MODERN FOLK
FOLK:visvim's new line
08 2/7 UP
Text:Tetsuya Suzuki Photo:Shoichi Kajino Translation:Mayumi Horiguchi Edited by CUBISM inc.
- ──
- You mean, Visvim has now entered a new phase?
- N :
- I think so. I’m enjoying making these new products, and we’re all looking forward to how our customers will react.
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- Everytime I listen to you speak about your product, the same question always comes to mind, “Why have you chosen this way?” There are other options open to you. For instance, you can manipulate your brand image, or concentrate your attention on developing the brand's value and put your creativity on that act. What do you think about these other options?
- N :
- Some people control their brand’s image nicely and develop their business that way. I think that’s great. But it’s not my way. I could, of course, put focus on other elements of our business but I’m much more particular about products than anything else. It’s just the way I am.
- ──
- I understand what you mean, but isn’t it quite difficult to develop the quality every time you make something new? Moreover, you should be fair to the business as well. It sounds tough.
- N :
- Indeed it is. We have to announce new collections by the quarter, and it is hard for designers to create something progressive and new every time. Capitalist economies require things to be dealt with in very limited time-frames, but the step-by-step processes needed when making good products don’t always match these kinds of schedules. The systems don’t really align.
- ──
- Yes. Because of the system, the average span of each product’s life is getting shorter and shorter. It seems like everything is becoming disposable in our society.
- N :
- I think people are starting to realize this problem. For me, I just don’t want to be in a situation where everything around me is the result of a marketing machine.
- ──
- I see. This is the final question. What is the point of making shoes? Or rather, why are you so crazy about it?
- N :
- It’s a tough job to manufacture footwear, but I really enjoy the process and the outcome. Footwear componentry is complex and hard to make, and as if that weren’t enough, the second a person puts on a pair of shoes they can immediately tell whether or not they are comfortable. Shoes are reliable items and functional tools in our culture, while also having the potential to be very attractive items. For these reasons, the footwear design process intrigues me, and I don’t see that intrigue fading any time soon… I guess it’s my nature to make shoes.
