. the path that the TAGS Working Party has taken so far.
Your brand was launched in 2005, and you have continued to create avant-garde creations from generation to generation. How did you get started?
Morioka:When I was in Bunka Fashion College, I wanted to start a brand and started it with my friends. After graduation, each of us got a job, so we mainly work at Jiyugaoka as our atelier and at Kaoru Uno Shoten. Working Party" means "work group," so it is a perfect brand name for us who work hard at making things as a team.
The first printed T-shirt I ever made. This is where it all began.
Do you have any items that serve as your starting point?
Morioka:The first print I ever made in my life was a design of Andy Warhol and his muse, Nico. Mr. ABBEY Matsunaga, the representative of the hair salon I went to when I was a student, lent me a print kit called "T-shirt-kun. By the way, you can find it at Tokyu Hands. When I cut the collage with scissors and silk-screened it, I printed too strongly and there are some half-shifts and blotches. It could be taken as a failure, but I was hooked by the incalculable nature of hand printing, and from then on, I printed T-shirts every day.
. In your early works, we can see more of your "handiwork".
Morioka:I just love to work by hand. 2005 T-shirt I made was a T-shirt wrapped in cellophane and put in a tube. It was inspired by overseas imports. (first photo above)
The badges I made around 2008 were inspired by a military medal and a batch from an Andy Warhol box set. . The ripped design was inspired by a torn poster I saw in a town overseas. The badge is a personal lucky charm, as famous film directors used to buy it for me. (Second photo above)
The rich variety of your products shows your endless creativity, but doesn't it take an enormous amount of time to create?
Morioka:That is exactly right. In the early days of the brand, I did not yet have an illustrator and spent a lot of time in Photoshop creating graphics and logos, which I miss. It was also interesting to sprinkle prints on various items, and the variety of items became more varied, from T-shirts to badges to posters. . I also got into creating spaces for events and exhibitions.
While working at "TAGS WORKING PARTY," you were also a member of the apparel division of "M&M CUSTOM PERFORMANCE" led by Toshimi Murakami. Interior design of apparel stores and cafes is said to be an art form.
Morioka:I am greatly influenced by the way Mr. Mura (Toshimi Murakami) approaches his work. When we did the pop-up, I approached the space design as if I were creating a single store. Even if it takes a long time, I want to be particular about it and make something that I am satisfied with. Learning the attitude of craftsmanship under Mr. Mura is an asset for me.
So, how did you start your own business?
Morioka:In fact, there was a time when I was so busy working on my two feet that I had to take a break from "TAGS Working Party. . Then, I suffered a broken leg. . While I was in the hospital, for the first time in a long time, I tried designing as I pleased and was able to complete 10 designs in two days. It was an opportunity for me to reconfirm my desire to create my own brand, and my partner's words of encouragement, "Let's do it again," pushed me to get serious about it, and I became independent.
. He takes pictures of cars, billboards, workers' uniforms, etc. that he sees on the streets of foreign countries. He uses them as a source of ideas.
. How did you accumulate the vast amount of input that is the source of your creativity?
Morioka:During my college days, there was a legendary store called "Philosophy Store" , which had an assortment of books for digging into culture. I started reading there and at the same time started collecting graphic books at Tawareco and the bookstore in the basement of Parco. I wasn't a good student who took classes well, but I was devoted to graphics as my interests dictated.
You have had pop-up stores at "Journal Standard" and "Base Yard Tokyo," but you have always maintained a fresh approach to the times while establishing your brand identity. I feel that one of the things that makes TAGS Working Party unique is its "foreign smell. What is the origin of that?
Morioka:. Whenever I go abroad, I always walk around looking at logo designs. The importation of designs into Japan strengthens the brand's worldview. Whenever I travel, take a walk, or visit museums, I find designs from other countries in various situations, which inspires me to incorporate my own "personality" and expand the range of my graphic work.
