I will only do what I can face properly.
I think the 20th anniversary is a very big milestone, but what do you think about the future?
Konno:I am 44 years old now, and I still have 20 years left until the normal retirement age, so I still have a lot of work to do. In that sense, the 20th anniversary is still just a passing point.
I would like to continue to work with NEXUSⅦ. without wavering, and the denim brand Beyondex is starting to see the light of day a little more, so I hope to make new moves in the future.
I am from Chiba, Japan, and this year I became the creative director of "Altiri Chiba," which has entered the B3 League, so I would like to do my best in that area as well. We are starting from the lower league, but we have brought in a very good head coach from overseas, and good players from the top league have transferred to us. The players are saying that they are still about 40-501 TP10T, but the results are very good so far, so we would like to keep up the momentum.
Do you design uniforms and official goods for "Arttili Chiba"?
Konno:Yes, that's right. I design the uniforms for the players and performing supporters, the pamphlets and merchandise, and also organize a team for music and video, and together with the members of the team, I direct and supervise almost all the team work.
I think you are going to use your head in a different way than you have done in the past.
Konno:I am doing this with a sense of difficulty. I have not been very conscious of creating products for the masses, so I am learning as I go.
I can tell that you enjoy doing what you like, not only with "NEXUSⅦ." but also with "Beyondex" and "Arty Chiba" as well.
Konno:Thankfully, I occasionally receive offers for other jobs, but I feel that if I push myself too hard, the customers will feel it, so I only do what I can properly face. NEXUSⅦ. and BEYONDEX are my own projects, but I also hope that they will contribute to the local community. It is not every day in life that you get to be involved with a sports team, and I think it is also a way to show filial piety to my friends and family in my hometown. I hope to be a source of energy for the people in my hometown.
. I feel a great love for my hometown, and at the same time, I think it's an action with an eye toward the future.
Konno:. I feel that such roles have come my way at my age. I want to do what I can while I still can. I feel that Chiba, my hometown, and Tokyo are different from the lively cities I used to feel when I was a child. There is a sense of loneliness. I would like to get rid of that loneliness as much as possible, and bring back the vitality that I used to feel in the past. I would be happy if, by taking the initiative, the people around me would also take a different approach.
I know that it is difficult to do everything by myself, so I hope to use myself as a springboard to get various things active. . I hope that Konno's moves like this will make people realize that they can do this kind of thing.
. So you are doing what you can do within a reasonable range.
Konno:Yes . I know what I can handle, and I think it is important to act with that understanding. Otherwise, it won't last long. I want to do my best, but without overreacting.
Konno:I grew up watching the backs of my seniors, and on the other hand, I worked hard to surpass them. Although I am in the position of a junior, I think it is our role to surpass our seniors. With this in mind, we have worked hard for the past 20 years.
. That could be taken to mean that Mr. Konno is also thinking about being overtaken by his juniors.
Konno:I would like to pass on my know-how to younger students who look up to me as their senior. When I started BILLON DEX, I wanted to make sure that it was not just for me. Compared to the past, the number of denim makers has been declining, and we hope that our activities will help to support this decline. Of course, we will continue our manufacturing activities, but we also want to share the recipes we have created with any machine makers who will join us. We hope that by doing so, the industry as a whole will be revitalized. That way, we can continue to do what we want to do, and in the end, it will help us.
. If there are young people who want to become apparel workers, I would like to follow up with them. When we started NEXUSⅦ., there were a lot of fabric stores, and therefore a lot of fabrics. Now we have shrunk to about one-tenth of that size. I think it is difficult to start a brand under such circumstances, so if there is anything we can do to help with fabrics, materials, or the base of the brand, we would like to actively cooperate with them.
