Many of you may remember this article we uploaded in the spring of 2018.
This is a documentary of a business meeting between Daishi Nishino, designer of the quirky pants brand "NEAT," and Keiji Kaneko, conceptor of the highly popular store "L'ECHOPPE," held in New York in the extreme cold. The film was recorded by Keiji Kaneko, a conceptor of "L'ECHOPPE", a shop that is highly popular among professionals.
The goal was to create an American-made "NEET," as only Mr. Nishino, who loves the U.S.A. so much, could do. We started work on the project with many twists and turns, but no news came in time. Before we knew it, a year and a half had passed.
. and it was late May 2019 when we were informed that the samples had finally arrived. We immediately spoke with the two of them. The release of the pants is Saturday, July 13, which is just around the corner. . too, of course, we're aiming for it.
. Finally, it's done.
Kaneko: Yes, that's right. It has been about a year and a half since I went to the U.S. , right?
Nishino: It was a long time.
Kaneko: I hadn't heard from the factory mentioned in the previous article at all for a while. When I finally received the samples, they were not as finished as I had hoped. . It was not so much that there was a problem with the factory, but that the button shop was a crook.
I see.
Kaneko: So this sample that I have in hand now is actually the third one.
Nishino: The first ones that came up were designed to be out-tucked. Since "NEET" pants are tucked in, I thought this was a definite no-no (laughs).
Kaneko: But the second sample was also outtracked.
Nishino: Yes, that's right. . so this is the first time I've seen a sample of the intac.
. I have touched it a bit, and I can say that it is very well made, or rather, the quality is excellent.
Nishino: Yes, the quality is really high . When I asked them about it, they told me that they were sewing for some very famous brands. Frankly speaking, the quality was so good that it threatened the quality of Japanese-made products.
Your previous factory also sewed for prestigious brands, didn't it? How do you find the right factory?
Kaneko: We are looking for it based on a lot of information. That's how we ended up with something very nice, but initially we had a much lighter image.
They are more like regular American chinos.
Kaneko: Yes, that's right. However, the factory we found was working for a big maison, so the American feel I had initially envisioned may have faded considerably. . It turned out to be a good thing, though, so I guess that's all right.
These pants are available in 6 colors. . Please tell us again about the fabrics.
Nishino: The theme this time was American chino, but I couldn't find anything with a good tension. I have collected a variety of chino-like fabrics from the "NEET" inline, but I couldn't find anything with just the right texture. . It's either soft or stiff.
Kaneko: The way the eyes stand out in this fabric is very distinctive. I think it is rare to find a fabric with such a clear grain. I think this is typical of Mr. Nishino.
I made a sample of a cream-like color and an emerald green. I thought it was very assertive.
Nishino: Yes, that's right. In Japan, it is not easy for a machine shop to produce this kind of color. I chose this color when Mr. Kaneko asked me which color I would wear if I had to wear two colors. I wanted to see it in this color, rather than black or brown, which you can easily imagine. . If it is cool in this color, I thought other colors would be no problem.
Kaneko: We got into it nicely, didn't we?
By the way, looking at "NEET," I think the fabrics you choose are somewhat peculiar. Has that always been the case?
Nishino: Yes, that's right. It goes back to when I was at Brooks Brothers, and when I joined the company, Thom Browne's Black Fleece by Brooks Brothers (hereinafter referred to as "Black Fleece") had just started. Black Fleece" was a collection brand that gave a high quality feel to "Brooks Brothers," right? And the creations that Thom Browne was expressing were quite exaggerated.
I remember that the "A" in "A" was a unique and unique accent.
Nishino: Yes, but it was very elegant. That influence still remains in me, and when I look at seersucker fabric, for example, I look at it like this one is used by "Brooks Brothers" and this one is used by "Black Fleece" and so on.
Kaneko: Wow, that's the first time I've heard that! So, Mr. Nishino, you are actually the Japanese Thom Browne (laughs).
Nishino: What Tom was doing came easily to me. He said he was going to use unusual fabrics and make them look exaggerated.
So you were wearing the Black Fleece at the time?
Nishino: I wore it like crazy.
Kaneko: It looks good on you, doesn't it?
Nishino: Classico Italia was popular at the time, and even shirts were slim-fit, so I thought "Brooks Brothers" was a little big. But now, when I pull them out of the wardrobe, I find that they are quite nice. Well, it's partly because I've gotten bigger.
And speaking of "neat," here's Tuck.
Kaneko: Yes, yes. . I was always curious about the depth of these pleats.
Nishino: I decided from the beginning that I wanted to do two pleats with an in-tuck design. I had a friend at Brooks Brothers who was a big fan of suits from the 1930s, and he told me, "Tucks should be done in-tuck," and ever since then, I've always been an in-tuck person.
. and yet you came up with a sample to out-tack (laughs).
Nishino: That's right (laughs). Incidentally, the first pants I made for "NEET" had a shallower tuck. But when I saw the finished product, I thought, "If this is the way it looks, there is no need for me to make them.
There are others, you know.
Nishino: Yes . . So I decided to make pants that you can see the tucked-in feeling even when worn tucked out. Since "NEET" pants are in-tucked, they don't spread outward much, but they do spread vertically, so they spread nicely when viewed from the side.
I think it looks beautiful when you are walking or something.
Nishino: Yes, that's right. I was wondering if some of you liked that feeling.
Kaneko: For me, the slightly tapered shape is also very important. I think the pants from "NEAT" are either large tapered or extremely wide. I thought it was difficult to wear them because they didn't fit my style. But this time, they are authentic American chinos, so I decided to follow the so-called "normal tapered" style. It's somewhere between wide and tapered. So I thought they would be easy to wear for people who are interested in "NEAT" but are not comfortable with the silhouette.
Nishino: Also, I dared to use very ordinary buttons.
Kaneko: American chinos have neri buttons (buttons made of synthetic resin), which look a bit tacky, so I followed that style.
Nishino: Except for the original marbelts and the name tags, all of the materials are made in the U.S. .
Kaneko: The result is a very well-balanced product. While preserving the good points of "NEAT," we may have created something surprisingly basic.
Nishino: And yet these pants are finally being released. I've had so many inquiries since that article came out , so .
Kaneko: No, it was really very much there.
Nishino: I still get people saying, "I saw that article.
Kaneko: I think all the neat fans read it. (Laughter)
It has been a long journey.
Kaneko: I think it would be best if Mr. Nishino eventually does his own U.S. production.
Nishino: Yes, I do. I would like to do it! And, , this time, USA and I are writing by hand.
The name of this model is "Newark Fit". The origin of the name is given in the previous article. . If we start using names of places like this, there are going to be a lot of things.
Kaneko: Is Boston next? And then is it wool?
Westfield: like the University of Massachusetts.
Kaneko: Yes, yes, LA is shorts and so on.
Nishino: Ah, and wouldn't a flare be nice?
Kaneko: Then maybe something called Long Beach. Ah, I want to make a series. I can make as many as I want, here .
So, with the fullness of time, it will go on sale at the "reshop" on Saturday, July 13, at 11:00 a.m. . We do not accept reservations or lay-backs. Please call the store for inquiries.
. I leave you with a final word from Mr. Nishino, the designer of "NEET".
This NEAT USA may be the final destination of NEAT as I envisioned it.
. I have loved vintage clothing since I was a teenager, and my interest swelled to the point that I went to the United States for the first time when I was 22.
Rationalism was packed into various parts, and I admired its coolness without being cool.
It was Reshop that fulfilled my dream of such a longed-for word "made in USA".
That is why the theme of this project is "chinos worn well by Americans,
The seemingly ordinary chinos, which are neither thick nor thin, are expressed in the deep two-in-one tuck that is typical of NEAT.
The fabrics were selected from American-style thick cotton fabrics in a variety of American colors.
. It took about a year and a half from conception to completion, but NEAT USA has finally taken shape, and we hope you will take a look at it.
Text_Ryo Komuta
LʼECHOPPE Aoyama Store
Address: 1F, 3-17-3 Minami-Aoyama, Minato-ku, Tokyo
Phone: 03-5413-4714
Launch: July 13, 2019 ( Sat ) 11am
