Designing shoes is honestly fun.
I would like to ask you about the future of "Non-Native." I think that you have been looking at the world with sensitivity and incorporating that into your creations. Will you continue to do so in the future?
Fujii:It is not easy to make clothes while changing something every season. . It is difficult for me to verbalize what has changed. So I have to keep thinking about what is unique to "non-native" and how to deal with it. We also need to check how we are perceived from the outside, and although we have been doing this for more than 20 years and people say we are great, I still feel uneasy.
The longer you continue to work with the brand, do you feel that the brand and Mr. Fujii are becoming inextricably linked?
Fujii:I don't think it's good to be too much like that. I think it is necessary to be able to see that I am like this, but on the other hand, the world is like this. Therefore, it is necessary to know "it would be nice to have something like this," and to study the latest. I really don't think that I should go in the direction of classical music.
I wonder if your sense of balance leads to the "non-native" style.
Fujii:Maybe it doesn't matter, but I want to keep my iPhone new. I don't want to put aside whether I am using all the features, but it is something that is designed to be used, so I think it is important for me to be exposed to it. . I want to try out the newest thing in cars, too. . you have to know that in yourself, or something like that.
. And that includes shoes, doesn't it?
Fujii:I think it is a culmination in a fashion product , and it is similar to a car. . because it contains many elements. Fashion does not evolve in a good sense. It is not enough to be light. It is the same with shoes. Shoes like the ones in "Back to the Future" could be made today, but I think they would have to be recharged. If that were the case, no one would wear them. I think it is something that cannot evolve, but I think it is still important for people's lives.
Do you actually enjoy designing shoes like this one?
Fujii:It's honestly fun. . because I love it. I have been to shoe factories many times, and it is very difficult to make shoes. There are many wooden patterns, the equipment is very expensive, and the craftsman cannot sew alone. Each part is different. Considering this, it is obvious that a lot of effort goes into the production. The same is true of the "Euro Hiker," but the more parts there are, the more things you have to think about. So it was a lot of fun.
