Whether it's fashion, music, or sports, there is a style that only each person can have 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 first episode will feature TUBE's Saito Hisao as a guest.
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15. Downsize the company and do what only you can do.
During the six and a half years I worked for MEN'S BIGI, my company was doing well thanks to the sales of His TUBE's L-pocket pants. There were times in the past when the company was on the verge of collapse, but I somehow managed to get through each time.
The people who worked there wanted to make the company bigger, but I said, "Let me think about it." The conclusion I came to was, "I want to make the company smaller." I introduced my staff to new jobs and shrunk the company. This was around 2000.
Select shops across the country are made up of "mass + import". But I want to make clothes that they don't make. I want you to make the mass part that will be the main source of sales, and I'll make clothes that will be the branches and leaves and sprouts. To do this, I needed to downsize the company. I sometimes thought, "Is this backward-looking?", but the current scale is just right. I also feel that "I don't want to make a lot of clothes unnecessarily anymore". I've been involved with clothes for a long time, but I still find it more fun to buy and wear clothes than to make them. This will never change.
We don't have a website or use SNS. We're completely behind the times. I know I'm saying this, but in today's apparel, it's definitely more accurate to let AI or chat GPT do the standard planning. But what they can't beat is sense, courage, and initiative. I think we need to hone those skills.
Profile
Hisao Saito (Tube Designer)
Born in Hongo, Tokyo in 1945. He is the designer of his own brand, TUBE, and has served as an advisor and director for major select shops and brands.
