PROFILE
Born in Tokyo , 1976. After working in sales, planning, and store direction at select stores, he launched his own brand "VINL ARCHIVE" in 2009, and opened a gallery and concept store, SALT AND PEPPER, in Ebisu-Nishi in 2018. In the same year, he started a collaboration with "Reebok CLASSIC" for the SS season. He has designed "CLUB C" and "DAYTONA DMX" and will launch "Reebok eightyone" in 2020.
. I wanted to design for a different market than my own brand.
Mr. Ohkita, please tell us how you became the designer of Reebok Eighty-One.
I originally had the opportunity to collaborate with you twice on " Vinyl Archive ". I was asked, "How about trying a design with more depth? I had never done such a thing myself, so I decided to give it a try. I had never done anything like that before, so I decided to give it a try.
The two previous collaborations were "started because I really wanted to know what was out there," he said.Past InterviewsThe story was told in .
I want to know what I want to know , what I don't know. . The price range is different from my own brand, and the customers are different, too. I guess you could say that curiosity is what pushed me. Vinyl Archive makes clothes for a certain segment of the market, but for a global brand like Reebok, the market is much broader.
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I'm interested in how to expand on that while keeping my own tension. . When you are working on your own brand, you inevitably have a fixed image and way of seeing things. But I wanted to try something different from that.
When you were approached, did you make an immediate decision?
I have collaborated with him twice now, and the person in charge of the project was very trustworthy. I am grateful for the opportunity to work with him.
I kept pinching myself, saying, "Oh my God, what am I going to do?"
. Until now, it has been sneakers, but I was surprised that this collection is mainly apparel.
It was very difficult. There were so many rules that were beyond my tolerance.
What are the rules?
The scale of our approach to production for each item is completely different. Of course, there is a way to control the unit price, but normally, I express what I want to do, which is to pursue what I like and what I think is good without worrying about the price of the fabrics. But if I do it that way, I can't reach the price range of Reebok items. I was reminded of the balance between the types and quantities of fabrics we make and our approach to the price range: "This is a global brand?
Reebok eightyone〉Woven jacket ¥14,000＋TAX
Reebok eightyone〉Woven pants ¥11,000＋TAX
Is this another global expansion?
Asia is the main one. The contract is also "Reebok Asia Pacific". Our main markets are Japan, China, Korea, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Southeast Asian countries, and Australia, and we will expand to other regions, the U.S., etc.
When you design, do you keep such a market in mind?
I was aware of that. We have our headquarters in Shanghai, and I wondered if the market there is a little different from what is sold in Japan. Of course, Japan is also part of Asia, but my brand is rarely distributed overseas, and I was not that aware of Asia. That is why I felt the need to be aware of it.
The way stores are built over there is different, and Shanghai is more like a mall culture. It is more like a mass market than an individual store. People say that Japan has everything, and they have everything too, but the meaning of that has changed. I recognized that the place where we are usually located is unique.
Reebok eightyone〉Long sleeve T-shirt ¥6,690＋TAX
Are these market ideas reflected in this collection?
I am doing that. However, I had a lot of trouble when I was making it. There were two or three changes from what I had in mind at first. The project started at the end of last year, and I made it throughout the year, but the "Vinyl Archive" is divided into six months. That's why I could put my own timely moods into the project, but not this time, so it took me a while to find the right balance throughout the year.
. To be honest, at first, there were many confusing aspects. As I mentioned earlier, different fabrics come from different factories with different backgrounds, and I could not read the habits and finishes of each factory. When I thought about designing a garment to match the fabric, I was so worried that I couldn't see the full extent of the garment. I also dared to use dark tones for the colors of the clothes, while keeping in mind the color palette typical of Reebok, but when I thought about the consistency of the concept and manufacturing throughout the year, I was bound by that and found it difficult to move around. But I had to differentiate it from Reebok's inline line, and I thought, "What should I do? . I was always in a pinch.
If the brand name "Vinyl Archive" was attached, I would be able to design accordingly, but since that is not the case this time, I used my brain in a different way than in the past.
Reebok eightyone〉Jersey jacket ¥12,000＋TAX
Reebok eightyone〉Half-zip jersey ¥9,900＋TAX
Reebok eightyone〉Jersey pants ¥9,900＋TAX
I understand that the "Eighty-One" in the collection name is taken from the Japanese international number.
. At first I heard it under a different concept name. However, I felt that it was not quite right, and "eighty-one" came to mind. The meaning is similar in some ways. Tokyo has a lot of different cultures, and everyone has their own way of digging into them, editing them, and expressing them in their own way. I wanted to bring out that kind of remixed feeling, which is why I gave it the name. I hope it will have a total Tokyo feel to it.
