City Country City" is an anonymous brand that does not disclose its design team, but has been steadily increasing its presence. In this Series, we interview creators who have been close friends of City Country City since its establishment, in order to find out what the brand is really like. We will be looking into the contents of this mysterious brand from all angles.
Toby Feltwell of C.E., who is an old friend of the design team, joins us this time to talk about how he sees the City Country City brand from his unique perspective. He has a unique perspective on fashion, and we ask him how he sees the "City Country City" brand. Let us find out what is beyond his gaze.
If we want to do something, we can do it ourselves.
City Country City" is a brand that you knew about even before it was launched, right?
Toby:That's right. I have known them since they were in their previous jobs, and they had been asking me about doing something on their own since shortly after C.E. started.
What did Toby tell you in response?
Toby:I told them, "You should definitely do it. Because, you know, we should do what we want to do, right? The brand they were working for was stable, and I remember advising them, "Why don't you do something completely different? . I remember advising them to do something completely different.
I see. C.E. started in 2011, so you have been consulting with us for more than 10 years now.
Toby:I thought it was totally fine to do it as a separate project from my main job , since I would be doing it as a separate project from my main job. There is less pressure. As for "C.E.," we had no idea whether the brand would do well or not, and we started the project not knowing whether we would get a good response, so we thought that if we wanted to do something, we could do it ourselves, and then the audience would just naturally expand. . There isn't much we can do for that, other than making clothes.
It's fun because there is no responsibility at all.
How did you see the creation of "City Country City" after it was actually launched?
Toby:I knew it was going to be this kind of brand. Very much like them (laughs). Even though there are only a few models, you can tell what kind of brand they are by looking at their clothes. I think that is very professional.
What do you think about the brand's approach to anonymity and not disclosing the design team?
Toby:I think it is a good idea. It is the easiest way. Some people want to be the front man, but I am not that type of person. Even with the Billionaire Boys Club before it was sold, I was able to do what I wanted because no one thought I was designing it. I enjoy doing what I want to do because I have no responsibility.
. but it is easier for customers to understand if there is a front man. Even for luxury brands, there is a creative director, right? But that person is in charge, not in charge of all the design work, and there is a separate designer behind the scenes. I believe that fashion needs both types of designers.
. It all started when I decided to start a brand with a friend.
What do you think about the current fashion scene in Japan?
Toby:Big brands would be investing and hooking up brands from all over the world. Japanese brands have also been lifted up by this, but I don't feel very good about it.
Why?
Toby:I hate to sound like an old man when I say that the backstreets were interesting when I was young, but in fact, in the 90's and earlier, the DC brand era, people created their own environment by themselves. I think that is the strength of Japanese fashion: how interesting things can be done without relying on big capital.
I don't understand the desire to be recognized and supported by famous brands, but in the end that just means being included as one of the cogs in the global fashion system. Is it a good thing to be handled by prominent select stores in the U.S. and Europe in this way? I think it is.
Toby:Fashion is different from art in that the interesting part is to design clothes and then have someone buy and wear them, and that is where the realism comes in.
The importance of the relationship between the brand and its fans.
Toby:. I enjoy seeing the clothes I was involved with in the city. . I enjoy the fact that I can change the scenery of the city in this way, even if only a little. Rather than having great people react to our work, we are happy to have people we don't expect, people who have nothing to do with our work, react to our work.
In that sense, both "City Country City" and "C.E." are independent, aren't they?
Toby:That's all I can think of. . That's where our roots are. We started with the idea of doing a brand with friends, making T-shirts, and when they sold, we asked ourselves, "What next? What's next?
In a way, it is similar to starting a band, isn't it?
Toby:When you start something, you start by starting a band, making T-shirts, making a zine, or becoming a good dancer, and so on. We have seen this in the past, and that is the only way we know how to do it.
Toby Feltwell.
Born in the U.K., he has worked in A&R at Mo'Wax since 1996, and has been involved with the brand as an advisor for BAPE and Billionaire Boys Club since 2003. In 2011, he founded C.E. with Skate Thing and Yutaka Hishiyama, and serves as the brand's director.
www.cavempt.com
Instagram:@cavempt
Photo_Yuta Okuyama
Text_Yuichiro Tsuji
