BUYER 04 Building relations must be the most important thing from now on.
PROFILE
Buyer of Men's Creators at Isetan Shinjuku , After joining the company in 2014, he worked in sales for two years on the second floor of the Men's Building at Isetan Shinjuku , From April 2016, he served as Assistant Buyer in the Men's Creators, Shinjuku Merchandise Department, Men's and Sports Division, and has been in his current position since 2020.
www.imn.jp/special/link_creators/
. What were some of the brands that impressed you the most in the video works presented online?
The presentations were held until midnight, so it was difficult to watch them in real time, but I gave priority to the brands I was in charge of, and I was particularly impressed with the quality of the images created by "Maison Mihara Yasuhiro. It was worth seeing, and the quality was excellent. The idea of staging a series of stories before and after the show under the circumstances where a fashion show could not be held was wonderful. At the exhibition, Mr. Mihara (Yasuhiro Mihara) himself told me the story behind the project, saying that he made revisions until just before the show, and it seems that he went through a lot of hard work. The world view that is typical of the brand was of course great for "Color," but the idea of setting up the 360-degree camera vertically and having the model step over the camera to take pictures was interesting. The angle of view from below is not something you can see on the runway.
The "Maison Mihara Yasuhiro" movie starts with a scene of a puppet doll getting out of bed. The film is structured to follow a day in the life of the press and buyers visiting Paris, taking photos of breakfast, being snapped in front of the show venue, and having their name lists checked at the entrance. Real models are used on the runway.
After a hiatus from runway shows since Fall-Winter 2017-18, "Color" is back on the official schedule with 26 cameras capturing the models from all 360-degree angles. . Direction was by filmmaker Yusuke Tanaka , and photography by Kazunari Tajima.
I see that you are still focusing on the approach that can be taken only with digital technology.
Yes, I agree. On the other hand, I believe that the best way to understand clothes is to see them as people walk, so the "Celine" show, which captured the models walking from countless angles, was very easy to watch as a "runway" in the digital age. The images of FACETASM, WHITE MOUNTAINERING, and WELDAN, which were created by a creative team called CEKAI, had a modernity to them, and I could feel that as the meaning of this Paris Men's show.
Céline, which was presented after the Paris Men's Fashion Week came to a close, was inspired by e-boys, the youth of today who dance on TikTok, and was titled "THE DANCING KID". The French motor circuit was used as a runway, and the models were captured from various angles and perspectives, including a drone.
Q. What are your honest impressions of the digital presentation of fashion this time?
I still don't have a good or bad impression of the show. It was definitely a completely different feeling from watching the show. In the absence of rules, each brand proceeded with its own interpretation, and there was a clear difference. Although a campaign-like video can capture inspiration, the question remains as to whether it is possible to present a collection that can also grasp the atmosphere and the movement of the clothes. However, I believe that this time is just a starting point. Personally, being able to go to an exhibition of a domestic brand was a big deal, but on the other hand, I also felt the limitations of the online ordering system, which contains several times more images and photos than usual.
Are there any new brands that you are going to stock, for example?
With budgets limited due to Corona, we cannot make irresponsible purchases. We are very cautious, but we decided to deal with Song for the Mute from Australia, which we were originally interested in. We spent more than 3 hours online, and the director of the brand was also present to show us the background of production, which is partially done in Japan, so we felt confident that we could do business with them. The time difference was small, so it was easy to communicate with them. When dealing with Europe, one of us is either early or late, and they seem to be kind of sleepy (laughs).
Isetan Shinjuku reopened for business on May 30.
It is not limited to the department store industry, but the business performance is not on a steady rise, so the efficiency part of the business is required. Naturally, the volume of purchases is not the same as before. In addition, some of our stores are directly managed in areas other than those where we directly purchase goods. The organization of such floors is also reviewed every year, so it is necessary to think comprehensively. When the emergency declaration was lifted and business resumed, I think the fact that we were not as depressed as we had imagined was due in large part to the fact that we were able to attract customers, mainly from the Maison. Many of those who actually came to the store had high annual purchase amounts, and I think they felt comfortable about shopping at "Isetan," including the Corona measures.
Do you think this will lead to your vision for the future?
. Yes, that's right. One of our goals for the future is to increase the number of customers who look forward to the start of each season, and building relationships is the most important thing we need to do from now on. In addition to these things, I believe that one of the strengths of "Isetan" is that we have food and beverage, art, and all kinds of food, clothing, and housing such as tableware. Sales of accessories from brands that are actually able to commit to a lifestyle have been strong. If we can curate and transmit information, rather than simply e-commerce, we can create a new way of looking at things, saying, "I can buy all of my items there at once. . This may be where the potential of department stores lies.
