BEAMS T's APEX LEGENDS™ in Fashion? | feature

How does BEAMS T represent APEX LEGENDS™ in fashion?

BEAMS T, which actively collaborates with artists and creators, will next team up with "APEX LEGENDS™," a popular game with over 100 million players. BoTT, FAF, and SPECIAL GUEST K.K., who enjoy playing "APEX" on a regular basis, have been invited to participate in the collaboration, which will go on sale on February 10 (Fri.). We have been exploring the love-filled collaboration between "APEX" and its fans, which is different from both fashion and art.

Photo_Masashi Ura

Text_Shogo Komatsu

Edit_Shuhei Wakiyama

©️2023 EA Inc.

Games are part of culture.

TEITO:Mr. Matsushita, you are so good. He fights with his bare hands (laughs).

Kazuho:18 kills. Eggu (laughs).

-...I see that Matsushita-san has finished playing on his mobile, so let me start right away (laughs).

Matsushita:Sorry (laughs).

TEITO (right) and Kazuho (middle), a designer at F.A.F. and a member of YouthQuake, play "APEX" together on a regular basis. Kei Matsushita (left), a producer at BEAMS Creative, has been playing "APEX LEGENDS™ MOBILE" on his smartphone since its launch. Unfortunately, the "special guest" designer, who works anonymously, was not present.

-First of all, please tell us about the background of the collaboration between "BEAMS T" and "APEX".

Matsushita:The Business Production Department of BEAMS Creative, to which I belong, received an offer from "APEX. I then consulted with Mizumura, the director of "BEAMS T," who had worked on another e-sports project, and he said, "We would definitely like to be involved. This is how the project started.

-I know that the year before last, "BEAMS T" collaborated with "Rainbow Six Siege" by the game company Ubisoft. Is "BEAMS" paying attention to e-sports?

Matsushita:That's right. Collaborations with different industries have always been one of the specialties of "BEAMS. One of them is games, and we have collaborated with "Pazudora" and "Pokemon Cards" in the past. Of course, we also pay attention to e-sports, and have been a sponsor of JESU (Japan eSports Union) since 2018.

-The excitement of e-sports is amazing, isn't it? I hear that even people who don't play games are playing "APEX" and other games.

Matsushita:Games have become commonplace for the digital native generation, so "BEAMS T," with its strong affinity for youth culture, was a perfect fit for the "APEX" collaboration. Another characteristic of "BEAMS T" is its strong connection with up-and-coming street brands. First, Mizumura consulted TEITO, who loves video games.

TEITO:I had been working on "Apex" for a long time, so I accepted the offer with an open mind. 3-person teams are one of the features of "Apex," so Mr. Mizumura told me he wanted to collaborate with three groups. The first person that came to mind was Kazuho and the "Special Guest" designer. The three of us often play together.

Kazuho:I have been working on "APEX" since Season 0, so I was really surprised when I heard about this from TEITO. This is the first time "APEX" has collaborated with an apparel brand in Japan, right?

Matsushita:That's right. That is why the "APEX" side was also cautious.