beyondex" is.
Konno:The reason I started this brand in the first place was that Okayama, Japan was gaining citizenship in denim production, and I did not want to let that fire die down, which is still at the root of what I do today. When I was the director of apparel for Original Fake (*editor's note: a collaboration between graffiti artist KAWS and Medicom Toy), I collaborated with Levi's®, and at that time I was introduced to various fabric and machine shops. At that time, I was introduced to various fabric and machine shops.
The "Original Fake" store opened in 2006. Was that around that time?
Konno:That's right. As I continued to work, the factories I was introduced to at that time were gradually disappearing, and I gradually began to receive sales calls from dyeing factories that were supposed to be crowded at the time.
So you wanted to do something.
Konno:Yes, I did. I had a vague idea that I wanted to delve deeper into denim and create original fabrics and brand them separately from "NEXUSⅦ. I started the project in 2013.
You started eight years ago.
Konno:That's right. I love vintage clothing, and vintage denim was my entry point. So I wanted to tie it back to that. But it took me a long time to develop the fabric.
We were also working on a detergent, which was completed first and released in 2016. When vintage denim is washed and the color fades, the value of the denim drops as well, but we were wondering if we could create a convenient detergent that would remove only stains without removing the color.
It took you three years to release the detergent as well.
Konno:That's right. We asked a certain detergent manufacturer and a certain research institute to take the time to develop this product. When we decided to try it on vintage denim before commercializing it, Mr. (Fujihara) Yutaka provided us with old fabrics and items that we could test, and the results were great.
Fujiwara:Washing vintage denim is really naive, and in the past I have tried many different detergents. If this detergent had been developed 10 years earlier, my vintage denim would definitely have retained better colors. (Laughs) The results were so good that we decided to carry it at Berberzine, and it has been very well received by our customers. There were customers who bought only the detergent, and the brand gradually gained recognition among vintage lovers.
