Genealogy of "É
Final L'ECHOPPE Conceptor
Keiji Kaneko

Nakamuro：That's surprisingly good right now , isn't it (laughs)?

Kaneko:. but that's almost the same thing as what I'm doing now with my "reshop", Amish hats and such. . it's more like pulling fashion from the culture of a small town and making people more familiar with the area.

Nakamuro：Indeed . It's a more spiritual approach.

Kaneko:So in that sense, I guess not much has changed from the past.

Nakamuro：I came up with the idea of having Mr. Kaneko appear in this "Seekers - E no Keifu" when "Reshop" was established in Aoyama,A project in which he and Ozaki of "Sankakke" had a talk at HOUYHNHNM's.You know, there was a

Kaneko:Ah , there it is.

Nakamuro：When I saw that, I was very happy to see that the light had finally been shone on Kaneko-san. I remember I shared that project right away. The reason why I was so happy is that what everyone is thinking now, "Wow, Kaneko-san," is actually the same thing he has been doing for the past 15 to 16 years. People just didn't realize it. So, from the perspective of someone who knew Mr. Kaneko from the beginning, I was very happy.

Kaneko:I see.

Nakamuro：So you're probably right that it hasn't changed. But I was wondering about the buying process, and I would like to ask you about that. I once accompanied Mr. Kaneko on a buying trip when I was 22 years old and working in the press. I was 22 years old when I started working in the press. I was surprised at how much walking he did. I had a duffel bag full of "actual" items to buy. . and I didn't take a cab to the next point.

Kaneko:Yes, it is.

Nakamuro：No matter how much luggage I had, I was sure I would find something on the way there. I was surprised at how much walking buyers do. Hasn't anything changed?

Kaneko:I wonder if it has changed. Basically, they are going down a road they don't know. That's where the discoveries are made.

Nakamuro：Ah, what is the "actual thing" you were talking about earlier? I see that you have been asked that question.

Kaneko:Usually, purchasing is done in the cycle of ordering a few pieces of clothing and having them delivered a few months later, but buying the actual items means buying the items as they are and putting them on display in the store. . This may sound like a kind of diversion (laughs). (laughs) But it is not like that. It is more like a second-hand clothing store buying second-hand clothes. We introduce to our customers what we think is good, and that is what we call "actual products.

Nakamuro：Also, there was a marche (Marche Opus) next to the Shibuya store of "Edifice" at that time. It was in a garage space. It was like a flea market held on Saturdays and Sundays in a place a bit far from Paris, with items bought from France and other European countries.

Kaneko:Yes, I did. I went to the South of France to buy an ashtray (laughs).

Nakamuro：That place had a French wind blowing, didn't it? By the way, how was Edifice at that time from your point of view?

Kaneko:Well, I wasn't very objective about it, but I didn't know anything about it at the time, so I was just trying to express what France was today. I think I was the first to put vintage clothes on display at Edifice. At first, I thought it was a bad idea to use old clothes, so I was looking for dead stock, and I found them in the stock of a work clothes shop. But things gradually escalated, and I started putting used clothes in there as well (laughs). (Laughs.) I felt that having such items in a store like that would be a breakthrough. It was like trying something out of the ordinary. It's a completely different way of using one's mind than buying at a typical exhibition, and it allows for some very interesting expressions. Customers are not always the same, but there is always something new to discover. Yes, it must have been a place of many discoveries.

Nakamuro：Yes, it was.

Kaneko:Also, the actual product was something that had to be done as a "BAYCREW'S" tradition. I am not very dexterous, so I had to walk around and look for things more than anyone else. However, this was a time when there were no social networking sites or blogs like there are today, so I could only teach the staff directly. The big difference between now and then is that I was not able to communicate directly to the world. So I was just doing it secretly at that store in Shibuya.

Nakamuro：Yes, it was. So it was a restaurant that only those in the know knew about, now that I think about it. You never knew where to find something, so you just went there. As I mentioned earlier, when I accompanied Mr. Kaneko on his buying trip to Europe, I heard that there was going to be an exhibition of military goods in Barcelona, and I took two days to go there. When I got there, there was nothing (to buy), so the exhibition was over in 30 minutes, and I spent almost two whole days sleeping on the beach (laughs).

Kaneko:There was . I can say that now (laughs).

Nakamuro：. there's a siesta, and the stores aren't open. . and at night, if you get hungry, you can go out for a good meal, and so on.

Kaneko:The food is good in Barcelona . And the beaches are great.

Nakamuro：I don't think you'll find such a leaner outcropping nowadays. It's more like a pan.

Kaneko:. but as for the buying groove, it's not that different. I go on a hunch. . But the accuracy is totally different from back then. Experience seems to be important, and I don't miss as much as I used to. . But I don't think the sense of the city I want to visit has changed much. But I think they are connected to my work. I think I need to analyze that more and pass it on to my juniors. I don't think I'll ever end up doing something just for fun. On the other hand, I think I'll miss it.

Nakamuro：. but in the end, there is no such thing as wasted time. I am sure to learn something from it.

Kaneko:. yes, I know. Waste is not really waste. I feel that it is a source of sustenance for me.

Nakamuro：I'm sure there are many brands that you have found overseas, but what are some of the so-called "discovered brands"?

Kaneko:I think the major brand right now is " Frank Leader.

Nakamuro：How did you find it?

Kaneko:. It was in a select store in London that I didn't really understand. A quick look around the store revealed nothing that I wanted, but I had a pioneering spirit, so I thought I would find something. Then I saw three or four pieces of "Frank Reader" in the corner.

Nakamuro：What kind of item is it?

Kaneko:I think it was a store court or something. There was one corner there that was obviously weird. It was a material I really liked. I picked it up and found that it was a brand I didn't know at all, but I bought it right away. . When I got in touch with Frank, he was living in London at the time. He was living almost next door to Mr. Nishigaki, the BAYCREW's representative in London at the time.

Nakamuro：An expatriate is the kind of person who gave information about London to the buyers of each brand.

Kaneko:. Yes. And from there, for the first few seasons, he was only doing "Edifice," and then he started to appear in the London collection, and it got bigger and bigger. I knew his graffiti was funny, so I had T-shirts made for him.

Nakamuro：I bought that one. It's a Basquiat kind of thing.

Kaneko:Oh yeah . . that was born out of the cute graffiti I saw at his house.

Nakamuro：I see.

Kaneko:I also honestly felt the need to make something that would sell, since my other products were not selling well.

Nakamuro：There was. How long did it take you to become famous from there?

Kaneko:Maybe 2 or 3 years. . with an agency or something. We kind of drifted apart from there.

Nakamuro：I see . And, I see you have a comment. I think "Jessica Ogden" might be one of them. This is a comment from BAYCREW'S (laughs).

Kaneko:Jessica Ogden" was originally done for "DOUSEM CLASS" as a women's collection. However, I thought it would be nice to have a men's collection by her, so I asked her to create one for "EDIFICE.

Nakamuro：That was cool too.

Kaneko:It didn't sell, though (laughs).

Nakamuro：Didn't all the store staff buy it?

Kaneko:. It's inexpensive now, but it was probably expensive at the time. That was the first time we collaborated on a women's collection for men's wear. After that, I started going to Paris and other cities to see women's collections.

Nakamuro：Wow, that's what you did . What other brands did you have?

Kaneko:Also, there is a knit artist in London named Hikaru Noguchi, and I had him make some of my clothes. And then there is Honore.

Nakamuro：Ah, there was that , wasn't there? That was born out of that kind of project too, wasn't it?

Kaneko:Yes, yes.

Nakamuro：Who did Manolo Blahnik work with?

Kaneko:That was me, wasn't it?

Nakamuro：Ah, that was Mr. Kaneko, too, wasn't it? For us salespeople, "Manolo Blahnik" is the one with the pinwheels, isn't it? We were like, "Manolo Blahnik is that guy with the pinwheels, isn't it? Men's wear was totally unheard of in those days. I heard that EDIFITH asked you to make it, and the world's first men's shoes were made.

Kaneko:Ah, that's misinformation. Actually, secretly, Mr. Manolo was making a little bit of menswear.

Nakamuro：Oh, I see , that's right. I believe that was in 2001 or so.

Kaneko:. yes, that's right. I think that was about it. I was connected to Mr. Manolo through a certain source, and we decided to stock men's shoes only at "Edifice," but they didn't sell at all (laughs). No, I was really sorry at the time, but they didn't sell at all.

Nakamuro：（. lol.) . but I bought lace-up boots and side gores. Those shoes had a certain sex appeal, didn't they? Wow, I didn't realize that was Kaneko-san's project.

Kaneko:It's different from the places that make men's stuff, and that's what attracted me to it as well.