New Manual, led by Yutaka Fujiwara, director of BerBerJin and a world-renowned authority on vintage denim, is returning to Isetan Shinjuku. What's more, they've collaborated with Daisuke Obana to create a limited-edition special version of N.HOOLYWOOD 's "NEW WEAVE" exclusively for Isetan Men's. In this three-way discussion, including buyer Shu Toriyama, the mastermind behind this project, we'll explore the highlights and behind-the-scenes story of this pop-up.

New Manual's rapid rise to success began with " Mister Hollywood "

Gathered at "Mister Hollywood" in Harajuku, Tokyo that day were Daisuke Obana of N. Hollywood, Yu Fujiwara of New Manual, and Osamu Toriyama, a buyer for Isetan. Needless to say, these were the key people behind the special project to launch Isetan Shinjuku Store, Men's Building Contemporary section from Wednesday, February 28th.

As has been reported in various media outlets, although Mr. Obana and Mr. Fujiwara hold different positions, they are both leading figures in vintage clothing and important figures who drive the global fashion scene from their base in Harajuku. They respect each other and have maintained a relationship of exchange for over 20 years. Last year, they collaborated for the first time on a project called "N.HOOLYWOOD × New Manual," based on vintage denim favored by Mr. Obana.

Toriyama, the men's contemporary buyer for Isetan Shinjuku Store, Men's Building , first brought New Manual to a physical store with a pop-up last spring. Now, he has managed to launch the Isetan Men's exclusive "NEW WEAVE" collection, a collaboration between N. Hollywood, which has long enjoyed strong support at Isetan Shinjuku Store, Men's Building , and New Manual.

Ahead of the highly anticipated pop-up event, we spoke with the team behind the scenes of the creation of their meticulously crafted product—a product that could be described as an "alternate universe" for "NEW WEAVE"—and heard their passionate thoughts and feelings.

Profile

Daisuke Obana

N.HOOLYWOOD Designer

He started his career at a vintage clothing store while still a student, working as a shop manager and buyer. He was then involved in the launch of the vintage clothing select shop "go-getter," and opened his own shop, "Mister Hollywood," in 2000. In 2001, he launched the men's brand "N.HOOLYWOOD" and began presenting collections in earnest. Since 2010, he has been presenting his collections in New York.

Yu Fujiwara

New Manual Director
/ Director of "BerBerJin" / Vintage denim advisor

A key figure in the recent vintage boom, he is active in a wide range of fields, including product production, styling, book publishing, and YouTube streaming. He enjoys the deep trust of denim and vintage enthusiasts. In the spring of 2022, he launched his own brand, New Manual, which he directs.

Creating an "alternate timeline" for "NEW WEAVE" with the "King of Vintage"

New Manual "NEW WEAVE" ISETAN MEN'S Store Limited Edition

New Manual
(Left) Sweatshirt ¥49,500 * ISETAN MEN'S store exclusive model (Right) Hoodie ¥51,700 * ISETAN MEN'S store exclusive model □ Isetan Shinjuku Store, Men's Building 6th floor Men's Contemporary
*This limited edition item has sold out due to popular demand.

An incredible triple collaboration with Toriyama has come to fruition (lol). Thank you so much, Obana-san and Fujiwara-san.

Obana : Thank you very much as well. This time, I participated with a special feeling, solely for Isetan (laughs).

Fujiwara: Me too (laughs).

Toriyama : Thank you (laughs)! Fujiwara-san, you held our first in-store event at Isetan Men's last spring. Looking back on this past year with New Manual, how do you feel about it?

Fujiwara: First of all, we were really grateful to be able to start by holding the "Zero Exhibition" here (the gallery space on the 3rd floor of "Mister Hollywood") in 2022. Thanks to that, we were able to get on track right away.

Toriyama's work has expanded in a truly ideal way, hasn't it?

Fujiwara: I'm very grateful. Our concept for creating things is to transform genuine vintage items that I own into modern, authentic "fashion" through the processing techniques of "Yutori 18" and share them with the world. This past year has given me a real sense of accomplishment, as I've been able to let many people know about the fundamentals of that concept.

I personally wear Fujiwara New Manual clothes on a regular basis, and many customers who come to "BerBerJin" to shop also wear them. Last year was truly full of various encounters, and of course, our collaboration with Isetan was one of them. Furthermore, through our connection with Mr. Obana, we were able to develop the N.HOOLYWOOD × New Manual collaboration into a larger project.

It feels like the two of you, Toriyama , have created a very natural flow from the launch of New Manual here to the N.HOOLYWOOD × New Manual project. This time, New Manual is participating in N.HOOLYWOOD's "NEW WEAVE" project and has agreed to produce a product exclusively for Isetan Men's... Could you tell us why you chose Champion's Reverse Weave®, specifically "NEW WEAVE," instead of denim?

Obana: This is going to be a bit long, but... Even before seeing the first collection, I knew that New Manual would be something amazing, given Yu Fujiwara's trustworthiness and the track record of the company "YutoRi18". So when they first told me they wanted to hold their exhibition at our company, I was really happy.

It's been about a year and a half since then, I think. I tell his team that out of all the brands out there, there really aren't many that are supported to this extent... so they should keep that in mind and cherish it immensely.

Obana: Above all, they love vintage, and they focus on pursuing it more deeply than anyone else, so there's absolutely no pretense in it. If I were to get involved, I thought it would be interesting to show Yu what I actually wear and create something together from there. That's what we did with the previous N.HOOLYWOOD × New Manual. And this time, Yu said, "It's a collaboration with none other than Isetan!" (laughs)

Everyone (lol)

Obana thought about what he could do to make it special. He is the "King of Vintage," the "King of Sweatshirts," and the "King of Champion," having created various trends for Champion. And for over 10 years, we have been working with Champion with the idea of "creating new values for Champion," and two years ago we launched the "NEW WEAVE" project, which specializes in Reverse Weave®. This was the only thing we could do.

Creating new values through vintage mixing.

Toriyama : "Creating new values" resonates with the concept of the new manual, doesn't it?

Obana: That might be true. My vintage Reverse Weave® jeans have naturally deteriorated in a different way than denim, with sun fading and washing damage. I think that kind of aging process is what "fashion" is all about...

What I do with "NEW WEAVE" is release "new" products that are timely in order to create new values. For example, a modern take on a hoodie, or creating a panel-switched version of the multi-colored Reverse Weave from the 1990s... I extract various elements from past products and mix them together. "NEW WEAVE" is about incorporating the concept of three-dimensional cutting that fits the body, and it's not about "reproducing" vintage items.

Fujiwara : That part is indeed the same as in the new manual.

Obana: That's right. So, with New Manual's processing technology, we can also explore approaches like, "What kind of look will it take on after being worn for several years?" I thought that New Manual's processing technology would be a perfect fit for this season's "NEW WEAVE," which has a strong focus on vintage and collages details from various eras.

Toriyama : I see. So that's how the N.HOOLYWOOD × Champion "NEW WEAVE" Isetan limited edition model was born... This time, it's based on two types of inline products, a crew neck and a hoodie, and has been made in a black color with processing that is characteristic of New Manual. By the way, I understand that the lettered sweatshirt you have prepared for today is the source material, but what kind of item is it?

Obana: This is an item I borrowed from Champion, which is said to be the oldest existing Reverse Weave® item. It is estimated to have been made in 1931, before the Reverse Weave® trademark was registered, so it still has the "Runner's Tag" (*Reverse Weave® was created in 1934, and patented in 1938).

Fujiwara: This is an extremely rare item; I've only ever seen it in books.

Obana: I felt I'd reached my limit in the vintage clothing business, so I quit and that's how I ended up where I am today (laughs). I've been getting rid of a lot of the vintage items I owned... But I still have an attachment to Reverse Weave®. I don't think I have a collecting habit, but I've been steadily buying up Reverse Weave® items. Back then, unlike vintage denim, they were affordable enough for even high school students to buy, which was a big factor. But this is the so-called "double V" style, and the one we actually adopted is the "front V" style that Yutaka is wearing today.

I don't think the "double V" shape itself exists even in Fujiwara 's original Reverse Weave®.

So, while this serves as the base for Toriyama 's work, various details are incorporated through the interpretations and arrangements of the two of you, is that correct?

Obana: I think it's more interesting to mash up different sources. If you do it exactly as it is, it becomes just a "reproduction" and not "fashion."

Even with Toriyama 's add-on hoodie, the hood is attached by "dabbing" rather than "sandwiching" it in. I wonder if Fujiwara's personal belongings served as the reference for the modifications?

Fujiwara: That's right. But to be honest, in the world of vintage clothing, the color black itself is very rare. We found some with a nice shade, but we just couldn't find anything with the right degree of fading and damage. So we decided to use navy as a reference, as it has the best features of each. In other words, we incorporated the best aspects of three different sweatshirts in terms of color, fading, and damage. Even so, we had "Iya to Ri18" try it about three times before we achieved the ideal result.

Obana: Another important point is that while there is a black version in the "NEW WEAVE" inline collection, that one doesn't have the distressed finish, and the black dye itself is different, so the color is completely different. The fabric is woven with white thread first, then dyed using traditional dyes, and then further processed. It takes an incredible amount of time and effort. It's truly an exclusive item only available at Isetan. I know I'm being repetitive, but (laughs).

Toriyama, that's amazing... (laughs).

I think the reason we can create things so smoothly at Obana is because of the mutual trust we have. Yu is like an encyclopedia of vintage items, so when I'm struggling, he'll quickly offer a suggestion, and we can decide right away, "Okay, let's go with that." There's no easier relationship than this.

There were times when I didn't see Mr. Fujiwara Obana regularly, and other times when we saw each other very often. But when I was buying supplies, I'd think, "Mr. Obana would probably like this," or when I was in the store, I'd say, "We've got this in stock," or conversely, Mr. Obana would ask me, "Yu, do you have anything like this?" I feel like we've always been exchanging ideas for over 20 years.

Obana: Everything starts with basic practice, right? (laughs)

Do what needs to be done and turn your "dream" into reality.

Toriyama : Lastly, could you tell us about your outlook on the future of your relationship and the possibility of collaborating again?

Fujiwara: Of course, the new manual wouldn't be where it is today without my relationship with Mr. Obana. I hope we can continue our relationship for a long time to come, and I'd love to collaborate on manufacturing projects together. No, I think we will (laughs).

Minoru Obana's second collaboration with N.HOOLYWOOD × New Manual will be released on Friday, February 23rd. Beyond that, I'd like to collaborate with Yu on an irregular basis, whenever we find something that needs to be done. I want to cherish the aspect of "doing it because it's fun." New Manual is also about "doing what needs to be done," regardless of trends. So I don't think it would be strange if the exact same thing was released multiple times.

Toriyama: That's certainly true.

In terms of the Obana fashion business, we have to change something every season and propose something new. But vintage items, like the "thong" I'm wearing today, never change, do they?

What's funny is that when I talk to Yu's team, they line up my "T-back" with other "T-backs" and start saying amazing things like, "The position of the stitching here is different" (laughs). I personally think that's not that important, but I think it's actually very important to give shape to that "romantic" part that's not insignificant.

At first glance, they look exactly the same model, but when you put them side by side, they're completely different. Just as vintage items are unique to each individual, new items are unique to each individual—isn't that the true charm of the Newmanual brand?