Cliche is an honest and sincere store. There was an accumulation of what it means to be a store, and what only a store can do.

The other day, we introduced a new restaurant "cliché" in Yoyogihachiman on Youtube.

by designer Shin Matsushima.Cantata (cantáte). and a select store that carries other brands as well.

In the video, store manager and buyer Takashi Kinoshita showed us several coordinated looks that combine "Cantata" and select brands, but there is too much that spills over from this video alone.

So, I took another day to ask Mr. Matsushima about the various questions that come to mind about "cliche".

I have often heard the phrase, "without any teeth," but I think it is a phrase that is reserved for Mr. Matsushima, or in other words, a "cliche.

First of all, why didn't you make "Cantata" the only store? In past interviews, you have said that you wanted to open a store in Ginza.

Matsushima: Frankly speaking, I think the era of directly managed stores is over. Even if a brand grows very fast for a while, it is unlikely that it will continue to do so.

Yes, that's true.

Matsushima: As long as the designer is the same person, things do not change significantly. Therefore, I think it is correct, in a sense, for a maison brand to change its direction drastically every time it changes designers.

I see.

Matsushima: That's why brands inevitably have their ups and downs, and I think that having a select brand that can help you when you sink can compensate in many ways. . Of course, there is also the reason that we can offer the best of each genre and expand the range of styling.

So you started the brand in 2015, and it took a while before you started thinking like that?

Matsushima: Yes, that's right. . Even if we were to build a store, we did not want to open it in a place where there are many stores. If there are a lot of stores, customers will come to the store even if they are not coming for the purpose of shopping. They might just drop by because it is close by," he said. In a sense, we are dealing with customers who are not serious about what they are doing.

Well, that may be part of it.

Matsushima: The biggest difference between our business and a restaurant is that in a clothing store, you can taste, or try on, the clothes for free. But in a restaurant, you always have to order something when you sit down. I wanted to have that kind of experience in a clothing store.

I guess you mean a sense of tension. A serious competition?

Matsushima: Of course, it is perfectly acceptable to visit a store and not purchase as a result. However, I am just asking people not to try on clothes they have no intention of buying, or even if they don't have the financial resources to buy.

. lol.

Matsushima: We do say these things to our customers as well. . It may sound harsh, but we are serious about it.

Why did you name your restaurant "Cliche"? The meaning of "common phrase" or "cliché" comes to mind, and I think it is more likely to be associated with a negative connotation.

Matsushima: Both Kinoshita and I play guitar, and there is a technique called line cliché on the guitar. The Beatles often used this technique. It is a familiar phrase, but by shifting the notes one step at a time, the notes become staircases, and when they become staircases, they sound somewhat new.

I see. It is the same sound and the same world that we always hear and see, but something is a little different.

Matsushima: Yes. Also, the meaning of "cliche" = cliché was most important to me.

What's the story behind it?

Matsushima: A cliché, in other words, can be thought of as something unique to a person. It is something that is unique to that person.

I see. So you associate individuals with clichés. When you look at it that way, the way you see it and feel it changes completely. It has a much more positive connotation.

Matsushima: I think there are many reasons to feel a certain way about a person. The accumulation of various things make up a person, and this store has clothes that can become a cliché for you.

I see. The more I hear about it, the more I realize that you must have confidence and determination to name your restaurant.

Matsushima: This place (Yoyogihachiman) is not a place where customers come in fluidly, so I want to take the time to get to know them properly from their point of view.

I think your office is around here, isn't it?

Matsushima: Yes. . I have lived in this area ever since I first came to Tokyo.

Is that because of the presence of Yoyogi Park?

Matsushima: No, I have only been to Yoyogi Park about three times.

Eh! I see. Then why are you rooted here?

Matsushima: Well, I guess it's because there are not many convenience stores . I don't like convenience stores. For me, they are a place where everything is available, but nothing is. Convenience stores are not specialty stores, but they sell only ordinary things. I am not interested in such places, so I live far away from convenience stores.

Of course I understand what you are saying. But I think it is not easy to turn your back on things like convenience stores in this day and age. So, in other words, do you think that opening a store in this era is retrogressive or is this the legitimate thing to do?

Matsushima: There is a part of me that wants to do something different. . I don't want to go in the same direction. . That's why, when online became popular, I didn't want to do anything online.

I see. However, after the Corona disaster, the importance of physical communication is being reevaluated again, isn't it? . In that sense, perhaps it is oddly in line with the trends of the times.

I know this is off the subject of your store, but can you tell us a little bit about "Cantata"? Cantata" is expensive because of its uncompromising craftsmanship. What kind of customers tend to buy your products?

Matsushima: I don't think it makes sense to categorize by age. Some of our customers are young and some are 70 years old . What they have in common is that they can afford it. I am often asked, "Who is the target audience for Cantata?" The answer is "people who can afford it.

You said that age, occupation, position, and other titles are irrelevant.

Matsushima: Yes . By the way, our performance has never declined since we started the brand. . It has been going up every year. At the time of Corona, I often heard that buyers couldn't or wouldn't come to the exhibitions, but all of our business partners' buyers were able to come. I think that's how it is. We will definitely visit places where we have business.

The 2023SS exhibition was being held at the time of the interview. Crashed finish on high quality knitwear. This is fresh.

. . good things are good and good things are expensive, right? This is one of the things I have been keenly aware of recently in the midst of the Corona disaster. By the way, recently the prices of materials and raw materials have skyrocketed dramatically. How are you dealing with this?

Matsushima: Since our raw materials are imported , we are affected by the weak yen. . This is something we can no longer do anything about. For example, the price of the cashmere we use is about 1.5 times higher than it used to be. . If we do not change the price under these circumstances, our products must be inferior, and no one will be happy.

Indeed. I don't think it is limited to the apparel industry, but under the weak yen, we have no choice but to do so.

I understand that the two of you basically discuss and decide which brands to buy. Stein, BLESS, STUDIO NICHOLSON, m's braque, ROTOL, is-ness, 10-eyevan, etc. eyevan," and so on. But I don't have the image of Matsushima-san checking these brands on a daily basis, with all due respect.

Matsushima: Well, yes, I do (laughs). I don't know much about other brands. But I do know what they are like when I see them. . I have done OEM work in the past. . So, we discuss and make decisions while looking at the brands that Kinoshita picks up.

Do you wear clothes other than those from "Cantata" to begin with? For example, vintage clothes?

Matsushima: No, I don't wear them. I check vintage clothing regularly and occasionally buy some, but I don't wear them.

You mean for reference purposes?

Matsushima: Well, it's not like that. It's more like, "This has a nice atmosphere. I'd rather buy it myself than have someone else buy it.

Like protection. It's really unique. By the way, how much of your store is occupied by "Cantata"?

Matsushima: About half. Sometimes it fluctuates.

That's quite a few.

Matsushima: But I think that's about right. If there are more than that, it becomes kind of annoying, don't you think? (Laughter)

It has been about a month since you opened your restaurant. How did you feel about it, frankly speaking?

Matsushima: I'm doing great (laughs). . but you might want to ask Kinoshita about that.

How do you like it, Mr. Kinoshita?

Kinoshita: Well, a month, it went by so fast.

Mr. Kinoshita is the only one standing in the store, right?

Kinoshita: Yes, I was a bit flustered at first, but I'm used to it now. I am the sole operator of this restaurant, so there is no choice but to talk to me (laughs). . Maybe that's why I get the feeling that all the customers open up to me.

If so, does each customer spend a long time in the restaurant?

Kinoshita: It may be relatively long.

I think you've been getting a lot of attention for the way you dress and style your clothes, and Cantata is always a part of your daily look.

Kinoshita: Yes . I always incorporate one point. The rest varies depending on the day.

long vowel mark (usually only used in katakana)BlogMany of you may be looking forward to the

Kinoshita: I am grateful. Anyway, we have a variety of visitors. We are being kept alive by our customers, aren't we?

I want to be a store that is not about the brand, but about the people," said Mr. Matsushima at the end of the interview. You have absolute confidence in what you make, but you have people? No, it is precisely because he has confidence in his products that he feels this way.

I think that's what people are looking for," said Kinoshita. I think everyone is looking for that kind of thing," said Kinoshita.

Cliche," which is run by two people who love clothes more than anyone else and believe in the possibilities of clothing, is honestly a much more heartfelt store than one might expect.

. Finally, I asked. Why do you make clothes, Matsushima-san?

. because I want to see people's happy faces. . There are not many professions that can change people's faces and emotions in an instant. Buying clothes can change a person's life. . And it's not just an experience, it's something that stays with you. I think that is what is good about clothing and clothing stores.