From left, Hidetoshi Usami, designer of "Columbia PFG," Shintaro Sugihara, merchandising, Yosuke Ishii, deputy editor of HOUYHNHNM FISHING CLUB, Kenichi Hiramoto, stylist, and Junpei Ichikawa, editor.
Fishing wear details that stand out in the city .
I never thought I would be collaborating with Columbia PFG (PFG).
Ishii:Well, I'm really happy. As the name suggests, "PFG" is a performance line, so we have rarely taken a fashion approach, and there has not been much precedent for collaboration, so I had no idea that HOUYHNHNM FISHING CLUB would be able to collaborate with us! . Actually, this project started last year, when I had just started HOUYHNHNM FISHING CLUB.
Sugihara:Looking back, that's how it was. The origin of the Columbia brand is a fishing vest, and since I had been ignited by the PFG Bahama shirt at select stores and thrift stores, I wanted to bring a cool fishing lineup to the market while incorporating fashion elements. . At that time, I heard a rumor that HOUYHNHNM FISHING CLUB was starting up, and I thought we could do something interesting together, so I approached them.
Hiramoto:It is true that "Columbia" has an image of fishing, but it started with a fishing vest, didn't it?
Sugihara:Originally a hat wholesaler, the first original item we created was a fishing vest. Many people have the image of "Columbia" as a fishing vest.
Ichikawa:. it's the first brand that comes up in the fishing and fashion cut. The fact that it is popular even in vintage clothing is proof that it has proper roots.
. For this collaboration, we made jackets, pants, caps, hats, and even bags.
Ishii:The first thing we decided on was the jacket.
Sugihara:. Yes, I did. I decided on one item at a time, one by one, with the jacket as the core, then the bottoms to match, the hat, the bag, and so on.
How did you decide on the design?
Sugihara:One of the keywords of "Columbia" and "PFG" is "vintage. Therefore, I asked Mr. Ishii for advice on how to use archived fishing vests and fishing wear as a base, so that they can be worn in the city.
Ishii:I like and collect Columbia's fishing clothes made in the 80s and 90s, and many of them have unusual designs. This is a paraphrase of a comment by Mr. Kobayashi of MOUNTAIN RESEARCH, but I find it interesting the sense of foreignness that arises when an industrial design item such as a fishing vest is incorporated into fashion.
This collaboration is a release from "PFG," but it is also intended for town use, so I proposed a design that would make the details of the fishing wear stand out in a good way in the city.
Ichikawa:Bob-san (Ishii) is very knowledgeable and well versed in the vintage clothing industry, but did you have any requests that troubled you?
Usami:The jacket has a total of nine pockets , and that was the most important request. . It was a bit challenging to meet that and still make it affordable to as many people as possible.
Ishii:The chest flap pocket has a separate zippered pocket that can be accessed from the side. This is based on a jacket in the "Columbia" archives. I definitely wanted to use it because it is a rare detail, even including work and military jackets, so I decided on the design with this pocket.
