As part of "JAPAN CREATION," which will be held at Isetan Shinjuku Store, Men's Building 1F Promotion area from October 2nd (Wednesday), a promotion for shoe brands PETROSOLAUM and forme will be held for two weeks starting October 9th (Wednesday). Based on their knowledge and skills in shoemaking, the two brands' representatives, who pursue their own unique styles, were invited to speak with the buyer in charge, Kagami, about the attitudes behind their creations.

• profile

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• Sotaro Ogino, Designer at PETROSOLAUM
  After graduating from university, he worked in the interior design industry and at select shops while learning shoemaking at a shoe workshop, and subsequently worked in the shoe industry. At the age of 30, he became independent and launched the shoe brand Peter Oraum in the fall/winter of 2012-13.
  

  PETROSOLAUM
  We create high-quality, authentic footwear by seamlessly blending products that serve as foot protection with products that are works of art.

  
  

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  Akihiro Kojima, forme designer
  After graduating from university, he attended a shoe-making vocational school while simultaneously working at a shoe last manufacturer to learn last-making techniques. Shortly after, he became independent and launched his own shoe brand, forme , in 2009. He is dedicated to pursuing shoemaking in his base of Asakusa.
  

  forme/Forme
  While inheriting the authentic tailoring of traditional men's shoes, the brand offers a range of shoes that complement both classic and fashionable casual wear, along with bags and leather accessories that are carefully crafted with attention to materials and design.

--From Wednesday, October 9th, we will be holding a promotion for PETROSOLAUM and forme on the 1st floor Isetan Shinjuku Store, Men's Building . During this period, we will be showcasing ready-made shoes from both brands, and will also be offering a special made-to-order service.

Yosuke Kagami, Men's Shoes Buyer at Isetan Shinjuku: When I met designers Ogino and Kojima, I was struck by their stylishness and the way their shoes easily connect with fashion, so I decided to invite them to appear in this interview. I hope that more people will learn about their unique and unparalleled presence, including their own words.


—How long have you two been running your brands?

Peter Oraum Ogino Sotaro (hereinafter, titles omitted): The brand's first collection was in Autumn/Winter 2012-13, so this is our 13th year.

Akihiro Kojima of forme (hereinafter, titles omitted) : We started in 2009. In terms of seasons, that would be from 2010, right?

—So, each of you has more than 10 years of experience, right? Has the brand been like this since you started it?

Ogino: No. When we first started the brand, we didn't have any models, including the shoe lasts that you see here. For the first few seasons after we established the brand, we intentionally aimed for a more fashion-artisan branding, so the shoes had a slightly rustic or rough feel to them. The edges of the soles were also roughly cut and left as they were. Of course, we still have models that we offer today, and the brand has continued to evolve with each passing season to become what it is today.

—At what point did you feel that your own style, or rather, the taste of the Peter Oraum brand, had solidified?

Ogino: I think the range of styles in the shoes we make as a brand is quite wide. At Isetan, they select a more classic, slightly refined style, but at other retailers, we carry lines such as pre-dyed products and collaboration lines with Antwerp brands, so the shoes we carry vary greatly from store to store. That's something I'm aiming for, and I've consistently maintained the stylistic choice of not wanting to give the brand a distinctive character.

—Mr. Ogino, have you been in the shoe industry for quite some time?

Ogino: After graduating from university, I learned shoemaking at a workshop in Asakusa. Initially, I worked in the interior design industry, then in the apparel industry. I had decided to become independent at the age of 30, so I finally entered the shoe industry around the age of 27 or 28 and became independent. Even before starting the brand, I wanted to pursue a slightly different direction as a designer, not just as a craftsman who makes things, and that's how it came to be what it is today. By doing everything myself, from cutting to sewing, I hope to create products that retain the essence of handcrafted work within mass production.


Kojima: It's unusual for the designer to be involved in the stitching of the upper.

Ogino: It's tough, but I'm enjoying it. The insights I gain during the process sometimes lead to the next shoe-making project, so it's a necessary time for me.

-- Mr. Kojima from forme , do you create patterns yourself, for example?

Kojima: Regarding patterns, I handle some specialized items like boots, and outsource the rest. I carve the base shoe lasts myself. I also do the design process myself, such as drawing the lines on the shoe lasts.

Ogino: Both Kojima and I can do the whole process of shoemaking if we put our minds to it. Of course, we're less skilled and slower than professional craftsmen, but I think our strength lies in our general knowledge of shoemaking.

—That's precisely what caught my attention about you two. Since you possess the skills (of shoemaking), I thought you might be approaching the designs you create in a very rational way. (Kagami)

Kojima: If you don't understand the structure and so on, it's difficult to judge how far to draw the lines (in the design). And you can't create comfort when wearing them.

──In shoemaking, are there any specific qualities you initially envisioned or still envision for a shoe?

Ogino: Since the brand's inception, I've consistently incorporated traditional, handmade techniques that I've learned into my product creation. My absolute requirements are that the products reflect originality and are something I would want to wear myself in today's world.

Looking back, I realize that my perspective was quite narrow 12 or 13 years ago. However, as I've gotten older and my lifestyle has changed, my perspective has broadened considerably, and my sensibilities have improved for the better.
I'm personally looking forward to seeing how that feeling will change in the future and how it will expand the brand's scope.

--Mr. Kojima, for example, what stance would you consider forme to take as a brand in relation to classic men's shoes?

Kojima: I like old shoes, but what I'm conscious of is not to confine them too much to a specific country, era, or genre. I think that leather shoe brands are more easily accepted if they belong to a specific genre or category. And it has inevitably been considered good to follow or conform to the shoes of Europe or Britain, where they originated.

However, in modern times, that's changing a bit, and I believe there's value in exploring and thinking about unique directions. And I think my way of incorporating classics is a little "cheating." When incorporating unusual patterns and designs into modern shoes, if you also incorporate very classic tastes and details, it becomes more convincing. It creates a sense of familiarity, which makes customers feel at ease.

Kojima: Also, technologies that were once commonplace around the world are gradually disappearing, and that's precisely why I want to preserve them. I believe it's still possible in Japan, so I'm going to do it.

-- forme 's production is rooted in the shoemaking traditions of Asakusa. However, it seems that recently you've been focusing on in-house shoemaking as well.

Kojima: In order to maintain the quality of the shoes I want to make, relying solely on outsourcing is not enough these days. I feel that we need to take on a certain amount of responsibility ourselves in order to continue making things.

—In the case of Mr. Ogino's Peterolaum, I believe the shoemaking industry in Asakusa also plays an important role.

Ogino: That's right. Also, in our case, the leather we use for the uppers is mainly made in Himeji. From the start of the brand, we've wanted to compete overseas using Japanese materials. We know that there are many good leathers in the world, but we deliberately didn't want to use the same ones as everyone else. We also wanted to express ourselves through the materials we use.

—You're using what's known as horsebutt leather, or rather, horsehide with about half of it being cordovan.

Ogino: It's cordovan butt. We have a tanner select raw hides that are a mixture of cordovan and butt layers, and then we use those to make our products.

—Including this horsehide, Mr. Ogino's criteria for selecting leather seem quite unique.

Ogino: I don't think that something is good just because it's pretty. I believe there's an aesthetic to imperfection and roughness, and I value that as my starting point when I look at leather. Also, I'm not a chef who looks at the ingredients and then decides how to cook them, but I think there's a way of looking at each type of leather that's best suited to it. For example, the Tyrolean boots we're offering this season use (cow) shoulder leather, and we deliberately used shoulder leather, which already has wrinkles, for the vamp parts, which creates a wild atmosphere in the overall balance.

Regarding the leather used in forme , the models available at Isetan Men's use high-quality box calf leather from Ilcea, an Italian company.

Kojima: This is a special order for Isetan Men's, and I happened to meet with buyer Kagami just as I got my hands on this leather, which led to this collaboration. I had been thinking about how to best use this leather myself, so I'm glad that it came together so smoothly.

Kagami: We regularly carry shoes made with Ilcea box calf leather. In addition, for this promotion, we will be offering three new models as made-to-order options. All of them are new designs from forme , using Ilcea box calf leather.

Furthermore, Peter Oraum will also be offering a combination model using crocodile leather as a made-to-order item.

Ogino: These shoes are models that we've been offering exclusively at events since this season. At Peter Oraum, we consistently use only real exotic leathers such as crocodile and ostrich, not embossed leathers. This time, by using a combination of materials, we've created a model that makes it easier to incorporate the beauty and strength of crocodile leather into everyday wear. In addition to these two models, we plan to offer two more models during the event period, so we hope you'll look forward to them.

Kagami: The two brands I'm introducing today each have their own unique characteristics, but they actually have something in common: they are comfortable and easy to wear. This is the result of the shoe lasts that Mr. Ogino and Mr. Kojima have each pursued individually, and the solid construction that reflects the shape of those lasts.

If you're interested, please come to our promotional event and see the product for yourself.

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Text: Yukihiro Sugawara
Photographer: Yusuke Iida

＊All prices include tax.