An artist neatly clad in the story of skating.
Mr. Konno talked about what he is thinking now and what he is looking forward to in the future as he marks the 20th anniversary of his company. We visited the atelier of artist Haroshi, who has been a close friend of Konno's for some time, and asked him to talk about their mutual creations and the down jackets that are the result of a triple collaboration with Descente Ortelaine.
PROFILE
Born in 1978, he has been collecting old skateboards that skaters have ridden since 2003 and using them as materials to create sculptures. As a skater himself, he is highly acclaimed both in Japan and abroad. He belongs to the gallery "NANZUKA" in Jingumae, and just published a collection of his works "HAROSHI(2003-2021)" this year.
Please tell us about how the two of you met.
Konno:A friend of mine who works in the fashion industry invited me to go see an exhibition that he thought I would like. We went to a gallery in Aoyama, and Haroshi was there. At that time, your name was still HARVEST, right?
Haroshi:Yes, I have been working under the name of HARVEST by haroshi. I think it was a solo exhibition called "SKATE&DESTROY" in 2010.
Konno:By the time I got there, most of the pieces were sold out. In the end, I could not buy anything at that time, but the work was so cool that we exchanged contact information, and we began to correspond with each other. Right after that, I had a project I wanted to ask Haroshi to do for me, and he came to my office.
Haroshi:Yes, it was.
What kind of project was it?
Konno:I think it was around the time when the street brand "HUF" moved its headquarters from San Francisco to LA, but there was a time when things were not going well even in LA. I think it was around the time when the street brand "HUF" moved its headquarters from San Francisco to LA, but things were not going well in LA either. I really wondered what was going to happen. I really wondered what was going to happen. But Keith Hufnagel, the founder of HUF, had not given up, and asked me, "Are there any interesting artists who would be a good fit for HUF? I asked him if there were any interesting artists who would be a good fit for HUF.
I had just met Haroshi at that time, and thought we would be a great match because he is also a skater, so I made a proposal, and Keith seemed to like it a lot.
Haroshi:I think the San Francisco store was still around at that time. Keith invited me to go to "San Francisco," and right after that, the store closed. So the HUF crew all moved to LA. It was in LA that I started contacting Keith and we had our first meeting, but at that time, everyone was already working in a small warehouse.
Konno:I was also a member of HUF's design team for a while, and we usually talked about Haroshi. He said he never thought there would be an artist who would be so into our brand. He said he was glad that there was an artist who could properly tell the story of skating. After that, we opened a store in LA, and the story about the opening party was very interesting (laughs).
What's the story?
Konno:I have Haroshi's middle finger work in that store, and it is the one printed on that deck. The middle finger has been erased (laughs). (laughs). This is a story about that work.
Haroshi:Everyone tells me that one (laughs). (Laughs.) It's a really embarrassing story. When I was setting up at the store, a stranger approached me and said, "I'll buy your work. But I didn't know him at all, and I told him I couldn't buy it because it was too expensive, but he showed me a picture of his house. He showed me a picture of his house, which was a huge mansion with an obscene stone statue of a famous contemporary artist in the yard. I tried to register my name as "Free," but he said, "No, it's Flea.
When the party started and Mr. Konno and his friends came to the party, I remember being asked, "Haroshi-kun, do you know that person? I remember that he said, "Haroshi-kun, do you know that person?
Konno:That was a free for all for the lechri (laughs).
All:LOL!
Haroshi:Of course, I knew about Leccoli, but I wasn't that familiar with their visuals. I was more familiar with Suicidal Tendencies, and I knew Mike Muir and Jim Muir better. But I never expected to see Free DJing at a place like that. Immediately afterwards, I boasted, "We exchanged cell phone numbers! I bragged about it (laughs). I still have it registered.
Did you end up selling your work?
Haroshi:I did not sell it because Keith had asked me to make it for him. But after that, I met a guy who worked with big artists such as Letchli, and he let me stay at his mansion.
Konno:You stayed there! It was an amazing mansion. It was in a quiet residential area, but Haroshi told me it was too big for me to stay there by myself.
Haroshi:The security buzzer didn't stop and I was in a great hurry (laughs). The person who rented it to me was a freelance friend of mine who was organizing a big donation concert with Leccoli. I heard that Damien Hirst was also involved in the project, and he was very fond of me. He bought my works and auctioned them at a donation event.
But it sounds like a dream come true.
Konno:It's all thanks to you, Haroshi. We have a lot of memories to share.
Haroshi:We were together all the time in LA, weren't we? We stayed in the same motel.
Konno:There is a very nice motel and it's a cozy place. It's in a great location, but the room rates are reasonable, and I always stay there when I go to LA.
Haroshi:I once had an acquaintance say to me, "Why are you staying at this place? You should stay in a nicer place" (laughs). But I still like staying in places like that because it's kind of skater-like.
Konno:I understand that feeling very well. A person in the apparel industry once told me, "If you stay in a good place, good jobs will come around. I sometimes think that's true, but once you raise your standard of living, you can't lower it. So when I went to LA, I stayed there as a way to go back to my roots. Even if I could fly business class with the miles I have accumulated, I always stay there.
I guess you could say that we should never forget our first love.
Konno:I could be more greedy, but I feel that if I forget my starting point, I will not be myself, or my gears will go haywire (laughs).
Haroshi:But they stay in mansions (laughs).
