. make something that people don't need clothes for, but still want to pick up.
What kind of items do you have in mind next?
Kaneko: Knit caps, band-collar shirts, etc. are in the works. We have been making regular-collar shirts for a long time, but we are thinking of revamping them, tweaking the collars a bit, and renewing them. I am also thinking of creating a super wide body width size. I don't want to follow the trend, but rather to improve the precision of the product.
So you're saying it's never going to be finished?
Kaneko: It's endless. When I revisit a work, I can't help but find things that I want to tweak. Even if I thought it was perfect when I made it.
When that happens, while you can tinker anywhere you want, isn't it difficult to decide where you want to land?
Kaneko: . Perhaps it is because it is not difficult for me to do so that I am able to do it without stress. If I were to join "Komori" and try to work with them, I don't think it would work at all. There would be too many different opinions mixed together. However, we are aiming for something "normal," and we both have the same sense of "this is how it should be.
Komori: . after all, I think it is significant that we have been seeing the same thing since we were in our twenties.
So we are both at the point where we stop seasoning our food.
Komori: Designers do unnecessary things. I think it is natural for a designer to show his or her creativity if it is his or her own brand, but I think there are people who show their creativity in other areas. The other day, I went to an art museum, and the uniform there was so assertive that I was disappointed and e-mailed the museum to inquire about it.
Why were you so disappointed?
Komori: The space of that museum was extremely cool and the exhibits were very attractive. . I was only disappointed with the uniforms. When I inquired about it, I was told that they had commissioned a famous designer to renew the uniforms at the time of the museum's anniversary. The museum's first priority is the exhibition, and if the uniforms have an artist's touch, I think it will detract from the exhibition.
I see.
Komori: With regard to "LE," I am trying to give form to what Kaneko-san wants to do as much as possible. I think that Kaneko-san may need my colors, but I do not want to put my own proof of what I have done into the work. . So, we don't clash over how to land on the right spot. . In the first place, I wonder if the scenery of the city is so messy because there are so many designers in Tokyo. Overseas, it seems that the number of designers is limited. . That's why Europe and other places are so well organized. . I guess it's a matter of which one is better for the other.
Kaneko: The other day I visited the Jiyu Gakuen in Ikebukuro , Tokyo. That place was designed by Frank Lloyd Wright, and he seems to make the distance between the ground and the floor of the building very close. There are many houses designed by him in Chicago, and they are built with the same philosophy, but the climate in Japan is not like Chicago's, so it is very humid, and the floors seem to rot, so most of the floors have been changed. In other words, Komori's ego was adopted, and as a result, it was not suited to Japan. In this sense, you have established a new genre as a "flooring designer.
Komori: I'm really just trying to get it in order.
Kaneko: . I am glad that they are doing it true to the concept. There is no "here, why don't we do this?" I've seen many shops, but I think it's really rare for an original label to be able to do something like this. I have seen the inner workings of many stores, but I think it is rare for an original label to be able to do something like this.
Komori: A stylist I respect said to me, "When you create something nowadays, you have to do it on the assumption that everyone has a variety of clothes. He was so right. Even though people don't need clothes anymore, we must create something that they will still want to pick up. In an age when we will need less and less clothes, I really think that at the very least, the creator must make something that people want to wear themselves.
Kaneko: I think that's really true. Especially now that we live in an age where deception is no longer an option. That is why I only want to offer what I think is necessary for people to go out of their way to visit my store. I believe that only such stores and brands will remain in the future. We must do our best.
