On March 1st, a talk show was held by Moriya Satoshi, editor-in-chief of the magazine SENSE, at "THE BLACK SENSE MARKET in ISETAN," a brick-and-mortar shop run in collaboration between the magazine and Isetan Men's. In a relay format, he spoke with nine designers from Tokyo men's brands about fashion and the collaborative items in the project.
Participating in the event were Udo Koji of FACTOTUM, Ohno Masao of RIPVANWINKLE, Obana Daisuke of N.HOOLYWOOD, Kitahara Tetsuo of BACKBONE, Kumagai Kazuyuki of ATTACHMENT, Horikawa Tatsuro of JULIUS, Homma Masaaki of MASTERMIND JAPAN, Mihara Yasuhiro of MIHARAYASUHIRO, and Watanabe Masashi of BEDWIN & THE HEARTBREAKERS.
Udo Koji of FACTOTUM, who opened the talk show, celebrated the 10th anniversary of the founding of his brand last October. For the collaboration, Udou proposed a jacket and pants featuring denim, a signature feature of his brand, on the lapels and flaps. As he has been strengthening his suit line in recent years, he used a stretchy fabric woven in Oshu, a woolen textile producing region, to ensure comfort for men of Udou's generation, who are the same age as Moriya. Udou commented, "Black is a masculine color. I usually wear it for special occasions like weddings." The second guest was Masao Ohno, designer of Rip Van Winkle, which is celebrating its 17th anniversary this year. Moriya commented, "Since the beginning of the brand, I've consistently maintained a simple image," to which Udou replied, "My preferences haven't changed, so I've been evolving simple pieces by adding sporty and military elements." Regarding his own fashion, he said, "I'm happy when people compliment my pants," and commented that even in the collaborative items he created for this project, he consciously drew the eye downward by adding texture, such as gathers below the knee on the pants. The third guest was N-Harrier's Obana Daisuke. Moriya was the only one to meet Obana for the first time during this talk show, and the conversation began with a handshake. Regarding his current clothing design, Obana said, "It's precisely because my brand has matured as a team that I'm able to delve deeply into the theme of my collections." Regarding fashion, he commented, "I just want the person wearing my clothes to shine, and my clothes should be a support that highlights the kind of person I am." While his own brand has always been conscious of keeping prices affordable for younger generations, this time, as part of a "Sensation" project, he raised the price point and recreated his specialty, the military-inspired MA-1 jacket, in elegant leather.
Continued on 2/3.
