PROFILE
Born in Tokyo in 1980 , he joined BEAMS as a new graduate in 2003 and became a buyer for the men's casual department in 2017. . Since then, he has realized special order projects with various sports brands. He has been playing tennis since elementary school, and is known as a genuine tennis lover, having participated in the Inter-High School Tennis Championships in high school and the Intercollegiate Tennis Championships in college. The collaboration with the prestigious American tennis manufacturer "PRINCE" released the year before last was an instant sell-out success, and he has also worked on a special order with the world's best-selling tennis grip tape brand "TOURNA" in the past.
. the desire to propose a life with tennis.
First of all, please tell us how you started "Set-In.
Arai:While working as a buyer for BEAMS, I kept thinking, "What should I do next?" I am now 43 years old. I am now 43 years old, and I have been thinking seriously about how to build up my career as I get older. I am now 43 years old, and I have been thinking seriously about how I will build up my career as I get older.
After all, if I'm going to do it, I want to do what I love. . When I thought about it, tennis was the only thing for me. I had planned to play tennis in high school and college, and I was going to join an industrial company, but then, by chance, I joined "BEAMS". But I ended up joining "BEAMS" by chance. I was still pursuing tennis.
I had experienced many things since joining BEAMS, and although it may be an exaggeration to say that I wanted to return the favor, I also wanted to contribute in some way. So I made a presentation to the president.
You said you wanted to start a tennis brand.
Arai:No, actually, I never intended to make clothes in the first place. Rather, I wanted to "communicate something," and I wanted to create something like a tennis academy. A box, so to speak.
Is it like a clubhouse?
Arai:Yes . A clubhouse and a court. . there is also a café, merchandise sales, and a practice space for wall-hitting. . I wanted to do something that would be very "BEAMS" within the clubhouse. For example, the walls of the wall-hanging space will be decorated with paintings by the artists who have been working at "BEAMS T" artists to draw pictures on the walls. . I wanted to create a space where people can stay all day, not just play tennis.
When I presented this to the president, he said, "BEAMS is a clothing company, so wouldn't it be cool if we started with a fictional tennis wear brand, which grew into a tennis academy? He said, "Well, BEAMS is a clothing company.
In other words, create a story that starts with the brand.
Arai:I wanted a box right away, but I thought that was important too (laughs). (Laughs.) So we decided to start with a clothing brand.
What is the meaning behind the brand name "Setinn"?
Arai:This name was created by transposing the letters of the word "Tennis". I considered a number of possible names, but all good names have been registered as trademarks. So I wrote "Tennis" to go back to the basics and tried to find a good name by changing the letters. After trying hundreds of different names, I came up with one that made sense. That was "set-in. It means "beginning" or "taking root. Many things came together in my mind. It is the start of the brand, and also includes the idea of proposing a life with tennis.
