Resume of Style. Hisao Saito #10

When I was working on Duploman, I often went overseas to shop, so I made quite a few connections, and some brands started asking me if I could sell their products in Japan. So I bought Paul Howl and leather sikone. People in the industry were interested and came to look at them, but they were just too expensive. They didn't sell at all, and the overseas guys didn't send the products as ordered. So I quit my job as a planner who made money with paper and pencil, and decided to make my own clothes, so I started TUBE in 1979.

At that time, many people, including Take-sensei, were running their own brands. I liked imported clothes more and didn't have much interest in making my own clothes. Clothes are something you buy, not something you make. But I thought that if the designer brands on the market were selling, my clothes could sell too, so I started making the clothes I wanted. I thought that now was the time to do it, given my age. It was also fortunate that there were about 10 stores that I could wholesale my imports to.

I named the brand TUBE because I was impressed by the London Underground being called the Tube, and because my favorite slim and tall, sharp clothes look like Tubes. People who saw my clothes said, "This isn't a designer brand," but I was actually happy about that.