Where shall we go wearing BEAMS?
VOL.1 Lambda Takahashi (Stylist)

Lambda:Yes, that's right. A friend of mine who has known me for quite some time and was originally in the apparel industry started this store.

Yoshikawa:Did you have any training in curry making somewhere?

Lambda:No, it is like self-taught. He researched and made his own curry. At first, he was selling curry he made at home in a kitchen car or something like that, but it grew and grew, and now he has even created this kind of restaurant. That's a very dynamic person, isn't it?

Lambda:I love curry. I like this kind of spicy curry, but I also enjoy eating curry from Chinese restaurants and yellow curry from ramen shops.

Yoshikawa:I often go to various places in Tokyo for exhibitions, so I check out curry shops near the venue and go there.

Lambda:I tried to make it once, but it took me a day (laughs). (Laughs.) It takes about three hours to make chicken broth.

Yoshikawa:I understand (laughs). I tried to go through with it anyway, but it took me about an hour to chop the onions finely and fry them to a nice consistency.

Lambda:About a year ago, I bought all the spinach I could find and made curry with it and served it to everyone. It took me a long time and a lot of effort to make it, but when we all ate it together, it was gone in no time. I remember wishing I could have enjoyed it more slowly (laughs).

Lambda:I like it. I think I like working on something, like polishing shoes or something.

Yoshikawa:I am more of an eater (laughs). The only thing I make for my family is curry, and even if I make a few mistakes, I can handle it.

Lambda:I understand, I understand (laughs).

Yoshikawa:I think they may be similar. When you have a garment you want to design, the process of selecting materials and adding and subtracting details in order to create it is similar to cooking.

However, just because you use good materials does not mean you can make cool clothes. I think it is the same with cooking. For example, I think it is important to find just the right materials so that many customers can easily pick them up.

Lambda:That's right. When I do styling, I get excited about how to cook the clothes I have collected. There is Japanese food, Western food, Chinese food, and food from many other countries. Clothes can also be American or European, and in this way, we gather designs from everyone and coordinate them as if we were creating a single plate. In that sense, I feel that styling is similar to cooking, as well as making clothes.

So when I cook, I have confidence that it will taste good. I know it won't be bad. I taste the food as I cook, and I have a sense that if I add a few seasonings, it will turn out well.

Yoshikawa:That kind of sense is being cultivated more and more, isn't it?

Lambda:For example, if you were to create a styling using only the clothes from the "PAT MARKET" mentioned earlier, you could create something very rich in flavor, but if you add basic white food-like items to it, it would be well-balanced.

Yoshikawa:I think that kind of thinking is very similar to cooking.

Lambda:That may be so. Recently, many people from overseas are finally coming to Japan, and I see people of various body types and how they dress. I think the styling of foreign girls, especially those who are not overdone, is very fashionable, and I find it very helpful.

Lambda:The colors were very impressive. Like the flannel shirt I am wearing now, I have recently been interested in earthy colors such as brown, nude pink, and camel-like beige.

Yoshikawa:While keeping our focus on American casual, which is our specialty at BEAMS, we have been designing technical details with the keyword "Y2K" as a hidden taste since last season. Until spring/summer, we often used silver tones, but it would be unwise to apply them directly to the fall/winter season, so this season we are daring to feature earth tones, which are the exact opposite of silver.

Lambda:I see. That's interesting.

Yoshikawa:The feature of this season's men's casual wear is that we dare to bring colors to fall and winter that we generally do in spring and summer. I hope that will spice things up. I am very happy with the way Lambda-san dressed, including the coordination I mentioned earlier, because it is what we wanted to express.

Lambda:After all, this is the place where I was able to study fashion and where I learned to enjoy it. I hope it will always remain cool.

Yoshikawa:Thank you very much. I will do my best!

Lambda:Just like at a restaurant, there are stores that you find yourself going to on your own. I hope that this will continue to be the case in the future. I have high expectations for it.