PROFILE
Born in 1977, he started "NEXUSVII." in 2001 in N.Y. He opened a new store at Shibuya PARCO, which reopened in November 2020. In January last year, "NEXUSVII. x GREGORY EXLUSIVELY FOR URBAN RESEARCH" became a big hit.
PROFILE
Born in 1977, he started his career as a freelance buyer in 2011. He is one of the most trusted vintage buyers in Japan, not only from vintage clothing stores, but also from many select stores and brands. He also has his own store "Mr. Clean" in Oku-Shibuya.
PROFILE
Born in 1977, he is known as an advisor to the L.A. denim brand YANUK, and is also the supervisor of "Levi's VINTAGE DENIM JACKETS Type l/Type ll/Typel lll", the culmination of the recent G-Jan boom. He is also the supervisor of "Levi's VINTAGE DENIM JACKETS Type l/Type ll/Typel lll," which is a compilation of the recent G-Jan boom.
PROFILE
Born in 1976. He has been involved in men's fashion magazines as an editor and writer, and is an expert in handling many articles related to vintage clothing. Currently, he is in charge of e-commerce, company newsletters, event planning, etc. at the apparel manufacturer "World. He is also known as a collector of vintage bandanas.
The special Jack Purcell is completed with a denim fabric upper that will satisfy even vintage lovers!
The "Jack Purcell" chosen as the base for this special order is a long-selling model that was introduced in 1935 as the signature model of American badminton player John Edward Jack Purcell, also known by the nickname "Blue Beard. It is a long-selling model known by the nickname "Bluebeard. The original development and manufacturing was handled by A.G. Spalding & Bross, but later the copyright was transferred to B.F. Goodrich, which was an OEM contractor, and in 1972, all rights were transferred to Converse, which took over the company. In addition, the brand features "BEYONDEXX," a much talked-about Japanese denim developed by a group of experts in Japan under the direction of Mr. Konno of NEXUSⅦ. Why did the four wise men select "Jack Purcell," a long-selling model that has spanned the century, as the base model for this project? We will dig deeper again this time.
Last time, the selection was from the so-called "rare berths," but I was most surprised to see that the second edition is a royal model.
Konno:We started working behind the scenes about a year and a half ago, but at first we started by selecting the fabric rather than the model. I had been talking with Fujihara Yutaka about the idea of using denim as the base material.
Fujiwara:Yes, I am. I asked Kuri-kun (Kurihara) to bring me a pair today. I have been looking for a denim version of the "All Star" released in the 80's for a long time. My size was hard to find, so I wanted to try it in denim.
Mr. Kurihara's personal denim All Star. Made in the 1980s.
This is "All Star HI," also a personal possession of Mr. Kurihara. This is a rare pair with white denim upper. Made in the U.S.A.
Konno:Kuri was a big factor in our choice of model. He is one of the world's leading collectors of Jack Purcell.
Kurihara:I was asked to do a lot of things for the last special order, but if I could do any model, I think it would be "Jack Purcell" in my opinion.
This is a very rare pair of Jack Purcell from the B.F. Goodridge era, made in the 1960s. The side tape connecting the upper and the sole is colored in navy.
Abe:Why do you like "Jack Purcell" so much, Kuri?
Kurihara:When I was around 20 years old, many of my seniors and friends around me were wearing "All Star" Converse shoes. On the other hand, I started collecting "Jack Purcell" shoes, partly because I was a bit of an innocent. I also liked the Ivy-esque style at the time, and I fell in love with it.
Abe:That's right (laughs).
Fujiwara:In addition, I think the growing worldwide reevaluation of "Jack Purcell" was also a major factor.
Kurihara:Yes, it is.
Please tell us how you decided to use "Beyondex" for the uppers.
Kurihara:There have been denim sneakers released by various brands in the past, but I don't think the denim used in those sneakers was something that vintage clothing lovers like us would want to wear, at least not in the past.
Abe:That's for sure. However, if we were to reissue the same specifications as the denim sneakers made by Converse at the time, there would be no point in us making a special order. That's why Beyondex was chosen.
Konno:In addition to myself, Yutaka and a number of experts who were approached by Yutaka were involved in the development of Beyondex. I think we spent about five to six years developing the fabric.
Abe:Is this a project that started from the beginning to reproduce the fabrics used in the World War models?
Konno:Yes, I have seen quite a lot of double-X denim. I have seen quite a lot of Double-X denim, but the ones made during the Great War clearly have a different power. It has a distinctly different strength from other Double-X fabrics.
Abe:Are there actually any discernible differences, such as different weaves, higher ounces, or different yarns?
Konno:Many companies in Japan have tried to reproduce the World War II model, but from my own personal insight, nothing is perfect, and many simply increase the ounce or try to make the vertical ridges stronger, but the actual World War II fabrics do not have such specifications.
Abe:Really?
If you look closely at the faded areas of World War II-era denim fabrics, you can see dots of faded color in some places.
Konno:Yes, I have. Originally, denim fabrics with partial dots or short drops, called "spot-falls" or "short drops," were used.
Kurihara:It means that the color will not fade in an easily recognizable linear fashion.
Konno:Yes, of course, there is vertical drop. That's why we developed the yarn from the cotton material and the shape of the yarn. The denim fabric itself was also developed differently from what is used for processing, so that the strange wrinkle marks characteristic of denim sneakers would not stand out too much, so that the sneakers could be grown slowly and enjoy the attractive color fading slowly.
Abe:Is there a difference in ounces or something?
Konno:That's right. I'm not going to go into detail there (laughs).
