Where shall we go wearing BEAMS? VOL.3 Yoshifumi Egawa (Skater, Designer)

Yoshikawa:For my generation, I really admire them. When I was in junior high school, the Urahara movement was happening, and I used to go shopping at Hectic. I was following it on my own (laughs).

Egawa:Really? Thank you very much .

Egawa:There used to be a store called "Made in World" on Ton-chan Street in Harajuku, and I remember when I was about 20 years old, my friend worked there and through them I hung out with the staff of BEAMS. I remember hanging out with the BEAMS staff through them. They were very knowledgeable and took fashion very seriously. I liked fashion too, but not as much as the staff at BEAMS.

Egawa:Skating, fashion, and music all went in at the same time. I had to absorb it all at once! I was like, "I have to absorb everything at once! So I really enjoyed talking with the staff at BEAMS. They had an outstanding sense of fashion.

Yoshikawa:From my generation's point of view, I have the impression that the seniors at that time played hard. I guess it was like they were playing seriously. When did you start "Hectic"?

Egawa:I think we started preparing in 1993 and started in 1994.

Yoshikawa:I was in junior high school at the time, and I remember looking at the magazine and thinking, "Oh my God, there's a new store! I was also skating, and I had a board at home from the 80's that was a bit wide. I used to skate myself, and the boards we had at home were from the 80's and a bit wide. And it was a complete set, assembled from the beginning.

Egawa:. I was also a complete person at the beginning.

Yoshikawa:I was looking at magazines and videos and wondering, "How do you do an ollie?" But I couldn't do it at all. As it turned out, the board was not suited for it (laughs). (laughs). Then, when I became a high school student, I built my own boards and played with them.

Egawa:He is almost the same as me (laughs).

Egawa:It is true that nothing has changed at all. The clothes I was making for "hectic" back then and the clothes I am making now for "Ombre Niño" are very similar. I don't think the sampling method or the way of making clothes has changed much.

Egawa:I had a chance to look at some of this season's clothes, and I thought that you have created items that many people can easily relate to. And the prices are all affordable. But they also make items that can be worn by adults as well. It's a good balance. It's not too much, but just right.

Yoshikawa:We, too, have our origins in American casual wear, but we are making products that are in tune with the current era. The size and style of wear required by each generation is different, so we add and subtract while considering various elements. If I don't connect the dots in my designs, I don't think they will stick with the customers.

Egawa:I thought it would be good to find a store that has a connection with "BEAMS," so I selected the favorite of the buyer, Tadayuki Kato (laughs). (Laughs). SSZ and Heshdawgz are holding an event at BEAMS Harajuku starting this week*, so I thought it would be a good fit. I myself have been playing with the owner, CB, since I was a child. I feel safe when there is a store like this in Harajuku (laughs).
*The event has already ended.

Yoshikawa:It's been quite a long time since it opened.

Egawa:I think it was 18 years? It's amazing, isn't it?

Yoshikawa:Do you come here to buy decks and parts and stuff?

Egawa:Yes . I come here to look for weels and other small things. Today, too, I came to buy something my son asked me to buy (laughs).

Egawa:We carry wheels that can only be purchased here, and brands that are known only to those in the know. We carry things that old skaters will gobble up. So, I think the shop has a great selection of products that can only be found in a long-established shop. I also enjoy chatting with CB (laughs).

Yoshikawa:I have a skateboard at home , but I only push it when I go to the convenience store.

Egawa:But you're on the right track. That's good enough for me.

Yoshikawa:Where do you skate, Mr. Egawa?

Egawa:I often go to Komazawa Park. I ski there as if I were going to vent (laughs).

Yoshikawa:You are also a DJ, aren't you? And you were playing hard techno music the other day, which was cool.

Egawa:. I like music that I can dance to. I enjoy going to parties, getting drunk, and dancing. I sometimes listen to hip-hop, but I prefer techno and house music to listen to at clubs.

Egawa:. It's always been all genres. Skaters overseas also listen to hardcore, punk, and hip-hop. I once went to the U.S. to skate at a time when hip-hop was becoming very popular, but the music that everyone was listening to on a daily basis was not hip-hop at all. . You can't tell that just by looking at a cell phone.

Yoshikawa:Yes, that's right.

Egawa:Even if you normally listen to hip-hop, people dance to techno in bars and clubs. There are two sides to everything that is real, and you have to be very careful about what you are listening to. I like that.

Yoshikawa:There are many things that can only be understood by experiencing the real thing on the ground.

Egawa:That's right. I have been observing it for a long time, and as a result, it has become all genres of music.

Egawa:It's very analog. . And since I move my body, it's very physical. After all, I will always be a boy.

Yoshikawa:It kind of makes sense, I guess I'm the same way (laughs).

Egawa:My wife even calls me a copycat (laughs). (Laughs) So we are like brothers. That's how much we share the same interests. Culture is for young people, so when I see them, I envy them because they really seem to be enjoying themselves.

Yoshikawa:I understand that feeling very well. The energy of young people is great in fashion as well, and we want to value that energy. I don't want to talk about the methodology of our generation in a preachy way.

Egawa:I don't want to be a noisy uncle. Recently, my son's clothing and shoe sizes are getting closer to my own, so I am both excited and nervous about the future, so I am soawing (laughs).