Vol.3
Each encounter with a kimono is a once-in-a-lifetime experience.
If you don't catch it now, you'll never encounter it again. That feeling comes before things like ethics and sustainability.
■ As of 2021 , ethical manufacturing is attracting a lot of attention. It can be said to be a trending keyword in society as well. Social contribution and ethical manufacturing overlap perfectly with the concept of UZ Fabric , but was that something you had in mind from the beginning?
"That's not the case at all. It just happened later, or rather. It was simply because I thought it would be a waste to throw away kimonos. How can I put it? Things that were made in the past can't be made anymore. So meeting a kimono is a once-in-a-lifetime experience. You have to grab it now, this very moment. You can change it into a different form, or you can wear it as is, or it doesn't matter what form it is, but if you don't rescue it now, you won't have another chance to encounter it. So, I just felt that if I felt like I wanted to wear it or keep it, then maybe it would be better to change the form. So, when I started the brand, it just so happened that I was riding the social trend of being ethical and so on.
When deciding on the brand's concept, I sometimes thought that it would be more modern and trendy to talk about sustainability issues like 'the environment' or 'waste', but I didn't want to emphasize that aspect of contributing to society too much. Ultimately, what we do as a brand is ultimately connected to those things. The motivation for the brand is to preserve the good old charm of beautiful kimonos. I want to make things that I would want to wear myself, and to reinvent them into something fashionable and cool - that's the most important thing."
■What was the first kimono, or design/material that you were attracted to? Could you tell us what it was specifically that attracted you?
"The fabric is featured on the homepage of the website. It has the UZ Fabric logo and the yellow and black fabric underneath. I think it's genius. I call it genius fabric and keep it safe. It's actually a juban (undergarment). It's the sleeve part of a juban."
■That is, the underwear part.
"Yes, it's a design that peeks out from the sleeve of the kimono she's wearing on top. It's supposed to be invisible. But I thought the combination of colors and patterns was shockingly cool. When I met this girl, I was really shocked, like, 'What a stylish and cool guy!' And what's more, she's doing this in her underwear. I was impressed by her spirit of doing something that can't be seen."
