This is a designer interview plan that focuses on the creator's ideas and brings you to the back of creation.
This time, D. HYGEN is based in Osaka.
What are the processes, experiences, and beliefs that lead to the creation of a brand by two people from different backgrounds?
We asked them to tell us about their careers, which they have kept private.
D.HYGEN has for concept「「STRAINISM」＝ linked to the concept of tension principle.」under which their products are made with a basic style disassembled and reconstructed.
And making them into "real clothes" that have a very beautiful and unique aspect.
The leather is tailored according to a special technique, to which metal parts are added to create this industrial, cold and hard impression that make the uniqueness of these products.
After many twists and turns, the two of them, who met in their childhood when the origin of creativity was nurtured, in their student days when they were greatly influenced, and in their professional student days, established a brand and released their first collection.
This is the first time the two of them, who have never shared their profiles, have shared their history.
Designer Sadakane and pattern maker Tateishi.
The interview was
held at the exhibition hall in Osaka.
--- What made you decide to enter the world of fashion?
Sadakane (designer)
It may be a bit of an exaggeration to say that it was the reason why I decided to enter the world of fashion, but when I think back now, there are a few things that come to mind.
One is that my parents are fond of clothes, and they often take me to exhibitions of clothes since I was a child, and I watched a TV program called Fashion Correspondence which broadcast the state of collections in various countries together, and I had many opportunities to see and touch clothes.
On the other hand, my mother was a master of flower arrangement, and my father had a hobby of landscape gardening, so he designed and built his own garden, so my sensitivity and creativity to art may be influenced by my parents.
--- They had an environment where they could experience manufacturing from their childhood.
Sadakane
Also, my parents' educational policy was one of the reasons I started to go on the path of manufacturing.
My parents' education policy was to emphasize that since the environment around my house was surrounded by nature, I should be exposed to various possibilities in the outside world rather than playing games at home.
My parents didn't buy me a game, but they did buy me materials and tools to make my own playthings.
I used to make lures and fishing rods by bringing things I could use from the mountain behind.
Because I grew up in such an educational policy and environment, I feel that I have cultivated the interest in creating something and the ability to think.
The scenery of Okayama where Sadakane grew up.
The experience here became the starting point of my
creation, and it has led to the present.
--- When did you start to be interested in fashion specifically?
Sadakane
I even went to junior high school.
At first, I was influenced by my favorite music and movies, and I became interested in fashion, but when I grew up, there were few shops selling trendy things in the country.
I loved punk music from the time, so I tried making my own vintage buns, tearing down G buns, and customizing my mother's flannel shirt that didn't fit me, so I desperately enjoyed fashion.
At first, I started sewing by hand, and as I was making clothes, I gradually became aware of the fun of making clothes.
From that time on, I started thinking that I would like to move on to the path of making clothes in the future, and I entered a vocational school because I wanted to study making clothes in earnest.
--- What triggered you, Mr. Tateishi?
Tateishi(pattern maker)
I started to have an interest in clothes and music when I was in junior high school, and at that time I thought I still liked clothes and music.
I had never made it myself, but I just vaguely wanted to get a job like that.
I started to think about it concretely after I met a senior whom I admired very much in high school.
That person taught me many things including fashion.
After that, I became more and more interested in clothes, researching in magazines, and creating clothes and styles that I liked in my own way, not imitating others.
There were times when I became more interested in clothes and wanted to study at school, and when I heard that one of my seniors was going to go to a clothing vocational school, I started thinking seriously about studying clothes.
At that time, I decided to go to a clothing school after graduating from high school, so I entered a vocational school.
--- I see. That's why you met him when you entered the same vocational school.
Tateishi
That's right.
I was in the same class when I was a freshman, and that was the first time I met him.
Once they go their separate ways and meet again.
--- After graduation, they moved to different places.
Sadakane
After I graduated, I got a job at an apparel maker as a designer in Osaka and Tateshi as a pattern maker in Tokyo.
About 6 years after I joined the company, I was a chief designer, and I was entrusted with about 15 brands of various genres.
Tateishi
I got a job at a company specializing in patterns in Tokyo.
In the seven or eight years since I started working, I have been doing everything from collection brands for men and women to casual brands, children's clothes, unusual things like pet clothes and wedding dresses.
It was an environment where I could adapt various patterns to various requests in the face of high demand, so I was able to improve my skills and senses in that way.
--- Did you keep in touch even after graduation?
Sadakane
I had many business trips to Tokyo at the company where I was working at that time, so I contacted Tateshi and had several opportunities to go out for dinner.
When I heard from Tateshi about his work at that time, I felt that he had grown very much.
While I was designing as a corporate designer, I felt conflicted about not being able to make clothes that I really wanted to make, and it was also a time when I started thinking about becoming independent.
I had a strong desire to continue working in this industry, and I thought it would be the most fun if I could start my own brand and continue to make things that I really like, and that I would be able to continue working for the longest time.
But I also knew that I couldn't perfect what I wanted to build on my own.
For example, I could design and manage production, but I knew that patterns were pretty important for what I wanted to build, so if I wanted to start my own brand, I would have to do it with a reliable pattern maker.
As I listened to Tateshi, I began to think that if I wanted to start a brand, I would like to work with him.
Timing will lead to new challenges.
A material called leather that cannot be taken off when talking about the brand.
--- From that time on, he began seriously thinking about becoming independent.
Sadakane
I thought that now was the time to challenge myself to a new path before I was 30 years old, so I retired on the premise that I would become independent.
--- What were you thinking about when you started your brand?
Sadakane
When I started my own brand, I first thought about what the core of the brand was, what was my strength?
When I looked back on myself, I felt that there was nothing clear about whether I could make use of that experience within my own brand.
So after a lot of thinking, I decided to use leather, which has been my favorite material for a long time.
--- That's when the core of the brand was decided.
Sadakane
That's right.
I was thinking that if I wanted to hang it on one thing, I would use whatever I liked.
After that decision, I decided to study leather from scratch and joined a company that specializes in leather.
I learned a lot from the leather maker, such as how to see the leather, how to cut, and how to communicate with tanners and craftsmen.
There was a time when I actually went to a sewing craftsman to study sewing and stepped on a sewing machine.
While I was preparing for my future, Tateshi just retired and returned to Osaka from Tokyo.
--- What's the story?
Tateishi
t was a period when I was exhausted with work, so I thought I would just quit the company and take a short break without thinking too much about the future.
Sadakane
In fact, at the time, Tateshi was thinking about moving away from the apparel industry and doing a completely different job.
Tateishi
I was thinking of becoming a baker then.
--- to the baker?
Tateishi
That's right.
Sadakane
そAt that time, all of my friends told me that I was going to be a bakery, so I tried my best not to destroy your skills.
I wanted to do branding together, so if I could really leave, I would be in trouble.
Tateishi
Since I was tired from work, I seriously wanted to become a baker, but I reconsidered and ended up working for a ladies apparel company.
Sadakane
Tateishi is a ladies' company, and I worked at a leather company for about two years as a preparation period to start a brand while managing production and working on outside projects.
At that time, we were supposed to do it together, so all we had to do was decide when to start.
A year more to build a stronger foundation.
Before starting the brand, we went abroad together.
This experience
has given me more confidence.
--- Then I started a brand.
Tateishi
We've had our own careers, and we decided it was time to move on, so we quit and started seriously thinking about it.
Sadakane
Just before starting the brand, we went abroad by backpacking.
There was a time when I was wandering overseas by myself after quitting my previous job at an apparel manufacturer, so I thought that if we live together in an unfamiliar environment different from usual, we would be able to see both good and bad aspects.
Then we realized each other again, so we both agreed and started [SAWMIYA].
--- You didn't start the brand right after you returned home, did you?
Sadakane
The first year since the establishment of the company has been a year to clarify and enrich the philosophy that forms the basis of creation, such as the brand concept and what kind of manufacturing we want to do.
While working as an outsourcer for patterns and sewing, the two of us shared our opinions and created a foundation for our brand.After a year of building the foundation of the brand, the first collection was released.
When the brand started, it started under the brand name "SADDAM TEISSY".
The first collection produces whatever they want to express.
Sample creation for the first collection.
Many of the samples
are still made by themselves.
--- After 1 year, he presented his first collection at 16 -17 AW.
Sadakane
The first collection was about 20 types, and most of the collection samples were handled by themselves, including patterns, cutting, sewing and processing.
This collection does not distinguish between fall and winter, spring and summer, and only creates what we want to show.
At first, we had an exhibition in my studio, but only two people came.
--- Didn't you make offers to various places?
Tateishi
I didn't make an offer.
I thought I had gained some experience in manufacturing skills and know-how, so I was a little confident, but I was a complete amateur in the way of selling and sales.
It was the first time that I was brought by my acquaintance.
Therefore, the order of gloves was the first order as a brand.
--- That was the first order for the brand.
Tateishi
At that time, there were many things that we still needed, and I think the glove just happened to take us in.
We have a sense of making something solid from our first collection.
If you look at the samples from the first collection right now, you may think you can make something right.
Some of the current collections are inspired by the ones from that time, and some of them are applying that experience, so I feel that the direction was not wrong.
--- It's true that the perfection of the work has been high since the debut.
Sadakane
I was very happy that the buyer who came to see me said, "I found a brand that makes good products.".
For us, it was important to have both "design" and "quality as a product", so I was very confident to be recognized.
You said you can see that there is a solid philosophy, and I thought it was worth building it up for a year.
This leather item is a signature of the brand.
Since then, it has represented a solid and profound view of the world.