FOCUS IT.] Will the fever of collaboration between Consadole and Journal Standard thaw the snowball between soccer and fashion?

Yosuke Aizawa, a designer and board member of Hokkaido Consadole Sapporo, and Masayoshi Furumine, vice president of BAYCREW'S, which operates a number of select stores including JOURNAL STANDARD. This cross-industrial collaboration, realized by these two old acquaintances and soccer fanatics, was unveiled in Sapporo in February during the excitement of the Snow Festival! What is their leadership and vision that emerges from the dialogue between the two? The passion for soccer doesn't stop inside the stadium...!

Photo_Shinji Serizawa
Text_Rui Konno

By being rooted in the area.
I wanted to make something happen.

-I just had to mention this before I get to the main topic, this large number of soccer shirts piled up on my desk...?

Yosuke Aizawa(Aizawa): ...I think we should not touch that as much as possible.

Masayoshi Komine(Kohmine): Oh, they are my personal belongings. He said, "Since we are talking about soccer, bring some of your things.

Aizawa.I asked him to bring me about 10 pictures to talk about....

Personal belongings of Mr. Furumine that he brought with him. They range from old items to rare ones, such as a limited edition of "Paris Saint-Germain" that accompanied the team during their visit to Japan last summer. The upper right is a personal belonging of Mr. Aizawa's that was mixed in, with his name on it, from "Juventus.

-(laughs). I can fully feel Mr. Furumine's love for soccer. I wonder how many dozens of pictures there are....

old peakI still have more. I only brought about half of it today.

Aizawa.I can't speak for others either, but I think they are too maniacal and excessive in their hobbies (laughs).

old peak: (Laughs)

-Well, since this collaboration was planned by two people with such a sense of distance, can I ask you again?

Aizawa.Yes, that's right. I originally became the creative director of "Consadole" in 2019, and three years ago I became a director, but from the beginning of my appointment as director, when I had a drink with Mr. Furumine, we usually talked about soccer. Especially about uniforms. Naturally, since we are both in the fashion industry, we would get excited talking about soccer apparel related to soccer, and we would say things like, "It would be great if we could do something like this someday.

old peakI think so. But it was hard for me to say, "Well, let's get serious! But it was hard for me to say, "Well, let's do it in earnest!

Aizawa.I was just starting out as a creative director five years ago, and I didn't yet understand the scale of "Consadole" merchandise or the psychology of Sapporo supporters.

But Japanese select stores, such as BAYCREW'S, are very unique, with locations in various cities in Japan, local marketing, and a wide range of age groups. This is a rare type of business even when viewed from a global perspective, and I felt that select stores are a hub of culture. I wanted to work with a store that had its roots in Sapporo, and I asked them if they would like to work with me again. I asked him again if he would like to work with me.

old peakWe (BAYCREW'S) have a project to revitalize local regions. We are trying to hook up local people and create an environment where they can build their careers in the countryside.

This collaboration item features red graphics. Sweat shirt ¥12,100, sweat pants ¥11,000, knit cap ¥5,500, leather gloves ¥11,000

Sweatshirt with "Consadole" emblem. 12,100 each

Knitwear (¥14,300) and blousons (¥17,600) are also available.

-And part of that was Sapporo?

old peakI think that's right. I had always wanted to do something local for the Sapporo branch of Journal Standard Relume. When we went to a meeting, the manager of the Sapporo store asked us if we could do something with the Hokkaido Consadole Sapporo. I went to a meeting and the manager of the Sapporo store suggested that we could do something with the Hokkaido Consadole Sapporo.

Aizawa.I also hoped that "Consadole" would be included in a store called "Journal Standard Relume," which has a long history in Sapporo, so I talked to Mr. Furumine about it.

old peak: Yeah. And from there, the conversation went from there to "Let's do it! And then the conversation went from there.

Aizawa.When I told the board of directors that "BAYCREW'S has been running the Paris Saint-Germain store in Tokyo for a long time," they all understood at once. It was very significant that I was able to explain that it is because we are deeply involved in both fashion and soccer that we feel the same way.

old peakOh, so you told us about that too. They were the MDs of Journal Standard and Journal Standard Relume, and each of them had experience in soccer, so I asked them to come up with a plan.

Soccer, culture and fashion are
Japan is not yet linked (Aizawa)

-I was surprised to see the finished product. But when I saw the finished product, I was a bit surprised that there were no straight uniforms or game shirts.

Aizawa.I think this is more about the J-League as a whole than about Consadole, but in terms of design and merchandise, I don't think the J-League can reach the level of European soccer unless it breaks away from sports, physical education, and weekend leisure activities. Soccer, culture, and fashion are not yet linked in Japan.

I often went to "Serie A" and "Premier League" matches, and although the way they cheered and the like were not actually good behavior, from a fashion point of view, there were things that struck me, such as the appearance of the hooligans. But from a fashion point of view, there are things that I find attractive, such as the way hooligans dress. If soccer becomes a part of fashion, it will become a part of life, and it will turn into a culture.

For example, the way people wear "Stone Island" or "Umbro," or the scene of Manchester people wearing "Babur" jackets and getting soaked at the stadium on a rainy day. It was a Liam Gallagher kind of atmosphere. When I think of Europe as a place where music, fashion, and soccer are all linked, Japan is still separated from the rest of the world.

old peakI'm sure.

Aizawa.I wanted to make something that would be "kind of nice" in everyday life, rather than something related to uniforms worn only on weekends or cheerleading goods.

-Can I also ask about your intention to remove items that everyone thinks look like soccer goods?

Aizawa.: I'd rather have them tell me about that.

The three people who contributed to this project. From left to right: Mr. Kyo Nagao, MD of JOURNAL STANDARD, Ms. Maya Watanabe, PR, and Mr. Junpei Yamaguchi, MD of JOURNAL STANDARD RELUME. With the collaboration items.

Kyo Nagao(Nagao): When Yamaguchi and I were invited to Komine and heard about this project, we asked ourselves, "What should we make of it? (Nagao): When Yamaguchi and I were invited to Koumine and heard about this project, we thought, "What should we do? As Mr. Aizawa mentioned earlier, we thought that if we were going to collaborate, it would be great if we could combine the American casual wear that underlies "Journal Standard" and "Journal Standard Relume" with the coolness of "Consadole's" branding. That's how it all started.

Junpei Yamaguchi(Yamaguchi): Yes, it was.

long tailI was playing catch-up with various ideas and came up with the "Sapporo Snow Festival". From there, I started associating it with American winter sporting events and vintage clothing from the 1990s, and I thought that if I delved into that image and created a design, I would be able to create an item that could not be found anywhere else.

YamaguchiI then added vintage-style sweatshirts, 90's-style sports jackets, leather gloves, and other American-inspired designs.

long tailI dared not to make a scarf or something that would be easy to imagine as a cheerleading item.

-I see. That is only possible because you are collaborating with an actual soccer team.

Aizawa.I think so. If you only do select stores, it's inevitably going to be fictitious. Like a soccer club or a college. It is very meaningful for me to be able to use an actual meaningful logo together. I want the "Consadole" logo and emblem to be a part of everyday life.

Ultimately, they are still like the "New York" in "New York Yankees. I think that is probably what changed the branding of "Juventus. When I think about it, this project was very interesting.

-I think that official soccer goods, not to mention uniforms, can carry that kind of passion. For example, the influence of "Juventus" makes people feel close to "Danone" yogurt.

old peakI've got it. (and pulls out an archival uniform from a pile of his personal belongings)

Aizawa.I've got it (laughs).

old peakI'm going to go out on a limb here.

-(laughs). But "Snow Festival" is a symbolic event of Sapporo, and it was a little unexpected keyword.

Aizawa.I was not involved in the initial planning of the project, but I was in a position to make the final decision, and there were very few rejections. Of course, my trust in the company BAYCREW'S is also a factor. Of course, my trust in the company BAYCREW'S is also a factor.

-Eh! Will you be selling sleds?

long tail: Yes. We have sleds and snowballs, as well as toys to make snowballs for snowball fights.

-It's a much fresher lineup (laughs).

Aizawa.The clothing, too, would normally be red or black if the focus were on "Consadole," but this time, since it was a "snow festival," the basic color was white. Starting with such items was the most interesting part of the planning stage.

-Did the project go smoothly?

Aizawa.Yes. However, there was one thing that was difficult to do with the graphics. I really wanted to make it look American, so I wanted to use "H.C.S." instead of "U.S.A." I wanted to use "H.C.S." instead of "U.S.A." I wanted to use "Hokkaido Consadole Sapporo" instead of "Hokkaido Consadole Sapporo. I wanted to make it look American, so I decided to take "U.S.A." and make it "H.C.S." I wanted to use "Hokkaido Consadole Sapporo. But when I looked into it, I found that it had been trademarked, so I couldn't use a list of individual letters. It was possible to design a letter set and make it into a single emblem, but this time we came up with a plan to simply put the three letters together, so we were unable to realize that part of the design.

Yamaguchi: Yes, that's right. But other than that, I was surprised and very happy to hear that they said, "Great, great! I was surprised, but also very happy, to hear that.

Aizawa.I myself don't like to be told that something has to be this way. If Journal Standard Relume and Journal Standard were to work together on a project like this, there is no reason why it wouldn't be basically good.

old peakIs it true? Isn't there something behind it? (laughs) Well, I think it's because we all love soccer at its core.

-I think it has a special meaning for the people of Hokkaido and "Consadole" supporters to wear something from Sapporo after it is completed like this.

Aizawa.I think that's right. But I think it would be great if we could do it again in the summer or next year, if the event is well received. White Mountaineering also makes "Consadole" uniforms, so we could sell those as well.

old peak(Rummaging through a pile of his personal belongings): There's that, too. (fishing through a pile of personal belongings)

Aizawa.I was wearing it and uploading instagrams and stuff (laughs).

long tailAizawa-san: You don't collect them, do you? Uniforms.

Aizawa.I collect them. But I collect differently from Mr. Furumine. I buy them when I actually visit the place, so I mainly buy current items. Mr. Furumine, would you like to see mine? (and opens a shelf in his studio).

old peakOh, wow! I can't lose.

Aizawa.: There's only one army here. The second army is in the warehouse. I guess there's no end to this... (laughs).

Among the uniforms that Mr. Aizawa purchased mainly on business trips and increased in number, there are those that he calls his "army. Some of them, such as "AC Monza," which was promoted to "Serie A," are casually surprising.