Style Resume. Yoshida Katsuyuki #11

2024.12.25

Text： Kenichi Aono

Edit： Yusuke Suzuki and Miyoko Hashimoto

Whether it's fashion, music, or sports, there is a style that only each person can bring out in any genre. "Style is Everything." That's right, someone said that style is everything. "Style Resume" is a series of interviews with adults who literally have style. Updated every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, the fourth installment traces the life story of Katsuyuki Yoshida, founder of Porter Classic.

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11. Planning and creativity to take Japan to the world.

As I said before, I have always thought that we can only do this if we have people who can create things, and I wanted to be more forthright in that aspect when I became independent. Thankfully, people who like that kind of thing gathered together. This is an irreplaceable asset. Having such friends makes me feel like I can do it even if I have to collapse.

I often wonder why there are so few companies that understand the situation of traditional Japanese craftsmanship and invest money in it, but I think it's because they lack planning and imagination. They can't come up with their own plans that can be launched on the world stage, and can only make cheap copies of other products. I suppose it can't be helped because it's a business, but a small company like us definitely can't do that. So Porter Classic started with the simple idea of expressing what we think honestly and fully.

When starting something, I think there is a mindset of setting a clear motto and working towards it, but I think that truly great things are made without making a sound. Don't make excuses, just make it. The rest is up to the customer to decide. So even if people tell me it's good or bad, I try to be grateful for it. Because whatever their opinion, it's because they've looked at it.

Porter Classic Ginza will reopen in 2022 on the second floor of Ginza Five, which houses antique shops, restaurants, cafes, and more. The interior and exterior of the store, designed by film art director Yohei Taneda and Toho Visual Arts, has a theme of a "traveling sailing ship," and you can feel the creativity of Katsuyuki Yoshida.

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Katsuyuki Yoshida (CEO of Porter Classic)

Born in 1947, he was the first Japanese to be selected as a member of the New York Designers Collective in 1981. In 2007, he founded Porter Classic with his son, Reo Yoshida, and continues to create products that are "Made in Japan," such as sashiko culture.

HP: https://porterclassic.com/
Instagram: @porterclassic_official