notebook that records every day of clothing worn by customers
Keiji Kaneko's aesthetics of "off the hook" as seen through "foundour.

Kaneko: Every item is made with vintage as a reference. I search for clothes I like from many piles of vintage clothes, add my own ideas to them, and work with the best pattern makers and factories to make them. The brand name comes from a coined word that combines the words "FOUND = find" and "OUR = the best team.

Another strength of "Founders" is that its vintage director, Shinpei Kawata, is a partner. Thanks to him, I am able to encounter incredibly rare and valuable items, and some of the reference garments are worth millions of yen, which I admire. I analyze the silhouettes of such items with a pattern maker, create patterns, and then ask factories that can sew them to sew them.

Kaneko: Of course. At first glance, they are really ordinary clothes, so they are filled with stuff that you wouldn't know if you weren't told. But by daring to make it with common fabrics, the effect is to make it look out of the ordinary. I think a valuable vintage piece would make a statement, but the key point is that I made it in such a way as to hide it.

Kaneko: Applying fabrics from the year 2025 to vintage clothes made a long time ago. This may sound very strange, but I try to give it meaning by connecting the context from my own perspective. I can only find such an approach based on my past experiences, and I really enjoy this process. I guess you could call it a little bit of a fashionable thing to do. The items that come out of it have to be interesting in the end, and that's what I'm focused on.

Kaneko: This denim, for example, is one that references a classic pair of jeans that everyone knows: it's based on a model made in 1937, but the silhouette is just beautiful. There is room around the waist, and they fall straight down below the knee and look good on everyone. Following that pattern, we also incorporated the cinch back and inseam rivets, keeping the details as they were, but daring to make them with non-selviched regular denim fabric.

If you put a cheap parka with it, it would be really ordinary styling, but if you put a high-quality cashmere knit and long-established brand leather shoes, I think it will be very tasty.

Kaneko: That's right. However, just following the silhouette and details is meaningless. That is why we place great importance on sewing and factory selection. I want to make sure that the clothes are authentic.

Kaneko: A few years ago, I styled a model for a photo shoot using my own personal items. However, at the time, my denim didn't fit the model, so I had to look for something in her size. I was going around thrift stores trying to find something cool on as low a budget as possible, and I found a pair of "550s" made in the U.S. in the 1990s. That seemed kind of nice. It wasn't for me, so I was able to be tolerant of it. I thought the model girl would look cool in them.

Kaneko: As a result, I was able to create a really cool styling, but after that, I kept the denim at home and kept thinking about it. Then one day, I tried them on, shortened the length, washed them, and squeezed them down because they were too big, and they were really good (laughs).

Up until then, I had been focusing on "good stuff," but I remembered for the first time in a long time how fun it was to coordinate outfits with regular old clothes like this. The denim was not selvage, of course, but just colored denim that was ragged, stained, and very cheap because of its large size, but I enjoyed wearing it in a creative way. I realized a lot of things, and I came to approve of these clothes.

Kaneko: That's exactly right. I feel like I was trapped there. I bought a lot of good old clothes and good new clothes, but I wasn't able to wear them in my own way. I should have had a few more drawers (laughs). It was regular old clothes that reminded me of that.

Kaneko: It is possible to coordinate a total look, but it shines when combined with the clothes in your wardrobe that you have worked so hard to buy. That's where the real appeal lies. That's why I don't want the price to go up because I don't want the clothes to be expensive, so I take care not to raise the price. It's like cheap chic in my sense.

Kaneko: Hanging in the back there is my very own wardrobe. These clothes are standing in my closet looking boring (laughs). (Laughs.) I like them, but I couldn't find interesting ways to wear them. But when I put "FOUNDER" together, these clothes come to life.

Kaneko: For example, these are hand-sewn slacks I made for myself. They are made of a good material, but if you put a good knit on top of it, you would look like a classic man, wouldn't you? However, by adding a parka made of a canvas-like fabric like this, the hand-stitched quality is enhanced.

Kaneko: On the other hand, this coat is from Hermes, but it is made of synthetic fibers, so it is sporty. Normally, I would wear it with "Bernard Xanth" or vintage denim. I would normally match it with vintage denim from "Bernard Xanth" or the like, but here I'm going to wear the black denim I mentioned earlier. The black denim is made of stretch material, so it is easy to match in the context of sporty. Stretch denim with "Hermes" is a great way to add a little something extra.

Kaneko: I also like the idea of a first type denim jacket as an inner layer. If you bring a real vintage first type denim jacket here, it would make a strong statement, and you would be full of it. However, since this is made of light-weight, regular fabric, it gives a nice loose fit. I'm enjoying wearing it that way right now.