[FOCUS IT.] A clothing store filled with intelligence and illusion. What is the charm of Godard Haberdashery, where clothes lovers finally reach.

Jean-Luc Godard revolutionized the film industry as the standard-bearer of the Nouvelle Vague. His eponymous store, Godard, opened in March 2019 in Yoyogi, Tokyo.

Now, about a year later, the store has taken on the new name "Godard Haberdashery" (hereafter "Godard") and is located on a small street just off Aoyama-dori, halfway between Shibuya and Omotesando.

The designer is Hiroki Sasago, formerly known as the buyer of "Dover Street Market GINZA" (hereafter "Dover"). If you are interested in fashion, the meaning of this title should go without saying. However, what we would like to convey here is not his illustrious past, but rather the present state of "Godard Haberdashery" and Mr. Sasago's thoughts and feelings behind it.

Hiroki Sasago, owner of Godard Haberdashery

Could you give us a brief history of your career before launching "Godard"?

After studying in London and Paris, he joined COMME des GARÇONS, and was with Dover for seven years from the opening in 2012.

I heard that you were promoted to buyer early on. What were your specific duties?

While standing in the store, I was also involved in various aspects of the business, including buying and VMD (visual merchandising). At first, I was buying Japanese brands that we carried, and it wasn't until a little later that I started going overseas with a lot of energy.

There were only two buyers at the store, myself and one other female staff member, who did most of the purchasing for the brands. So when I went on business trips, I just went from place to place.

What have you learned from your experience at Dover, where you have bought many distinguished brands?

Anyone can go and select things, so I learned that we must communicate with brands and designers to get a sense of their personalities and philosophies before making purchases. I learned that a buyer's major job is to convey this information to the sales floor.

Why did you choose to become independent from an established position?

I have always been in the middle of the fast-moving fashion cycle, but I had my doubts about it. In my private life, I have always liked the opposite, a slower cycle of tailoring, so I have been searching for something I could do with it.

So I guess that's what made me want to do clothing work in a place that was disconnected from the existing cycle, even if it meant suffering on my own, rather than belonging to a large company.

Dover" is a world of mode in the midst of such trends, isn't it?

What "Dover" is doing is fashion, and we are in the business of creating trends. Godard" is a store on a different time axis, the opposite of fashion.

I'm sure you had many options after becoming independent, but how did you come to open your own restaurant?

I believe that a sense of choosing things can only be cultivated through visual and hands-on experience. Therefore, I thought it would be very meaningful to have a store where I could actually see a selection of things that I enjoy.

How did you spend your time from the time you retired until you launched "Godard"?

I retired at the end of 2018 and founded my own company that year. Then, the first thing I started doing was freelancing. I participated in product planning for Japanese brands, did product selection and VMD when they held pop-ups, and did other things like a handyman. in January, I went to Paris while preparing to open the store, and in March, I opened in Yoyogi.

Incidentally, I still continue this style of consulting work in the morning and open the store after that.

That's why the restaurant opens at 3:00 p.m., right?

Because my work outside of the store is the foundation of my business, "Godard" is a store where I can push my own taste without worrying about sales. Therefore, I think our strength may be that we have a product lineup with no compromises, without creating a sales line.

And you reopened in Aoyama about a year after you opened in Yoyogi. Why did you move so quickly?

Timing. I originally wanted to create this kind of store, and I had been looking for a place after opening in Yoyogi. So this place is one completed form.

Why did you choose Aoyama?

I'm still going to do it quietly in a somewhat remote location, away from commercial areas. We have a lot of good customers, so I thought it would be better to have a more relaxed and warm atmosphere, without being rude to the adults.

What were some of the key points you focused on when you moved to the new location?

We were particular about the floor. The flooring is French herringbone, and the image is the Louvre. There is a famous scene in Godard's "Apart" where he runs through the Louvre, and this is the floor that was used for the entire scene. We had the same oak wood prepared, and the colors were worked out after a very detailed meeting. The construction period and budget were many times longer, but the floor is the biggest piece of furniture, and this was a point that we could not compromise on.

I read on your blog that you chose this location right next to Aoyama Gakuin School in the image of Carce Latin, a student town in Paris. The name "Godard" and the interior design give off a strong Parisian atmosphere.

I guess it comes down to simply liking Paris. What I want to do is French style.

I think that the French style that generally comes to mind is mostly a fantasy created by Japanese people, and in fact, when I go to Paris, I don't see a single person dressed like that. I thought that the fantasy or romantic feeling of the French style was interesting because it was unconventional.

By the way, I also like Italy. A certain store in Florence made original products on special order for the world's top manufacturers, but I really liked the original landscape of that privately owned store, or rather, the prototype of a select store.

Therefore, "Godard" is a store run by the owner alone, and what he proposes is a cross between France and Italy, which I like, with a French flair.

What is the concept of your restaurant?

The theme is "Intelligence and Romance," and our aim is to create a clean and neat look, but with a touch of sexiness. We are proposing a style born from such fantasies as the Japanese idea of French style or the American style as seen from the French point of view. In short, it is fantasy.

What is the origin of the theme of your store's name, Jean-Luc Godard?

I guess it is cinema, after all. French and Italian films are also fiction and fantasy, so I am familiar with their themes.

You mentioned earlier that the product lineup is uncompromising.

What I do now in Aoyama is a little different from what I did in Yoyogi. At Yoyogi, I was mixing my taste with up-and-coming brands like NAMACHEKO and STEFAN COOKE, which I had worked closely with at Dover, to propose a style that combined tailored clothes and mode.

Both brands were making clothes that had a story or a seasonal theme that was consistent with tailoring, so I thought it would be interesting to mix things that were neither near nor far from each other, so I started the Yoyogi period.

So what is this Aoyama?

I am taking a break from buying mode clothes and am focusing more on tailored clothes. The products on our shelves are authentic, but we are proposing a style in which the clothes are worn in a relaxed manner. One of our themes is to "play with serious things," and now is the time to collect serious things.

Why did you change the product lineup?

In the past few years, the number of stores that mix mode and archive has been increasing rapidly, so I thought it would be stronger if we swung out more. It's like we changed our product lineup to match this Aoyama interior.

When I hear the word "tailored," I have an image of strict rules and manners on how to wear them.

We have a selection of items with a slightly stiff image, but we leave it up to the customer to decide how to wear them. It's fun to think about how to wear them. Originally, the store is a place where my taste is exposed, so I have already imposed my taste on the customers. If I impose that on how to wear the clothes as well, it would become a really overbearing store.

The items on display are all unfamiliar brands such as "wan shan ling" and "Manas".

It is like a brand that we planned together and started for this store, so strictly speaking, it is not a purchase, but a project. When I was at Yoyogi, I used to do vintage clothing and brand archives, but I have reset that, and now I only do such planned items.

So you are no longer a select store?

Our house is no longer select. It was half so at Yoyogi.

Is "Haberdashery" in the name of the store a new name to replace "Select"?

I don't have another name for it, so I'm giving it a name. It is different from the kind of stores that everyone is running now, so I don't have a name for it yet.

The word "haberdashery" is used in England to mean a men's goods store. It is a place where you can find everyday items for gentlemen other than suits, such as jackets, trousers, shirts, and underwear.

Originally, there was a long-established tailor on Savile Row called "Anderson & Shepherd," which started a store called "Haberdashery. Anderson & Shepherd" would bespoke suits, and "Haberdashery," which was attached to "Anderson & Shepherd," would provide the other items. There is quite a culture like that in England. That's why we don't offer suits, but rather jackets, pants, and shirts.

What is the message you want to convey through this "Godard" store?

I want everyone to rethink the concept of a restaurant. There are too many casual stores nowadays, so I want people to regain a sense of tension, like "I'm going here today, so I should dress properly," or "I'm going to get in trouble if I put this and that together. This is also the reason why the stores are located in places that are difficult to get to.

What does fashion mean to you?

If you wear the clothes we keep in our house, you probably won't be able to sit outside or hang out in front of a convenience store because you will be embarrassed. In that way, I think clothes are supposed to discipline you.