No matter how much "genderless" and "unisex" trends are touted, each person has their own way of doing things. From a practical standpoint, items designed by male designers for men and female designers for women are more persuasive as products. Of course, this doesn't apply to couture houses. However, many designers will tell you that items for the same gender, which can be thought of as an extension of one's own body, are "easier to create" and "more authentic." N.HOOLYWOOD, created by designer Daisuke Obana, is no exception. Having continually presented collections in New York, the brand is now one of Japan's leading men's brands, and this fall/winter it will be releasing a women's collection exclusively at Isetan Mitsukoshi. N.Hollywood is well-known for its wide-ranging collaborations, from Levi's in the past to Mountain Hardwear, a capsule collection with Diesel, and a recent Japan-exclusive collaboration with Reebok Classic. This time, the brand is offering women's sizes for the first time in a while. Obana, who explained, "It was a kind of collaboration, and an interesting chemical reaction was born." We spoke directly with him. --You're now offering women's sizes. What was the background to that? This isn't actually my first time offering women's items. I released one around the second year after starting my collection. Many of my female acquaintances kept asking me for smaller sizes, so I made some. But they didn't sell at all (laughs). In the end, it seemed cute for my brand to wear men's sizes as they were. After that, I decided I'd never do it again (laughs).

--This is the first time in a while that you're rolling out women's sizes.

For me, it would be nice to use this as a new experiment. Rather than me creating something new for women, I thought it would be good if the women's buying team at Isetan Mitsukoshi could give me direction, with a sort of "shopping sense," like, "I'd like the length of this coat to be a little shorter." I thought it would be a learning experience for me and create some interesting chemistry.



--In that sense, I imagine you discovered a lot.

There are definitely more layers to style than in the men's collection. Women who are usually conservative might pick out something more fashionable on their days off. I think the fun of women's fashion is that they don't have a set style. That's why, even during meetings, I took a step back and observed the interactions between the female buyers.

I felt that having the buyers pick out the pieces would result in a more consistent women's fashion. This time, my ego was almost completely absent. Of course, I was prepared to say something if it seemed out of place for our brand, but that didn't happen at all. We've had a long relationship with Isetan, and I think that's thanks to the mutual trust we've built up over the years.

--What approach do you usually take when collaborating?

For example, when we collaborate with a select shop, we thoroughly interview them to find out what other brands will be displaying in-store. We then hold numerous meetings with the shop staff and the design team to ensure that everyone on the team can say, "That's why this collaboration came about." We place great importance on this process. This time too, we had a number of meetings.



--That's right, collaborations don't work without trust.

You can't have credibility without a wealth of experience. I have a main collection, a suit line, and various segments within my brand. I usually collaborate with brands and shops that fit well with the positioning of each segment. However, with this collaboration for women's sizes, everything was an exception.

It's like the "shopping sensation" I mentioned earlier. You have to pick out items impulsively; with women's items, "freshness" and "energy" are important, aren't they? So, with the help of them (the buyers), I think we were able to achieve a true collaboration.

--This time, I don't think it will be like 10 years ago when it "didn't sell at all" (laughs).

I hope so (laughs). Whether shown as a look or as individual pieces, I think we have created items that can be worn by a variety of people. When they hit the shelves in the future, how will they be handled, what kind of people will pick them up, and what will they think? I'm curious to see their reactions.


[Store Information]
Available at: Isetan Shinjuku Main Building 2F = TOKYO Closet / Re-Style TOKYO