PROFILE
He started his career in the machine tool industry and later entered the eyeglass industry. After three years of brand management, he joined Ivan Co., Ltd. and participated in the launch of various labels as a designer. He has now launched "E5 eyevan" will be launched in the fall of 2021.
PROFILE
She has experience as store staff and press at select stores. He then established Murofis, which handles PR and branding for various brands centering on fashion, and while working as a PR director, he started his own bag brand "MONOLITH" last year. He is also a user of "Ivan" and is in charge of PR.
The goal was to achieve both functionality and artistry.
“10 eyevan" is based on the concept of "beautiful tools”.
Nakagawa: 10 Ivan was born in 2017, but even before that, I had been making glasses while always chanting in my mind, "I want to make beautiful tools," as if under a spell.
Nakamuro： “Beautiful tools" is a very deep word, isn't it?
Nakagawa: That's right. It is a word that sounds good to the ear, but when you think about it, it is a very strange word. Glasses are a tool for people to use in their daily lives. Therefore, I don't think that beauty is necessary for a tool. If they are easy to use and hard to break, I think that is enough.
Yes, it may sound somewhat contradictory.
Nakagawa: But I wondered if we could pursue both at the same time. Beauty is artistry, and tools are functionality. Ivan" is a product that combines the two in a coaxial manner and incorporates them into a product called "eyeglasses. Ivan" is a product that combines these two in a coherent manner. Before starting "10 Ivan," I was a designer at "eyevan 7285. “eyevan 7285” before I started “10 eyevan”, and for this brand, I was aiming to create uplifting designs with a simple sense of coolness and beauty. On the other hand, for 10 eyevan I wanted to create a brand that did not neglect the functionality of the product.
Do you mean the essential part as a tool?
Nakagawa: Yes, I agree. In fact, I think both are necessary, design and functionality. I wanted to design something like the "beauty of use" that resides in beautiful vessels and old tools. Strictly speaking, “10 eyevan" is a collection of functional parts, and the combination of these parts creates glasses as a "beautiful tool”.
Nakamuro： It's the star-shaped screws and the nose pads made of pearl oysters. 10 eyevan was launched, we also created a visual book, synchronized with the archived works of photographer Mikiya Takimoto, and the world view really matched.
Nakagawa: The stylist Tsuyoshi Nimura directed the project, and it turned out very well.
It is not an easy task to take a conceptual idea of a "beautiful tool" and give it actual shape, is it?
Nakagawa: That's right. There is function, which can be measured numerically, and beauty, which cannot be quantified. Combining both at a satisfactory level is a difficult task. I think that design is ultimately about the final form. In my case, I think it is something that is built up from scratch, somewhat similar to the way I think about architecture.
What do you mean?
Nakagawa: In architecture, design is considered after ensuring the safety of people, isn't it? The same is true for eyeglasses. Even if the frames are made thin and delicate in pursuit of beauty, it is meaningless if they break easily. Before that happens, I want to know what the minimum necessary thickness is before designing. It also depends on whether the material is celluloid or metal. I also want to create the product while keeping in mind the strength of parts such as screws. In short, I believe that a design is formed from the accumulation of all these factors. 10 eyevan" is also made with this approach, isn't it?
Nakamuro： When Mr. Nakagawa explains his products to me, he often says, "We make our products as thin as possible with this material. When I hear that, I think, "If it were made of a different material, a different design would have been created.
Mr. Nakamuro, you are actually a user of "10 Ivan", aren't you? How do you feel when you actually wear it?
Nakamuro： I was originally wearing an item from "Ivan 7285," which Mr. Nakagawa was working on. I was wearing items from "Ivan 7285," which was originally created by Mr. Nakagawa, but they are so different that it is hard to believe that they were created by the same designer. The direction they are aiming for is different, and the difference is clearly expressed in the products. I can feel the ease of use and the comfort of wearing the product.
