This installment of "A SCENE TALK" features an interview with Mr. and Ms. Yamashita of "TOTO," a store in Prague, Czech Republic, that curates a wide range of items from vintage to regular with their unique perspective, and Mr. Kakuo, a buyer for "THE GROUND depot.," a popular select shop in Horie, Osaka.

Furuya　This might be sudden, but looking at you two, "Double Fantasy" just comes to mind. The photos of John Lennon and Yoko Ono taken by Kishin Shinoyama for their album.

Yamashita　Furuya-kun, you say that a lot. (laughs)

Furuya　It's probably because of what you're doing now, but there are moments when the world you two share feels incredibly cool, like you're living an alternative lifestyle. As someone living in Japan, I'm captivated by that, and it's an honor to be able to create something with you this time.

Furuya Could you tell us how the two of you first met and why you decided to start this together?

Yamashita We were both working at different vintage clothing stores in Osaka at the time, and we met through connections in the industry. I was like this too, but Natsumi-chan was also quite internationally-minded back then. We got along because we both often traveled abroad since we were kids.

Natsumi My mother was originally an antique lace buyer, and I was often enlisted to help her with her buying trips. That was the trigger for me wanting to do that kind of work in the future.

Furuya So you were exposed to that environment since birth.

Natsumi That's right. Because of my mother's influence, our house was always full of old things. It started about 20 years ago, when American miscellaneous goods were popular. But gradually, we started going to Europe, and things changed. So we went to America, then England, then France.

Yamashita: So that's how it was, and I didn't have a vision like I do now for seriously running an online store. I had buying skills, so my initial thought was to use those to make a living. I don't really understand it myself, how things ended up this way. (laughs)

Natsumi: We weren't thinking at all. There really wasn't a plan.

Yamashita: We went in with no plan. Now, I feel lucky that I've been able to make a job out of what I'm good at.

Yamashita: Actually, Natsumi-chan had never been to the Czech Republic until she moved there. We were living together in Japan when we decided we wanted to work in Europe. At first, I wanted to go to Berlin. We had some really good memories from when we went to Germany together, and it just seemed like it would be fun.

Also, I just thought there were a lot of cool people in Germany, and if there are a lot of cool people, then there must be a lot of cool things. But then, unexpectedly, we couldn't get a visa because of COVID. Natsumi-chan had already quit her job in Japan to go to Europe, and I had already told P-Can (my previous workplace) that I was leaving, so when we couldn't get a visa, I panicked, thinking, "Oh no, I'm going to be unemployed!" (laughs)

We contacted various European embassies with the same message, asking if we could get a visa. But because of COVID, no one replied...

But then, one day, about a month later, only the Czech Republic replied. It was completely out of the blue.

Furuie You're currently based in the Czech Republic, but I'd like to ask about your mindset and general business routine when operating "TOTO."

Yamashita First, our motto is not to cater to customers. We don't want to sell something just because there's high demand for it right now. Instead, we want customers to adapt to our style. So, if we want to take a break, we do. If we feel like doing a lot online, we do. We value that rhythm. Our schedule is pretty much "no schedule." Clothes are living things, aren't they? So we try to follow that. But when we feel like we want new clothes, we usually go to France or Italy. When we come back, we release the things we found there that we liked. So, we might get leather riders jackets in the summer, or short-sleeved T-shirts in the middle of winter.

Natsumi When we go buying, it's not guaranteed that we'll find exactly what we want. That's both the challenging and interesting part, so we can't really make a fixed plan.

Furuie So, luck plays a part in buying.

Natsumi Yes. If you plan too much, you sometimes can't release certain items. I thought it was good when we started releasing riders jackets in the summer. They actually sell surprisingly well. Even Japanese people buy them in the summer, especially this year.

Yamashita I know it sounds like people are buying riders jackets when it's nearly 40 degrees, but that's fashion, somehow.

Our routine and what we keep in mind is to be flexible.

Yamashita: This is super embarrassing, but when Natsumi and I were dating, I used to call her Totomi on a whim. And then it just suddenly came to me that day.

Natsumi: You know how that happens, right?

Yamashita: Like a weird nickname where you call your significant other a completely different name. (laughs) I just liked the sound of "Totomi." So, one day we were talking about what to name the store, but we couldn't decide and it got annoying. Since I call her Totomi, I thought, "Why don't we just go with 'TOTO'?"

Natsumi: It's like, "We can always change it later." Even when we first launched the online store, it was incredibly simple. I was told to make it the ultimate in simplicity, and that we could gradually improve it, even the name TOTO. It doesn't have to be permanent. That was quite shocking to me at the time. I always thought it was normal to decide everything very strictly.

Yamashita: I genuinely don't think that way at all. I think it's fine to change the name, and it's fine to move the store often. I value not overthinking things.

Furuya: Not overthinking is important. Indeed, when running a brand, if you decide too much about the concept from the beginning, it can cause problems later on. You get tied down by that concept and can't do what you want to do. Of course, this depends on the brand, but since both you and the world are constantly changing, being flexible with that kind of mindset might really be important.

Yamashita: It feels stifling when you overthink things. I want to value those moments when you're walking aimlessly or on the train and suddenly think, "Ah!"

Sumio: And as that was happening, I also went to college.

Furuya: I think you also frequented B-KAN, but was it around that time that you decided to pursue a career in this industry?

Sumio: Yes, it was. At first, I entered school aspiring to be a designer, but before I knew it, I wanted to sell clothes. The reason I went to that university was also because I wanted to have a runway show as a designer, something like that. But after visiting many vintage clothing stores, I somehow found myself in this position. Going to B-KAN and other stores I was close with, I realized that this industry emphasizes human connection, and I started to feel that the connection between people, rather than just the clothes themselves, was truly wonderful.

Kakuo: This shop, it wasn't like a sudden revelation like what Yamashita-san mentioned earlier, but I vaguely thought that when I entered university, I wanted to work in apparel and get a part-time job at "THE GROUND depot." I felt like this was the place, so I wrote my resume and went to ask if I could work there, even though they weren't recruiting or anything.

Furuya: Like the "Spirited Away" method.

Kakuo: I got an interview and worked part-time for four years throughout university, and then became a full-time employee.

Furuya: So that's how it happened! Were you coming here to buy things since high school?

Furuya: What made you decide to cooperate on this project?

Kakuo: First, it was the connection. And that connection ultimately led to this item. I was already using bags Furuya-san made and vintage clothes Yamashita-san selected. So, I wondered what would happen if we mixed them. Also, my shop never really had anything that involved making new things from old ones. So, I definitely wanted to try it.

Natsumi: You don't really have things like that?

Kakuo: We don't really carry them, and I don't see many custom orders for that kind of thing, even among other shops. Especially not with such special fabric. It's like a triple-name collaboration, isn't it? I don't think there's much of that either. I think there are things like artists creating new works, but not many things in the context of recycling old items.

Yamashita: Furuya-kun and I had been talking for a long time. We'd been talking about doing something for about a year, hadn't we?

Furuya: Yes, we had just been talking for a long time.

Yamashita: But due to various timings, it didn't really move forward.

Furuya: That's right. But then, it started moving forward when Gori (Yamashita) suddenly said he had a unique connection and found some really good fabric. When he sent me the fabric, saying "I'm actually going to buy it this time, so take a look," it was incredibly good! And when Yuji-san (dept. President) saw it, he said, "This is amazing!" I really believe that the expanding exhilaration you feel when you're about to start a project is incredibly important, and I felt that moment this time too. While sales are important, I think it's very crucial to resonate, truly collaborate each other's strengths, and create something memorable when collaborating. So, I definitely want many people to know about it, and of course, to own it. Even though there are only a few. (laughs)

Yamashita: To be honest, the old military fabric we used this time is very expensive right now because it's so beloved even in its home country. But we intentionally used it to create something. That's not something we do very often, so I think this is a really great project.

Natsumi: You'd been talking about it for a long time, hadn't you? About doing something. (laughs)

Furuya: For this project, we adopted the design of the drawstring shoulder bag, which is a new product from ASCENE. Please tell us about the fabrics provided by "TOTO."

Yamashita: They are old Czechoslovakian army fabric and Australian army fabric.

What they all have in common is that they are all really good fabrics, made of tightly woven cotton material, so they are incredibly tough. Since their purpose is for tents, they excel in strength and water repellency. I think the great thing about these materials is that as you use them, they develop a "patina" and fade, and the more you use them, the better their character becomes!

Also, military fabrics are ordered by the state, so they are not economized. They are manufactured with a certain large budget, so military fabrics are inherently good.

And also, when people first get into vintage clothing, it's often American stuff, right? Like American military camouflage. That's really cool, but in Japan, it's starting to lose its freshness. However, if you look more broadly at the world, there are many armies due to historical backgrounds, and there are countless camouflage designs that differ from country to country. But there isn't much detailed information about them. So, we often choose by intuition. "This pattern is really cute," we'd say. That's what we value most.

This time, we mainly prepared camouflage patterns from Czechoslovakia's Czechoslovakian era. Firstly, it's simply cute. And it's from the 50s and 60s, but doesn't it have a certain charm as an old camouflage pattern that Czechoslovakia, being socialist at the time, or parties and countries owned?

50-60s Czechoslovakia [Army Tent]

[CS-TYPE A] This one simply has good colors. The light color and blurry, abstract pattern give it a non-military, cool vibe.

[CS-TYPE B] From the same era in Czechoslovakia. It features a somewhat square-like pattern, which, in a good way, gives it a socialist feel. It's a great camouflage pattern that fully expresses this era, which can also be said about its architecture.

60s Australia [Army Tent]

[AU-TYPE A] This one is also cute! I keep saying "cute." lol
I think it's a cuter pattern when styled with clothes rather than viewed on its own!
Among the four types this time, it's by far the most major camouflage, and I think most vintage enthusiasts have seen this pattern.
It's quite a conspicuous pattern, so for a small item like this collaboration, this pattern acts as an accent, and as I mentioned, it looks cuter when shown in a styling.

[AU-TYPE B] I honestly saw this pattern for the first time. In terms of freshness, this one stands out.
I wondered, "What is this? Which army?" But then I realized it was the major Australian military pattern on the back of this fabric,
so I understood immediately. Even setting aside the fact that it's new or rare, it's a camouflage pattern with outstanding sense.
I have a feeling it might become widely popular after this, so I almost want to keep it to myself, lol.

Furuya: Each fabric is difficult to source, and we intentionally removed the "remade" feel from the designs, instead creating items that showcase the beauty of the fabrics themselves. Of course, since each pattern is one-of-a-kind, I don't think you'll easily come across items like these again.

Yamashita: We plan to open a TOTO store in Prague, hoping that people will experience the TOTO worldview more tangibly through real interactions. Also, this year, I plan to visit select shops and other establishments in Europe through acquaintances and conduct a POP UP tour. Please look forward to our future activities.