In January 2021, the fashion world was shocked by the sudden death of designer Takeshi Osumi. Everyone who heard the news was shocked and saddened.

Takeshi Osumi made his debut as BIG-O of the hip-hop group SHAKKAZOMBIE, while also gaining significant attention in the fashion world by launching SWAGGER in 1999 and PHENOMENON in 2004. He participated in Tokyo Collection from 2010 onwards, and his contributions to the collection scene are immeasurable. PHENOMENON, which Osumi had nurtured with such care, ceased operations after 2016, but there were plans to reboot it this year. Tragically, he passed away just before that. This sad fact will not change, but the brand has decided to continue, carrying on the works Osumi left behind. We conducted an interview with Hiroshi Fujiwara, who had a long-standing relationship with Osumi, about the PHENOMENON archive collection coming this fall, and the "P+M (PHENOMENON+MCM)" permanent label, a collaboration with MCM by PHENOMENON. We were treated to valuable anecdotes centered around the keywords Takeshi Osumi and PHENOMENON.

▶View PHENOMENONP+M products at the Mitsukoshi Isetan Online Store

*At the Mitsukoshi Isetan online store, P+M will be available for purchase from around 12:00 PM on Wednesday, September 29th, while PHENOMENON will only be available in stores.

I realized that he's not a hardcore hip-hop artist, but rather someone whose influence comes from fashion culture.

—Was your first encounter with each other through a magazine interview?

That might be true, since it was the first time we met and talked. I knew of Oosumi's existence, but I was pretty much distanced from hip hop at the time. It wasn't right after that, but we started going out for meals occasionally. I was also good friends with Eri from DEPT. Eri, Oosumi, and Yoshii (Mr. Gentleman Designer) would go out to eat together, the four of us. It was often with someone else like that. We didn't talk about work-related things then, it was mostly just normal conversation. But we did go out for meals regularly. I think it was once or twice a year.
Back in the SWAGGER days, or rather, when he was doing Shaka Zombie, I thought he had a more hip-hop feel, both in SWAGGER and in general. That's why I was a little surprised that PHENOMENON was completely different and had a more trendy feel. I realized he's someone who comes from fashion culture.

—This is a SWAGGER mook from that time (2003). It was published in the same year as the magazine in which the two of you had your interview.

(Looking at SWAGGER magazine) Ah, those were the stars of that era.
Was PHENOMENON's style already quite edgy from the beginning? Were there no hip-hop-influenced elements?


—At the very beginning, it was full of hip-hop elements.

Really? But it looks completely different in this ( PHENOMENON catalog from that time ). What was the reason?

—SWAGGER was about hip hop, and PHENOMENON was about making clothes that they themselves really wanted to wear.

I remember being quite surprised at the time . During the Tokyo Collection, he was completely focused on fashion. He was a completely different person from when I first met him. I wonder if he had some kind of admiration for overseas brands and fashion. There may be individual differences, but for example, if someone gets really into hip hop and that's the best place for them, I think they'll stay there. On the other hand, some people start out in punk but end up liking hip hop, or house music. When we first saw Oosumi, we thought he had a B-boy vibe, that it all came from that context, but that wasn't actually the case. I understand that he moved on to something he liked differently, because I'm the same type of person, and I wondered if he was someone with a similar sensibility.

—In that sense, Mr. Oosumi really did look up to Mr. Hiroshi, didn't he?

(Referring to his style during the SWAGGER era) I didn't feel that way at all back then (laughs). But when I went to visit him in the hospital, we talked about all sorts of things, even though it wasn't a proper conversation since he was in a hospital room. That's when I was able to tell him (how much I admired him). We even did a collection together. It was before COVID-19 spread, and he was about to be discharged, so we were saying things like, let's go out and have some fun. But then he just got worse and worse. Right after he passed away, I got calls from people close to Oosumi-kun and we talked about all sorts of things. We assumed he would get better, so I heard that he had bought a lot of winter clothes, and that a lot of large sizes were arriving. It might be inappropriate to say this, but it's kind of a nice story. It shows how much he loved clothes.

It might be interesting to keep the name PHENOMENON and develop it with a new designer.

—Now, let's talk about the items that will be released this time. This fall, we will be launching two labels: one featuring reproductions of clothing from that era, and the other featuring designs created during his lifetime. Please take a look at the lookbook.

So these are a reissue of a past model and a new one, right? What's the future of PHENOMENON?

—We plan to continue both brands in the future.

It might be interesting to see the PHENOMENON name remain and a new designer take over. I feel like this kind of thing isn't really established in Japan yet. It's fairly standard overseas, but there are hardly any examples in Japan, so I think it would be interesting. I don't know how well PHENOMENON and MCM are doing overseas, but even considering that, I think it's a possibility. It would also be interesting if someone unexpected came along. Like a foreigner. It would be interesting if someone who isn't mainstream but makes everyone think, "Wow, that person?" came along.


—Were there any items in this lookbook that caught your eye?

A laurel-patterned T-shirt (*①), and then there's the bag, I guess. I like things that look like collages. This bag has the print done on top, right? It's nice (*②). I vaguely remember this MA-1 jacket (*③). Yes, I remember it. It still looks good even now.



—I imagine you had a close personal relationship with them, but how do you view the PHENOMENON brand, Mr. Fujiwara?

As I mentioned earlier, I think it took courage for Oosumi to venture into this genre. On the contrary, I like that kind of thing. It's not like he's just jumping on the bandwagon, but I think there were opinions and all sorts of noise. But I thought it was great that he was doing exactly what he wanted to do. After all, it's quite a change. Maybe some people who thought Oosumi was a true hip-hop star were saying, "What kind of frivolous thing is he doing?" But even taking those outside voices into account, Oosumi entered a different world with determination, saying, "This is what I'm going to do." I think that's admirable, or rather, I think it's great. That's what I found so interesting.

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