Chino pants, Thompson , which also influenced Neat.
-After leaving Brooks Brothers, where you worked for 7 years as both a salesperson and PR person, you launched your own brand of pants, "NEET.
. I had a great deal of time. Perhaps if I had worked at a select store instead of Brooks Brothers, I might not have launched NEAT.
-Why is that?
When I was at Brooks Brothers, I would wear a jacket and tie it up when I was in the store, and my style was dressy and traditional. But after I left the company, I found that Brooks Brothers' clothes no longer fit my lifestyle.
Unless you work for a brand like Brooks Brothers, you don't usually wear a tie-up.
Yes, that's right. When I dressed casually after I left the office, for example, with New Balance or Birkenstock sandals on my feet, I didn't know what kind of pants to wear with them, and I couldn't find any pants I wanted to wear.
So I decided to make my own pants, and that's when I launched "NEET". . If I had been in a select store, I would have known more brands and could have tried them out, so I don't think I would have had that kind of thinking.
-How did you come to collaborate with Brooks Brothers this time?
Actually, we were not approached directly by Brooks Brothers, but by United Arrows. They asked me, "Can't we do something interesting in collaboration with 'NEET' and somewhere else?" I had a few candidates. We had several candidates, but they all said, "We want to work with Brooks Brothers! and with the help of "United Arrows," we managed to finalize the collaboration. Of course, this would never have been possible on my own, so I am very grateful for that.
-Are there any difficulties you encountered in the process of collaboration?
Actually, this project has been in the works for over a year, but it took quite a while before we decided to collaborate.
-The chinos made this time were based on the "Thompson" model.
If I was going to collaborate with Brooks Brothers, I wanted to do something that only I could do. That is why I told them that I wanted to do a reissue of the "Thompson," which I used to love. It is not sold anymore, so I think it is a little-known model, but that is why I thought it would be meaningful to use it in this collaboration. I think I'm probably the only one who would choose "Thompson" (laughs).
Brooks Brothers' "Thompson" was sold in the 2000s. The deep two-tuck and thicker silhouette of the pants can be seen as an influence on the "Neat" pants.
-What was the model of "Thompson" like?
At that time, each pair of pants at Brooks Brothers was named after a person, such as "Clark" for the untucked model. Among them, the straight silhouette pants with two tucks were called "Thompson. I think this was the model that was available until the year I joined Brooks Brothers or a couple of years after that.
-I'm sure that "Thompson" has had a great influence on "NEAT" pants.
Yes, that's right. When I was a sales clerk, the store manager, who was known as "Mr. Brooks Brothers," showed me pants with pleats and a thick silhouette. I have always had my roots in this style, and of course, I have been influenced by the pants made by "NEAT.
