In the past it was more like there is its own identity in each city…

Fraser: You are right. I think one thing I will say about Japan is I think they are very detail oriented, have a very good sense of aesthetics and finishing. So, the quality of the things produced are very thorough. And that’s actually more so in Japan than a lot of other places. In Japan, usually if someone does something, they do it right beyond expectations and that makes the difference. With Japan though, it’s very much like it’s “inspired by”. I don’t see too many things that are original in terms of ideas coming from there, but Japan is pretty good at finding the things– knowing what’s good, cherry picking and making them even better, which is not copying. It’s something beyond that.

Hiroshi: But i wish there is something unexpected. It’s like if you are at a tea house here and there’s nothing like that any where else in the world, where young people hang out at [tea houses]. If there is something in the fashion industry in the same sense where there are some elements you can only get in Taiwan… As the core technology is shock resistance, there fore we were not just dismissed as a fashion watch. Popularity grew largely due to the media such as magazines which started to take notice of the watches.

So, this element makes it original ?

Fraser: I guess we saw nice stores, but we didn’t see store we were like “wow.” But, where as at the tea houses in here, this is something from Taiwan.

Fraser, Currently, you are in charge of the Nike Global Brand Energy Division. But before that, how did you get involved with Nike?

Fraser: Actually, I was working with Michael at Gimme Five in London. We had a store originally called Hit and Run that became HIDEOUT, which is still there now. We were dealing with a lot of Japanese brands, a lot of stuff that Hiroshi and some people around him worked on. We also had American stuff, like Supreme…all the rest of it. I was always involved. I was personally into sneakers even before that I got into buying. In the past, I was at the stores and I wrote about sneakers. And so, we decided to open a store.

Actually, Nike came to us and asked us if we would showcase the woven shoes when they made them. Back then, I had a meeting with Jason. Funny enough, the partner they were doing it with didn’t work out, so they were like, let’s try something new, with like a boutique. That was the initial concept, and then we started working with Nike. We started various projects and realized the people buying the sneakers at that time weren’t always interested in the clothing. So, we thought there was a gap in the market with the stores, and that’s how we came up with FOOT PATROL. That was around the same time as NORT, Rivington Club… UNDFTD came a little bit after. But at that time, the general feeling was it was good to run a boutique that filled a niche like that. So while we were doing that, the guys from Nike came to London and needed someone to show them around. Some friends suggested to Mark Parker that I can be a good guide, so I took them out for a couple of days. They said they were trying to build closer connections to [the London] culture and would like someone maybe from here to work inside the company. That’s how they offered me the work. It took a while to figure out how I can work with them, but that was the initial conversation and then it led to the job.

Hiroshi, let us now focus on Japan. An overwhelming majority of our friends in the creative field have stated that Tokyo is the best city for inspirations, and rightly so. Is it because the juxtaposition of thousand year old tradition with ultra modernity? Or, in your opinion, something more?

Hiroshi: Japanese people have good eyes to pick up something from America or Europe. Like denim or khaki– Americans made them but they don’t know how good they were and they don’t really care. They see [denim and khakis] as everyday items. The Japanese picked them up and made them into trends. There aren’t many special things created in Japan, so it became like a custom where we take an idea and improve upon it.

So, basically it’s the morphing into its own culture

Fraser: I think you can see the value or the beauty in something that aren’t always obvious when people make it first. I think the important thing is to really appreciate the authenticity.