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Sato.BEAMS has an office in London, and Ian Luna, who is now in charge of Rizzoli, was originally connected with the staff there. I asked Ian if there was anything we could do, and he suggested that we feature BEAMS as a select store, an unusual type of business in the world, and that was the start.

Sato.In terms of so-called fashion retailers, there have been books published by "Rizzoli" in the past in stores abroad, but this was the first time for a Japanese store to do so, which is an honor.

Sato.So far, "BEAMS" has opened stores in Hong Kong, Beijing, Taipei, and Bangkok, and has also opened limited-time stores in the form of pop-ups in Europe and North America. In addition, original products from "BEAMS PLUS" are distributed wholesale to about 30 carefully selected stores around the world. However, the stores overseas are mainly casual stores, and the pop-ups are only a small part of the many labels of "BEAMS". Under these circumstances, we wanted to show the entire picture of "BEAMS" as much as possible, and our main goal was to create something that would properly introduce the brand to the overseas market, which is something that BEAMS should consider in the future. To this end, we paid attention to the balance of items to be included. It is important to note that BEAMS is not only about clothes, but also about lifestyle, art, and interior design.

Sato.Ian from Rizzoli suggested to me that while BEAMS is well established as an original label, it would be interesting to see how many collaborations they could come up with. It seems to me that the fact that so many different labels are producing such a wide range of products under the same name of "BEAMS" in the form of collaborations is very valuable from a global perspective, and from a global perspective, this was the strongest topic of discussion.

Sato.Yes, of course, it is a country where collaboration is very popular, and not only with "BEAMS". Among the leading fashion countries.

Sato.The basic premise behind our concept for this book was to present it in a manner similar to a catalog for a museum or exhibition. At the same time, we knew that the book would be over 200 pages, so we were concerned that if we used the same presentation and expression throughout the book, the eye would probably get bored with it halfway through. So, with the ideas of Natsuko Yoneyama, the art director, and RCKT, who was in charge of editorial design, we sought to create a balance in the way the images were shot so that they could be enjoyed no matter where they were viewed, or where they were stopped.

Sato.I was involved in the product planning stage for the Moncler down jackets. When I was working as a manager at "International Gallery BEAMS," I was approached by "Moncler" to collaborate with them on a new project. I told them that I wanted to work with Japanese artist Keiichi Tanaami, so I visited his office to discuss the idea. All of these paintings are done directly on the down jackets. So I gave him a sample of one of my down jackets and he actually painted on it to see how the colors would come out and how he would move his brush, and he agreed to do it.

Sato.The one that President Shitara is deeply attached to is "Levi's® . When the first BEAMS store opened in Harajuku in 1976, it was called "American Life Shop BEAMS. Since that time, we have carried American West Coast brands, so Shitara was especially happy when we were able to collaborate with Levi's®. He was so enthusiastic that he went directly to the headquarters of "Levi's®" in San Francisco to discuss the details.

Sato.. after all, you are one of the top global publishers. I think we are able to maintain a high level of distribution scale and quality. Many artists have had their works published here. Also, Ian, who is in charge of the magazine, is incredibly knowledgeable about the Uraharajuku culture. I was very happy to see him mention "BEAMS" for the first time as a representative Tokyo store.

Sato.Yes . It took place on February 14, the day of the world launch, at the "Rizzoli" bookstore. I was amazed at how many people showed up. (Laughs). From the point of view of Rizzoli, it was one of the many books they publish, and they usually only hold events like signings by the author, so it was quite unusual for them to hold an event for a book without the author. What we had instead was a collaboration item (T-shirt, cap, tote bag) with "Rizzoli's" that we had made. We were going to sell them for a limited time, but the media in New York and London found them interesting and picked them up, and we had a lot of inquiries, so we extended the period of time we were selling them.

Sato.Yes, that's right. The number of interviews from foreign media has really increased at once. This book is enough to introduce what kind of place "BEAMS" is. This book is enough to introduce what kind of place BEAMS is. The only thing I've included here is a collaboration, but it describes the changes in the Japanese market since the founding of BEAMS in 1976, and how the company has grown by proposing a lifestyle centered on culture in response to those changes.

Sato.Yes, that's right. As to why we were able to collaborate in Tokyo, in Japan, I think there are two factors. First, there is the issue of the Japanese body shape. The items had to be cool for Japanese people to wear, so we had to adjust the length and silhouette of imported items, or order items that would suit our customers with minor changes in balance. Another is the need for interesting proposals tailored to the market. When introducing a brand's inherent quality, excellent world view, and technology to Japan, we are always conscious of drawing out the creativity of the customer by adding twists and changes that will resonate more with the market and make the customer happy. I think this is what was most interesting for Rizzoli.