I want to destroy the current tennis world.
How did you come up with the idea for the actual clothes?
Arai:As a buyer, I have seen a lot of clothes, but anyway, there are so many different brands out there. Therefore, unless a brand has some sort of distinctive feature, it cannot compete with other brands. I felt that "Set-In" needed to create something that would be the face of the brand.
Arai:As tennis is the brand's main selling point, we wanted to create a sporty feel, so we have used mesh as a design feature of this brand. This season's lineup includes blazers and tilden knits, which are also lined with mesh for a sporty touch.
If mesh is interpreted broadly as a weave, it can be seen as a tennis net or racket gut.
Arai:Yes, that's right. That's what I'm aiming for, too. So knitting has a very deep connection with tennis.
Nowadays, it is commonplace to cross fashion and sports, but did you see the potential in using tennis as a subject matter?
Arai:Of course . I think tennis fashion is very classic. Fred Perry, Stan Smith , and Rene Lacoste . There are people who are fashionable. They were all wearing polo shirts with Tilden vests and slacks while playing tennis. So I had no resistance at all.
Ms. Arai's own fashion is also streetwise, but there is something elegant about it. Is there an influence from tennis?
Arai:I am often told that I am like a dumb street (laughs). Tennis has had a huge influence on me . I started playing under the influence of my parents, and both my father and mother worked for a fashion company. . So from a young age, I always wore proper clothes and always went to the court. . I have seen and touched good things. I think I was very fortunate in my environment.
Mr. Arai acquired these tennis shoes from " Nike " in the 1990s. When I look at them now, I realize that the designs are all superb. They are no longer wearable due to hydrolysis, but I can't throw them away," he says.
Arai:So when I watch tennis players, I am often more interested in their clothes and gear than in their play. . I think that the clothes come first, and the play comes later (laughs). (Laughs.) Professional players have contracts with sports brands, and their entire body is coordinated from head to toe. . It is the same with the design concept and color matching. I have seen this, and I myself want to match my clothes with the brand's total look. Even when I go to a convenience store, I have a hard time deciding what to wear.
Are there any players who have influenced you?
Arai:In the 80's I loved John McEnroe and Jimmy Connors, in the 90's Andre Agassi, Jim Courier, Pete Sampras, and Patrick Rafter.
What do they have in common?
Arai:Everyone is stylish (laughs). That's all I can say about them. Patrick Rafter was very stylish in the way he applied sunscreen. I paid attention to all of that and hardly watched the game at all. What he wore, what he used, and how he expressed it . That is what is important.
. You have a bandana and a racket here.
Arai:The bandana is an Agassi model from the 90's , but the packaging is very elaborate and just cool. . The inside is plain, but I was attracted to this design and bought it.
Arai:The racquet is a Jimmy Connors model, and at a time when carbon was being introduced, there was no one else using a wood-style, single-shaft item. I'm sure it was because they liked the feel of the ball or something, but I felt there was something wrong with that. I liked players who were peculiar in that way. . in their play, in their clothes, in their gestures.
I guess there must have been some changes in style between then and now.
Arai:I don't feel much enjoyment watching it now. That is why I want to change it. I played tennis all through my school days, and all my friends from that time are still in the tennis field, working for manufacturers, coaching, and so on. With the launch of "Set-In," I was finally able to make contact with them. They also want to change the tennis world, but when you are in the industry, you are always focused on the competitive aspect of the game.
...if the fashion and entertainment aspects are neglected.
Arai:I think they are very aware that this is also an important factor, but it is just the world of sports, so there is a kind of tradition that must be observed. . So, I hear that there is a situation where people cannot do what they want to do. However, I am looking at this from the fashion world, and I see a wide opening for tennis. I want to do what I can do there. I want to do what I can do there. I think it is okay to joke around more, and I want to destroy it. I want to do what I can do because of fashion. I don't care if it's a nuisance.
