Interview with enoshi (ROUGH AND RUGGED)
OWN (hereinafter, O): First of all, could you please give us a brief introduction about yourself, Enoshi?
Enoshi (hereafter referred to as e): I'm the designer and representative of an apparel brand called ROUGH AND RUGGED . I also run HENRY HAUZ , which is the head shop for ROUGH AND RUGGED . I'm also part of a motorcycle team called Tokyo Indians, which is made up of five friends. I also occasionally make surfboards. Surfboard shaping is the root of my work.
O What year did ROUGH AND RUGGED start?
The name e ROUGH AND RUGGED is the name I've been using since I started shaping surfboards, so I guess it's been around 1999 .
Oh , that was it! 21 years ago.
That 's right. The launch itself was quite some time ago. Then, around 2010 , I think they started a clothing line.
It's been over 10 years since you started working at O Apparel, but looking back, what kind of 10 years have they been?
I 've never attended a fashion school or any other school for making clothes, and I've never worked part-time at a clothing store. So I started the brand from scratch, knowing absolutely nothing and researching various things. I didn't even know where I could get clothes made.
So you started making clothes from scratch.
That 's right. I really didn't know anything at all (laughs). When I first found a factory, I thought it was expensive. Looking back, I ended up paying extra money. It was a costly learning experience (laughs). That's how it was for the first few years.
O (laughs) The fact that you've continued the brand despite all the twists and turns means that you really love making clothes, right?
I chose to become a designer because I loved wearing clothes , but I was originally a surfboard shaping craftsman, so I wanted to use that sense to make clothes that I was particular about. I guess I started out with the simple desire to make the clothes I wanted to make and hope that they would sell.
I 've been interviewing enoshi for about 10 years now for my previous job, so I'm somewhat familiar with his background. When I see and wear ROUGH AND RUGGED clothes, I feel that his clothes reflect that background. So what are enoshi 's roots?
I guess it would have to be surfing, snowboarding and motorbikes. I've also always loved music. I think the trends and moods I have at the time are reflected in my clothing. So I think it's a brand whose taste changes a little bit each season.
O: Your clothes definitely reflect your roots, but I thought that the appeal of ROUGH AND RUGGED was that they weren't too rugged. Are you conscious of that aspect?
Just because I like bikes doesn't mean I make clothes just for bikers, and I can't make clothes that are just rugged. I like the relaxed feeling somehow, and I feel lucky if people can sense that. It's not something I'm particularly conscious of, but I do think it's an important point. It's important that something doesn't just look cool, but is also comfortable to wear.
Please tell us about your lifestyle.
Maybe it's because I've been riding e- bikes since I was a kid, but it doesn't really feel like a hobby. As for surfing and snowboarding, for me it's a lifestyle of surfing in the summer and snowboarding in the winter. You can actually surf all year round, but I started snowboarding first, so I like to be in the mountains during the snowy winter season. I started snowboarding right after I got my driver's license, so I was about 19 years old.
O enoshi is very active! When I call him, there are quite a few periods when he says, "I'm not in Tokyo right now."
I guess I 'm quite active, but I'm often away from Tokyo in the winter. Maybe it's because I've gotten a little older, but I feel like I want to be in nature while I can still move. My desire to be in the mountains or the sea in the right conditions has grown stronger every year. Since I'm dealing with nature, if I go to the mountains or the sea on a whim and the conditions aren't right, I won't enjoy it.
When creating clothes that reflect your own lifestyle, do you take into consideration current trends?
Of course I do. Now, with the COVID-19 pandemic, I have far fewer opportunities to go out, but if you live in Tokyo, there's always something to do. There were live shows by my friends' bands almost every weekend, receptions for events, or someone's solo exhibition. When I go out into the streets of Tokyo, I can see directly what people are wearing, and what my friends are wearing, so I think I used to consciously and naturally look at trends and fashions from those places. Now, those opportunities have become so much less, so in recent years I've been checking social media a lot. I see, for example, what kind of artists are wearing.
Do you check it out yourself rather than just watching what's on the air?
Of course that's true. Rather than being passive, I try to check things myself. Since I'm working for a clothing brand, I can't help but do that.
So , I'd like to know about your current work cycle.
Currently, ROUGH AND RUGGED holds exhibitions twice a year, so we're working towards those. We're currently working towards the most recent exhibition in mid -October . The process is to plan what to make, submit samples, check the samples, if they're OK , take photos, and then hold an exhibition. Then, after the exhibition, we put together all the orders and place them with the factory. That's basically the process.
O ROUGH AND RUGGED collaborates with other brands and uses designs from other artists every season.
I ask people who I think will be popular at the moment. Recently, it would be Hirotton or WACKWACK . Hanai Yusuke is also there. But I only ask people who I'm connected to in some way. If it's not directly, I ask through someone I'm close to.
OSo you don't ask artists you like, even though you don't know them at all?
I don't think that's possible. I always think of it as joint work rather than simple collaboration. I feel like I can create something better if I know the person's personality. Maybe I've played together before or been in the same place. It's a matter of intuition, but it's probably quite an important point.
I feel like that feeling is reflected in the finished clothes of ROUGH AND RUGGED ! Now, let's talk about OWN . How did you feel about the start of OWN ? We also asked enoshi to write a column.
I think the launch coincided with a difficult time, especially with the COVID-19 pandemic, but no matter what industry you're in or what era you're in, once you've decided to do something, it's the right timing. That's why I think Ochiai didn't want to give up on launching OWN because of COVID-19.
O: That may be true ... It was a difficult time, but we never considered abandoning the launch for that reason.
e . So I think that was the right timing for OWN , and I wanted to support them since they started that kind of movement. Also, I think there are a lot of people around us who wear sunglasses or glasses a lot as part of their lifestyle. But there are a lot of people in the world, especially Japanese people, who don't wear sunglasses. So I think it's amazing that they decided to start an original brand in such a difficult situation.
Thank you very much. Right now, you 're using OWN # 02 and #04 . How do you feel wearing them?
I wear them all the time. The #02 frame is blue, and it's such an exquisite shade of blue that you can see the color when you hold it up to sunlight, so I especially love wearing them in the summer. Also, as I wrote in my column, OWN is eyewear made by Japanese people for Japanese people, so the fit is outstanding. The most important thing for me when wearing glasses is that they don't slip off your nose, so eyewear that doesn't slip off even when you wear them all the time and doesn't cause fatigue is the best. For example, the temples and ears don't hurt. OWN is perfect in that regard. I'm the kind of person who likes to wear glasses all the time, so I think glasses that don't meet those criteria are not good. That's why I can really recommend OWN to everyone.
That's the best compliment ever (lol)! Thank you! So, what are your plans for the future as enoshi and as ROUGH AND RUGGED ?
I hope to continue doing things the same way. But at the same time, I want to improve the quality of what I do. I think about this every season: how I could make better clothes while keeping the price point that ROUGH AND RUGGED customers can accept. I'm always thinking about how I want to continue updating what I consider to be the highest quality.
[Items worn]
#04 DARK TORTOISE/BROWN 
Price: ¥20,900 (tax included)
【 INFO 】
ROUGH AND RUGGED
