PROFILE
Businessman and creative director born in France in 1974. In 2024, he launched "WORDS, SOUNDS, COLORS & SHAPES" in Paris, and opened the first store in Japan in Nakameguro this May. SOUNDS, COLORS & SHAPES" in Paris in 2024, and opened the first store in Japan in Nakameguro in May of this year. In addition to this, he also has a design office and printing studio, publishes the magazine "USELESS FIGHTERS" magazine, and the management of the "Dreibeeg Hotel" in Switzerland, among other projects.
At Di Dreiberg, we only make the real thing.
What is the concept behind WORDS, SOUNDS, COLORS & SHAPES?
Ramdan: There's no concept. It's just a store. We just sell our products. I don't think stores in the past had a concept.
Is it a kind of self-expression?
Ramdan: Exactly. The stores in Paris and here are the same. It's a little smaller than in Paris.
The store in Paris is a select store that carries items from various brands and also has a print studio, but this store only carries your original brand, "Die Dreibeeg".
Ramdan: This building was created by me and my team. This building was created by me and my team, and we plan to open a café and art gallery in the future.
The interior design is also very nice. What did you envision?
Ramdan: I run a hotel in the mountains of Switzerland, and I wanted to create an atmosphere similar to that there. Japan is a country of mountains and nature. Di Dreibeeg is also a nature-related brand.
Ramdan, your magazine "USELESS FIGHTERS" is also related to mountains and nature, isn't it? I am curious as to why you are attracted to nature.
A visual magazine that deals with the culture, politics, and identity associated with mountains and how fascinating and important they are to the world.
USELESS FIGHTERS ISSUE 2 ¥6,000
Ramdan: USELESS FIGHTERS" is a magazine for nature adventures. It's an excuse to go to different places. A lot of people don't care about nature and the people who live there. I just want to create that buzz. Mountains in Peru, Algeria, China, anywhere. I want to draw more attention to "other people," not the major ones.
Are your fashions also influenced by nature?
Ramdan: My fashion also has political connotations. For example, DiDreiberg does not use synthetic fibers or petroleum-based materials. Plastic. This is a backpack I made with Porter, and I was the one who came up with the idea.
DIE DREI BERGE x PORTER
CANVAS 16L BACKPACK CANVAS 16L BACKPACK ¥176,000
Ramdan: They often use nylon, but I told them I didn't want to use it. That's why I used canvas. And although Porter has many items in dark tones, I dared to use white as the base color and incorporated many colors. I don't like products that are easy to understand.
You dared to create a product with the exact opposite idea.
Ramdan: Yes, it is. It's very heavy, you know (laughs). If it were nylon, it would be lighter. We dared to create something that is the exact opposite.
Why is that?
Ramdan: I thought that by incorporating this kind of play, people would understand what I was thinking and my attitude. I hope that people can understand that I am a punk without having to say it out loud. I like to have fun while creating, just like playing a game.
I see.
DIE DREI BERGE
Napoléon
Gaillard Leather Derbies ¥214,500
Ramdan: These are dubby shoes. I mixed them with mountain shoes. It's crazy, don't you think? The word "Dreibeeg" means "three mountains" in German, and the punching on the nose expresses that.
When do you come up with these ideas?
Ramdan: They go to the factory and decide on the spot. If you look closely, you can see that the punching is also star-shaped. We put in a lot of little details like that. I visited many factories, but they all said it was impossible, so it took me two years to make these shoes.
DIE DREI BERGE
LETHER TECH MONCH1 ¥110,000
Ramdan: Also, the sole of this shoe was made with Vibram, and 97% uses natural rubber. Sole is very important. Most of them are made of plastic, so when you walk on the road, they get scraped off and microplastics are generated. What happens when that gets washed away by the rain? It flows into rivers, fish eat it without knowing it, and eventually it gets into our stomachs. It's the same thing with car tires. In other words, it's the same as polluting the soil. So I want everyone to think about this carefully.
I don't want to be a brand that harms the earth. I try to make products that are as environmentally friendly as possible. That's why I don't have a concept of "season" in my brand. We just make what we want to make, when we want to make it.
The pollution of the earth's environment has reached a really serious level, and I think many people are turning a blind eye to it. Recently, words such as "sustainable" and "SDGs" have been consumed by businesses.
Ramdan: The message has been thrown around since the 60's. Everyone should know that. Yes, plastic is comfortable and convenient. But we have to look at the contradiction. Of course, it is very difficult to reduce it to zero. I am a vegetarian, but I also fly.
Influenced by the political posters and underground press of the late 1960s and 1970s, the book is a reinterpretation of the graphics of the period, edited like a "visual mixtape".
The Radical Media Archive vol. 1/7 ¥5,280
You say that everyone is living with contradictions.
Ramdan: That's right. This summer, I will be traveling by car from Paris to Tokyo for the "USELESS I am going to travel by car from Paris to Tokyo for the "USELESS FIGHTERS" project this summer. I wanted to see with my own eyes how the road, including the natural scenery, would look like. It's going to be a tough road, but I'm willing to give it a try.
I know that you use a lot of gasoline and shave a lot of tires on the road. Why do you dare to act inconsistently?
Ramdan: It is difficult to reduce the discrepancy to zero. You are also using this recorder to consume electricity, and this room is air conditioned. In other words, it is a matter of how you accept the balance of contradictions. The apparel industry also has a huge environmental impact on the earth. That is one of the contradictions. I think everyone should reduce the amount of clothes they buy. That's why at "diDreiberg" we only make genuine products. Even if you look at a single shirt, it is better to have something that you can wear for five years. I want to wear a pair of shoes for a long time. That's why we emphasize quality in our manufacturing.
