KNOWLEDGE IS KING
I think the clothes you make at "vowels" are more street-oriented, but you are also influenced by the mode, aren't you? Are there any artists or designers you admire?
Yagi:There are many. Vionnet, Chanel, Rei Kawakubo, Issey Miyake, Kansai Yamamoto, Nobuhiko Kitamura. These are people who have managed to draw a line in the sand, and manage to combine business and fashion making. For me, design is about money after all.
Also, I respect the people around me the most. There are people on the staff of "vowels" who have more experience than I do, and I have a lot to learn from them. I ask them everything I don't know, whether it's about knitwear or fabrics. They are like family to me, and I have to do my best because of them.
Models wearing silk scarves wrapped around them like bandanas.
How many staff members are involved in the brand?
Yagi:We have about 15 people, including outsourcers and freelancers. They are in France, Italy, the U.S., Japan, Korea, Taiwan, and many other countries.
At the store in New York, which opened at the same time as the launch of your brand, you are displaying about 2,000 items, including magazines, photo collections, and design materials collected by Mr. Yagi.
Yagi:Yes, that's right. I've already shown you everything there.
During the presentation, a monitor placed in the hall shows reference materials for making clothes.
Usually, designers do not reveal the details of their sources of inspiration or the origin of their work. Moreover, I have never heard of anyone who takes the initiative to show it.
Yagi:It's not 1970 anymore, it's 2024. You can easily find out on Instagram and social networking sites. In an age where everything can be found on the Internet, wouldn't it feel better to expose what you refer to?
What I want to convey with it is weighty evidence. For example, this V-stitch was inspired by the lighting of a church designed by Tadao Ando. I think that layering such important details will add depth to our creations. I want to prove that as a brand.
What is the origin of this idea?
Yagi:I started buying vintage clothing when I was 15 or 16 years old. For example, Nike's "Geisha T-shirts" are priced incredibly high now. For example, "Geisha T-shirts" from Nike are priced very high now, but back then, if you found one, you had no choice but to look it up on the Internet, thinking, "What the heck is this? I started with geisha, then went on to oiran (courtesans), hanamachi (the flower district), and yoshiwara (the town of Yoshiwara), and then delved deeper and deeper into the history of geisha. As I dug deeper and deeper, I found more and more information, and it became like a Wikipedia.
In English, "KNOWLEDGE IS KING". The more information you have, the better you are as a person. Of course, there are times when knowing too much can be a big problem, but there is nothing wrong with knowing too much at this point. And it can lead to conversations with people. And I want to tell people that I am doing something unique by revealing this information.
T-shirts and sweatshirts with a single point on the chest.
When you launched Bowls, Takashi Homma shot the visuals and opened a store in New York. I have never seen an independent brand do such a thing. Is this also connected to your aim to make fashion interesting and to promote your brand?
Yagi:In these difficult times, it is no good doing the same thing as everyone else, and I think it is necessary for people to do something unique to begin with. Of course, this requires the power of those around you, money, and a network. The reason why I am willing to go to such lengths is because I feel that I have to leave something behind for the next generation, to give them hope through fashion, even if only a little.
This is an extreme idea, but if the gap between the rich and the poor widens, fashion may become a world where luxury brands are only available to the top 1% of the wealthy and inexpensive brands are available to the other 99% of the population.
I don't want to make the world such a sad and miserable place, and I don't want to stop what the great Japanese designers such as Rei Kawakubo, Yohji Yamamoto, Jun Takahashi, etc. have left behind in my generation. Of course, I still have a long way to go. But I believe that if I continue to accumulate, I can get as close as possible.
What is the goal of "Bowls" in the future?
Yagi:First, to make sales. And then, to get on the official calendar for Paris Fashion Week and do a show. These are my goals, and I want to achieve them.
The brand name on the huge panel at the front of the stage.
