【FOCUS IT.] Diesel and FENNEL's goal is to fuse fashion and gaming culture.

Last April 27, a bright red space suddenly appeared in the streets of Ginza . . It was the "DIESEL STUDIO" pop-up store, a place to connect with various cultures and creators online and offline.

On the 1st and B1F of Marronniergate Ginza, a space decorated with Diesel's brand colors of red and a graphical logo, you will find not only a lineup of new items by Glen Martens, but also special events featuring pioneers of the Tokyo cultural scene. The space is decorated with the brand's red color and graphical logo.

The first event featured a collaboration with street dancer and artist RIEHATA, known for her choreography for "BTS. The second event, currently underway, features e-sports, which is gaining momentum worldwide, with the professional e-sports team "FENNEL," which has the largest gaming base in Japan, located in Yokohama.

The "DIESEL CUP" e-sports tournament, featuring heated battles in the popular "APEX" and "Wilderness Actions" titles, gaming classes where you can play alongside "FENNEL" players, streaming from the venue, and more, will be held both online and offline. The event will also include a gaming class where you can play with FENNEL players, streaming from the venue, and other content that will showcase the appeal of e-sports both online and offline.

The goal of Diesel and FENNEL is to fuse gaming culture and fashion. We asked Mr. Butsu, the representative director of FENNEL, about the relationship between e-sports and fashion, as well as his efforts at "DIESEL STUDIO.

ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo!

FENNEL is leading the e-sports world in Japan.

FENNEL is an organization that is based in Tokyo, Japan.

Simply put, it is an organization that unites e-sports teams. . The image is similar to that of a professional soccer or baseball team. The difference is that e-sports is more about entertainment. . Therefore, they develop fashion brands, hold tournaments, and sometimes the players themselves stream live video games on YouTube and other media.

FENNEL" has three main business pillars: e-sports team management, tournament organization, and fashion branding.

There are teams that hold tournaments on a regular basis, but we do it almost every week. I don't think there are any other teams in Japan, or anywhere else in the world, that hold tournaments this frequently.

In terms of apparel, I think almost all teams sell apparel in the form of merchandise. However, I don't think there is a place that makes clothing that is as fashionable as "FENNEL.

Do you hold tournaments that often because you want to foster a culture of e-sports?

That's right. Also, e-sports players don't get attention unless there is a tournament that attracts an audience. If they don't get attention, or if the games they play don't catch on, they don't get paid. In that sense, we also want to draw attention to the players and their games by holding a lot of tournaments.

FNNL, a highly fashionable apparel brand, is also a measure to draw more attention to e-sports?

Of course, there is such a purpose, but I myself love to express myself, and I consider fashion to be another form of expression. Therefore, I would like to challenge myself to create "fashion" that is more difficult and more enjoyable, rather than simply making goods for the purpose of making a profit.

What kind of brand is "FNNL"?

The theme is to try new things. . Therefore, we do not decide on a core concept, but rather change the genre and design each time. I think one of our strengths is that we are able to create things on our own, hiring creative directors and designers from outside.

. It seems to me that games and fashion have an unfamiliar relationship.

I think that people in their 20s are the most likely to play games, and it is also around that age that people spend money on fashion. Because the age groups that are interested in games and fashion match, I have the impression that the Japanese e-sports industry is becoming cooler and cooler.

The e-sports players are all surprisingly sophisticated, and almost none of them have the image of a video game nerd that people might have in mind.

I heard that many female fans came to the event held at DIESEL STUDIO. Like idols, e-sports players have their own fans.

eSports often attracts more fans to individuals than to teams. The reason for this is because they are highly self-distributing. In soccer and baseball, people learn about the team through television, and from there they tend to support the individual. e-sports players can distribute their games on YouTube, etc., so the individual becomes the gateway to the game.

When Diesel offered to collaborate with you on this project, what did you think?

I personally love the brand tremendously and always make one big purchase every year, so I thought it was for real (laughs). . There had never been an e-sports team in Japan that had done a major collaboration with a fashion brand, so frankly, it was a great opportunity for me.

. Looking overseas, we are seeing more and more collaborations between e-sports teams and fashion brands, aren't we?

In terms of collaboration, foreign countries are more advanced. However, I believe that Japanese people are the most fashion-conscious people in the world. This is because we have a large middle class, and there are many people who can afford fashion. However, in the U.S. and Europe, especially in the U.K., there is a huge disparity between rich and poor, so people wear clothes that cost only a few dollars, and many of these people are playing games. I am looking forward to seeing what will happen in the next 10 or 20 years.

Do Diesel and FENNEL have anything in common?

I think it is a challenging attitude. Diesel has also completely changed its product lineup and rebranded itself since Glenn Martins took over. Also, Diesel's iconic color is red, and FENNEL's concept is to "bring enthusiasm to e-sports," and to express that passion, they have adopted red for their team logo.

What is FENNEL's current challenge?

The e-sports industry itself is young, so we are trying everything. One of the things we are focusing on is a project to hold a tournament to decide the Japanese representatives and send 3 or 4 teams to the United States.

After all, a tournament is the most exciting event, so by being the organizer of it, you can increase your team's influence and hold down the community.

Parka ¥30,800

Pants ¥22,000

T-shirt ¥11,000

Shorts ¥17,600

Diesel's first athleisure collection, "DIESEL SPORT," will also be released this time. What are some of your favorite points?

When playing games, you are sitting all the time, so clothes that are heavy or constrictive are not good. e-sports teams' uniforms, when I look at them, often follow the pattern of soccer uniforms. . In that aspect, I think the items in this collection have excellent functionality and are finished in a way that allows you to concentrate on your game.

We also made uniforms for "FENNEL" for this collaboration, and it would be nice to have the "Diesel" logo on them.

You not only offer apparel, but also competitions and gaming classes at "DIESEL STUDIO.

This is the first time we have set up 10 PCs in a place with this kind of atmosphere and held an event where we can play games with fans, and the response from fans has been great on social media, and the players also feel supported by the fans when they meet them, so we are very grateful for this opportunity.

Lastly, please tell us what FENNEL hopes to communicate through "DIESEL STUDIO".

To make the industry more active, I would like to convey the message that e-sports is cool. . I think that in order for e-sports in Japan to attract attention, aspects like creativity and fashionability are important. In order to develop that, "FENNEL" is representing and being cool, and I think we could influence other teams as well.

Photo_Masashi Ura