There’s a mixture of happiness and envy when you meet someone who does something they love for a living. They’ve achieved the ideal, the dream; they make money from something they’re passionate about. Good for them, you say ruefully, as you sit behind your dreary desk.
Still, when Ichiro Nakatsu, founder and head designer of orSlow, paid us a visit, we couldn’t begrudge him his happiness. Here he was, a living, breathing example of a man who hadn’t succumbed to the grind, someone who had been brave enough to ignore the doubters and follow his dreams.
Having never visited our home city before, and knowing what a vintage lover he was, we felt duty bound to take him on a whistle-stop tour of Brighton’s many vintage and second hand clothing shops. You could clearly see the delight in his face as he rummaged through the rails, picking out pieces that caught his eye. This is a collector, an obsessive, someone who thinks about clothing and materials constantly.
This passion not only shows in his mannerisms when browsing through the rails, but it is apparent in the clothing he produces. He is a designer who knows what to do with a classic pair of military fatigues in order to give them a contemporary feel. He is acutely aware of what makes a highly wearable pair of jeans and he knows that a great t-shirt is a balance of cut, material and detail.
To Western consumers, Japanese fashion is extremely Tokyo-centric, but dig a little deeper and you discover that there is much more to unearth outside of the country’s capital. “My office is located in a city called Nishinomiya, a place between the second biggest city, Osaka, and Kobe,” explains Ichiro. “The atmosphere of the city is so cozy and it takes roughly two hours and half by car to get to our main production factory. There are lots of rivers, parks and greenery. People here seem not too busy. Perhaps because this environment provides such a nice space to live, I can concentrate on working on my project.”
Known for his impressive archive of some several hundred pieces, I ask Ichiro what came first, designing or collecting clothes? “Collecting clothes came first,” he quickly replies. “I like to go and dig at thrift and vintage clothing shops, especially when I am on vacation. I buy things when I meet ‘good pieces’, which gives me ideas for creating new items for upcoming seasons. I usually get inspiration from my vintage collection. But more than just using it for design or cuts, I also take it into account when developing new materials.”
To be able to draw on this rich and varied private catalogue is invaluable to Ichiro. As well as a personal wardrobe, he uses his collection of denim, military clothing and outdoor gear as creative inspiration. Items like the L.L. Bean vest he is wearing when we meet are typical of what he loves to wear. “I found it in one of the vintage clothing shops in Osaka,” he tells me. “I personally like to not carry a bag with me so this vest with its many pockets is very useful. It is one of my favourite pieces for sure.”
There are clearly parallels between labels such as L.L. Bean, the storied American outdoors clothing company, and orSlow. Where L.L. Bean began, designers like Ichiro now lead, eschewing modern mass production techniques in favour of tried and tested methods. “The way companies produced clothing, especially in ‘50s and ‘70s, is very interesting to me,” he says. “I can see some rough design from the vintage clothes from the era but I can also see productive and reasonable design.”
After doing this for almost 15 years, Ichiro still gets excited by the whole production process. “I love everything from designing to completing a sample,” he says. “I get so stoked when I take a look at the sample that came up from the factory.” This enthusiasm and desire to remain faithful to traditional manufacturing values is central to orSlow’s ethos. “Although industrial technology has dramatically developed over the years and has allowed mass production, all the products made by the fully automated production line are uniform,” he explains.
This methodology of looking to the past for inspiration, both in terms of design and manufacturing, has resulted in some standout items. One of our favourite pieces is the nigh-on-perfect New Yorker Pants, a tapered style that blends the stylings of a military fatigue with the robustness of a hiking pant for a modern, comfortable fit. We were so enamoured with the cut that we enlisted Ichiro to make us an exclusive version for the shop, cut from navy ripstop cotton.
Ichiro has fond memories of other cuts from his eclectic output. “I am proud of our basic five pocket jeans, the 105 and 107 cuts,” he explains. “But I also love the Straight Fit Fatigue Pants and the Denim Button Down Shirt. I think they both can suit any kind of style.” All these garments represent the wide-ranging influences of Ichiro and show a man deeply passionate about vintage clothing, small scale production and quality, functional design.
Many thanks to Ichiro and Hiro from orSlow for taking the time to come down and visit.
Photography: James Hole
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