Creative director Takayuki Minami, a leading figure in the fields of fashion and art in Japan, and illustrator Hiroshi Nagai have collaborated. Minami's attitude of purely pursuing what he loves and respecting artists and their works has resulted in timeless, unique, and artistic fashion.

The reason I deliberately chose a simple piece that is somewhat unexpected.

Special items resulting from a collaboration between Graphpaper , helmed by creative director Takayuki Minami, and illustrator Hiroshi Nagai, are now available.

So, this time, we interviewed the two who met through this project. We asked Minami, who was in charge of direction, why he reached out to Nagai, how the special items linking fashion and art were created, and what kind of attention to detail they are filled with.


"I've loved Mr. Nagai's work, and the musicians who have used his music, ever since I was a child. My dad liked jazz and AOR (adult-oriented rock), and he was never the type to listen to pop music, but for some reason he often listened to Eiichi Ohtaki. Of course, the cover of that album ('A LONG VACATION') was very impressive, so Mr. Nagai is someone I look up to. I had decided in my heart that I shouldn't casually try to meet him, but... I thought that maybe I could somehow meet him through this project (laughs)."

As Minami himself stated, this collaboration came about because of Minami's passionate appeal to Nagai.


"When I saw his brand (Graphpaper) catalog, it was full of very simple clothes, so at first I thought my work wouldn't be a good fit. But then he said he wanted to use some of my simplest pieces out of all my work. I thought, 'Wow, he has good taste!' (laughs). I like simple things myself, but in client work, I'm almost always asked for palm trees or cars, so my drawings often end up being quite complex."

Nagai is well-known for his works that evoke the blue skies, beaches, and palm trees of the American West Coast, strongly associated with city pop, a popular genre in the music industry. However, he himself surprisingly favors minimalism, and the works chosen by Minami were also simple and linear. Is this merely a coincidence?


"I was shown many of Mr. Nagai's works at his office, and I was surprised to see that some of them had a very simple style. It's different from the image of Mr. Nagai that everyone has, but I actually prefer this style. My decision to choose simple works for this collaboration was largely intuitive rather than logical. However, I also wanted to avoid works that everyone has probably used before. When I considered where to create affinity between Graphpaper's clothing and Mr. Nagai's work, I thought that simple yet contemporary works that appeal with good composition and color scheme would fit perfectly. I had a feeling that this would allow both Mr. Nagai and Graphpaper to build a new customer base. It was a pleasant surprise to learn that it was actually a style that he himself liked."

Wearing what you love—that's the essential value and joy of fashion.

"I was given the freedom to choose my own artwork, and based on that data, I created a design sketch and presented it to Mr. Nagai. I asked him, 'How about something like this?' and he replied, 'Okay!' (laughs). I was surprised to get his approval on the first try."

Mr. Minami, who was surprised by how smoothly everything went, explained the key features of each item.

"It's common to print paintings and graphics on T-shirts and long-sleeved shirts, and I think many people do it rather haphazardly. But this time, we used a special technique that maximizes the reproduction of the artwork on a body meticulously crafted by Graphpaper. We wanted to present Nagai's work in the best possible way. We wanted to properly express our respect for Nagai and his work. So, although it may look ordinary, I think it's a print that's surprisingly 'something that hasn't really existed before.'"

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• Graphpaper × Hiroshi Nagai
• Short-sleeved T-shirt: 25,300 yen
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• Graphpaper × Hiroshi Nagai
• Long-sleeved T-shirt: 28,600 yen
• Click here for details

These are the ultimate printed T-shirts and long-sleeved shirts, with meticulous attention paid to every detail, from the material and silhouette to the design and print.

"Also, I felt that it was common to just boldly display the pattern, so I had the idea from the beginning to use it luxuriously as the lining. I thought it would be interesting if the entire lining of a basic coach jacket that everyone knows was made up of Nagai's beautiful artwork. I have a policy of not making things that I wouldn't wear myself, so I also knew that I wouldn't wear a blouson with an all-over pattern on the outer fabric (laughs)."

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• 
• Graphpaper × Hiroshi Nagai
  Coach jackets: ¥60,500 each
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  Click here for details

This project seems to have left everything to Mr. Minami, but did Mr. Nagai have any concerns?

"Ms. Minami has great taste (laughs). Actually, we've collaborated with various brands, and we want to leave it up to each designer's sensibilities and let them do what they want. We usually make T-shirts that showcase the work simply. I always look forward to seeing how they'll do it... The idea of using it as the lining for a coach jacket is very interesting, like an old kimono. I read an interview where Ms. Minami was talking about herこだわり (particularity/attention to detail) regarding the weight of cashmere knitwear. I thought her perspective of being particular about quantity and weight, as well as quality, was unique. Good things are heavy after all (laughs). I thought she was amazing."


Nagai, who loves the contrast between blue skies and linear architecture, says that lately he feels that grayish, cloudy skies are more in line with the times and that he wants to paint them more often. He seems to be very fond of coach jackets, which at first glance appear simple and elegant, are easy to wear, but actually incorporate a strong sense of personal taste and culture. Before we knew it, he was wearing a black coach jacket that day as well. He also smiled fondly at the printed T-shirt, which he said he had pushed to the limit in his attempt to "recreate a beautiful work of art."

"I've always thought that art would attract attention. I thought that eventually, a 'space' would be created. When people listen to music, buy clothes, and their cultural level rises, the next thing they want is food, furniture. And that's when they start to feel the presence of 'space' on the walls of their homes. When it comes to what to put there, they inevitably want illustrations, posters, or what we call art. It's a different context from fine art, though. I think a lighting boom might come eventually. But this project has absolutely nothing to do with the current '80s-'90s boom or art boom. I've simply expressed what I've always loved in a pure way. I'm not the kind of person who cares about trends in society at all."


What Nagai said, seemingly agreeing with Minami, was particularly memorable.

"People who create trends don't actually care about trends. Because people are naturally drawn to what they create, and that becomes popular."

Beautiful things are timeless. This collection seems to be overflowing with something that evokes emotions different from nostalgia.