PROFILE
After working as a buyer for the select store "Edifice", he became independent. . After working on his own, he launched "Reshop" in 2015. . He loves to wear "2002" items from "New Balance".
New Balance is attractive because you can make selections as if you were choosing leather shoes.
When was the first time you wore items from "New Balance"?
Kaneko: That was when I was in high school. The school uniform was the school run, and I wore items from "New Balance" with it. It was a popular way of dressing, and I was wearing them too.
Do you remember the model?
Kaneko: I think it was in the 500s. I remember that I was in high school and had no money , so I chose a model that was easy to pick up. No particular preference for American-made. But the color was gray. From that time on, the image of "New Balance" was gray. Conversely, I had no image of anything other than gray.
A: Wearing "New Balance" with the school run was quite a novelty at the time, wasn't it?
Kaneko: It was the so-called "Shibu-Kaja" era, and there were a lot of people wearing long hair, the school run, and "New Balance" outfits. Such mixed outfits were very popular.
I have the impression that you wear leather shoes or boots, but when I look at your media and SNS, I see that you sometimes wear sneakers.
Kaneko: Until recently, leather shoes and boots accounted for 90%. Now, however, the percentage of "New Balance" is gradually increasing. I used to wear only "2002s" and never other models, but when I saw a special-order item at "KITH," I really liked the color, and I was drawn to more "New Balance" items. I was drawn to them and started to buy more and more New Balance items.
. Once you get into it, you keep digging deeper and deeper, just like Mr. Kaneko (laughs).
Kaneko: I think everyone who loves "New Balance" is the same way, but there is something about it that tickles the desire to collect.
What is this "something"?
Kaneko: I don't think anyone else but "New Balance" has made jogging shoes for town use with this level of attention to detail. The country of production is also carefully selected, an approach not seen in many other brands. I think the quality of the shoes, the country of production, and the history of the brand are all important. I think one of the charms of "New Balance" is that you can select shoes just as you would select leather shoes.
What can be said with certainty is that the products are made differently from other brands, and the aura that they wear is exceptional. That is why I am attracted to them as products. The same can be said for clothes, which I often buy because I am attracted to them as products, rather than because they are easy to match or wear.
. You are not only attracted by the design, but also by the essence of the product.
Kaneko: When considering only sports, performance is everything, so there are more choices, but in the case of "New Balance," such functional aspects are also at a high level. Naturally, the shoes you wear will depend on the situation, but for town use, "New Balance" is genuinely attractive.
