Broke City Gold is a project by K.A.N.T.A., a musician, and Norio Sato, a designer for COTE MER, a brand participating in the Tokyo Collections. How did they meet and why did they start working together to create creative clothes that are not bound by existing fashion frameworks? And how do they create clothes that stimulate the viewer's senses? To find out the answers, we visited "KANTALAND" in Harajuku, the base of their activities.
Left: K.A.N.T.A. He spent his childhood in London until the age of 12 with his father, K.U.D.O of MAJOR FORCE. 18 years old, he signed a professional contract with an Argentinean soccer team and played soccer as a player, but he returned to Japan at the age of 20 to discover music that had been close to him since he was a child under the influence of his father. In 2011, he released his debut album "ROYAL NEW STANDARD" on his own KANTALAND label, and has been actively performing live, including sharing the stage with The Pharcyde at the HENNESY ARTISTRY and G-SHOCK 30th anniversary celebrations.
Right: Norio Sato In 1998, after a trip to California to learn about vintage jeans and surfing, he started importing vintage items, and in 2008, he launched his original brand "COTE MER". While exhibiting at overseas exhibitions, he began to meet more and more artists, which led him to curate events in Japan as well. All of the products are custom-made from vintage items, and the colors, stains, and damages are different for each item.
."Broke" is slang for "broke. We are the "Gold" of it.
What exactly is the "Broke City Gold" project?
K.A.N.T.A.This is a project to convey the energy of myself and Mr. Sato to everyone through our clothes. We feel that we are creating energy rather than making clothes.
Sato.We did not start out trying to make clothes. Therefore, "Broke City Gold" is neither a brand nor a unit. It is not a tangible concept.
K.A.N.T.A.It is difficult to put into words, but it is our attitude, philosophy, and energy. It is difficult to put into words, but it is our attitude, our philosophy, and our energy.
What is the meaning behind the project name "Broke City Gold?"
K.A.N.T.A.Broke" is slang for "broke. I am usually an artist, but I have never had any money, even though I work hard every day. I have worked hard all my life thinking that one day I will be rich, that I am the "Gold" in Broke City. Broke City Gold" expresses that hungry spirit.
When and where did you two meet?
Sato.K.A.N.T.A. and I have a mutual friend who brought us together.
K.A.N.T.A.Before we got to know each other, I had heard about each other from my friend and we were both aware of each other's existence. I had also checked his Instagram and thought, "He makes really cool clothes. So I knew we would meet sooner or later.
Sato.We hit it off right away when we met.
K.A.N.T.A.When we met for the first time, we just had a talk. The second time we met, we discussed the possibility of placing items from "Courtemail" here as an exclusive item for "KANTALAND". That is how our items were born. The response from customers was so positive that we had more and more items made.
Sato.At first, we made only about five items and hung one item on each rack in a luxurious layout, but it gradually began to sell well and the turnover speeded up. At that time, you also had sneakers made by K.A.N.T.A., right?
K.A.N.T.A.That's right. I sold a set called "1&0 PROJECT GENZAI ART EDITION" that included a reproduction of a pair of sneakers and music I had created. Music is invisible, so I put various patterns on the soles of the sneakers as a way of incorporating it into the physical world. Sneakers are not only for wearing, but also for displaying, so I saw them as art. I would also make songs on the spot for the customers who bought them and give them to them.
K.A.N.T.A., are you always at this "KANTALAND"?
K.A.N.T.A.When we are not recording, we are basically there. At first, we started with just one desk, and people walking down the street seemed to be curious, like, "What's this place?" and people walking down the street were wondering "What is this place? Then we added what we needed little by little, and it became what it is today.
When was it specifically named "Broke City Gold"?
K.A.N.T.A.I think it was officially last August. I met Mr. Sato before that, but as we sold items at "KANTALAND," it gradually evolved into our own unique style. The denim jacket with a Japanese kimono stitched on it symbolizes this. We felt that we had created something that we wanted to express! We had a sense that we had created something that we wanted to express.
So you have created a one-of-a-kind product.
Sato.When this was born, we decided to name it as one identity. That is "Broke City Gold.
We are together with each other because there are many things that tie us together in essence.
Please tell us about your backgrounds to date. Let's start with K.A.N.T.A.
K.A.N.T.A.I made my debut as a musician in April 2011. Since then, I have been making a living only from music. I am very grateful to be able to be involved in major advertisements, such as creating music for commercials for major corporations. Recently, I produced the lead single for ROY KANROY, and I also make my own music.
K.A.N.T.A.All have one thing in common: do it all with gusto. And do work that only you can do. That is all. Sometimes I get orders to do work that "looks like an artist's 00," but I don't accept such work. No matter how little money I have, I turn down all such requests and refer them to producers I know. I have maintained this stance since my debut.
When I call myself a musician, people think I am very flamboyant, but I am not. I genuinely want to make a living from what I am good at. That's all. Thankfully, there are people who support me, and I believe that my current lifestyle is made possible by them. I have nothing but gratitude.
Now then, please tell us about Mr. Sato.
Sato.I've loved surfing since I was a teenager and went to the West Coast of the US at the end of the 90s. I think I was just 18 years old. At the time, Japan was in the midst of a vintage boom, and I was influenced by that and bought vintage clothes.
As I continued this lifestyle, my friends in Japan gradually asked me to buy for them, and I began to travel back and forth between the U.S. and Japan about 15 times a year. However, as the years went by, the number of used clothes decreased, and I began to feel that there was a limit to how much I could buy from all over the U.S. on my own.
I was based in a town called Oceanside, north of San Diego, which is translated into French as "Côte la Mer. I thought it sounded good, so I named the brand "Côte la Mer" and started working on it in 2008.
You have been releasing products remade from old clothes at Courtemail.
Sato.I did. There are unique factories in California. Like a factory that has a print workshop attached to a warehouse of used clothing. But as my designs became more and more complicated, I started to get rejected when I asked for help. So I decided I had no choice but to do it myself, and now I have my own factory in Japan, where I produce my products. I modeled my factory after a factory in California, and I built a warehouse for used clothing, a sewing factory, and a printing studio in the same building. This allows me to make items exactly the way I want them.
What do you two consider each other to be like?
Sato.I think K.A.N.T.A. is a very rare existence as a musician. There are many artists in the world, but K.A.N.T.A. has a sound that only he can produce. It is not hip-hop, it is not rock, and it is not just dance music. He creates music that doesn't belong to any genre, and you can tell just by listening to the sounds in his music that "this is K.A.N.T.A.'s music. His music has an identity. I respect that.
Sato.That is what I am looking for when I design clothes for "Courtemail" myself. I try to create clothes that people would recognize at first glance as "Courtemail. I think we are attracted to each other in this respect. It's like we are both looking for the same thing.
K.A.N.T.A.I feel the same way about Mr. Sato. I think he is a real designer who pursues originality, and I am truly grateful to have met such a person.
Sato.We are with each other because there are many things that connect us in essence. We work together to create products that are rich in substance. We do not follow trends, but rather maintain our own identity. I believe that by doing so, we can find our originality.
I value the groove that comes from the two of us.
What is the process behind the Broke City Gold clothing line?
Sato.Basically, it starts with me and K.A.N.T.A. discussing various ideas.
K.A.N.T.A.I can read the fashion trends when I am here. When I am here every day and see people passing by on the street, ideas come to me. I tell Mr. Sato, "How about this item? I don't have the expertise to make clothes, so I just tell Mr. Sato, "How about this item? I don't have any specialized knowledge about making clothes, so I just give him a rough framework and leave the rest to him. It's like I just make a frame and ask Mr. Sato to draw freely within it.
Sato.What is different from the process of making clothes for a typical fashion brand is that we do it all the time, not once every six months. We experiment and try various things in the process. We value the groove that is created in this process.
K.A.N.T.A.When I make clothes in this way, I create something beyond what I had imagined.
Mr. Sato, how do you separate "Broke City Gold" and "Courtemail" when making clothes?
Sato.Courtemail" has an increasing number of clients, and it is not impossible that they are conscious of the market. On the other hand, "Broke City Gold" is something that both K.A.N.T.A. and I do on the basis of our own lives, so it is easy for us to express our feelings honestly. Therefore, the finished product depends on the mood of the day. As I mentioned earlier, we value that kind of groove and live feeling.
K.A.N.T.A.As I mentioned at the beginning, "Broke City Gold" is based on a hungry spirit, and is created when good energy, good vibes, a sense of live, identity, originality, and all these elements are combined. I put sensations that cannot be seen with the eyes into the form of clothes. By putting on the sleeves, you can physically experience our sense of style. I am having a lot of fun doing that now. The customers also appreciate our work, and I am deeply aware that we are able to do what we do thanks to the support of many people.
Is K.A.N.T.A. in charge of customer service at "KANTALAND"?
K.A.N.T.A.I do some of the work myself, but the basic work is done by a staff member named Rocket. He is the person who brought me and Mr. Sato together. He is always supporting our activities from behind the scenes. He is always supporting us from behind the scenes, sharing the sights and experiences he has seen and felt firsthand with our customers. Rocket is indispensable to us. He has a special talent to connect with people.
When Kanye West came to Japan recently, Rocket connected with him and brought him to the restaurant.
The goal is to build a beautiful legacy.
Finally, what are your future goals as "Broke City Gold"?
Sato.We would like to expand our recognition overseas. Many people from Asia, Europe, and the U.S. have responded to our products, but we would like to expand that even further. Basically, we are developing our items through "KANTALAND" and our website, but we have recently realized that there are people we cannot meet only there. I would like to expand the scope of my activities and show new developments.
K.A.N.T.A.In the past, I had a habit of talking a lot when I was asked such questions. However, what I said there has now become reality, and I don't think I need to say much more. One thing I would like to say, however, is that I would like to further expand the legacy that we have all built together. I want to create a beautiful legacy that will reach and influence young people. And finally, I would like to continue our activities so that we can all form a circle and rejoice with each other that we have done this.
