A designer's half-life and HLVTC

A designer's half-life and HLVTC

Hello everyone. I'm yossy, the designer of HLVTC (Helvetic).
I decided to start a blog.

"Talking" is suitable for a live feeling, and "writing" is suitable for organizing thoughts, so I would like to try to avoid clutter as much as possible.

I have summarized most of it in About us on the web, but since it is organized, I will write it including details.

I will write everything at once until June 2023, so I think it will be long.

If you have free time and can't help it, I would be happy if you could read it.

life of a designer

I was born in Miyako City, Iwate Prefecture, and my family business was a sushi restaurant.

The city of Miyako is located on the easternmost tip of Honshu, a port town where salmon can be caught abundantly.

When I lived there in a time when the Internet was not as widespread as it is today, magazines and music were the main means of connecting with the outside world.

When I was in elementary school, I was into dance music and drum'n'bass, and when I was in middle school, I was into V-kei. It was the owner of a slightly darker nature that enhances the feeling.

I used my pocket money to buy CDs, look at booklets, and see the hairstyles and clothes worn by artists during their live performances. I was a far cry from the artists out there.

When I was about to graduate from junior high school, I had a burning passion to change my image.

After graduating from junior high school, shaving and glasses, I entered high school and was surprised by the completely different reaction from the people around me.

I was moved by the power of hairstyles, and since I was addicted to punk rock, I admired the people on the other side of that music. Fashion is getting more and more fun.

My mother used to work as a dressmaker, so when I asked her to draw a picture of my ideal knitted hat and change the silhouette of my school uniform, I was awakened to the joy of realizing my ideas for the first time. increase.

However, I became more and more isolated mentally.

There are few friends who can talk with each other, and if you dress even a little strangely, you will stand out, and the local inner circle is strong.

Evaluation criteria, passive education, a narrow world, the impatience of being in the countryside, overconfidence and an unstoppable curiosity. Days to be in agony while holding the discomfort.

At that time, the time came to choose a course for me who was only addicted to the power of beauty, music and fashion.

In terms of occupation, fashion designer, musician, or hairdresser.

I was only interested in this, and I thought that I absolutely did not want to do "labor" that had nothing to do with them. Also a hairdresser.

Now that I think about it, the other two are definitely not understood, so I may have chosen the one that was easier to talk about.

But in my heart I was determined.

"Being alone will set you free. Be sure to do the rest later."

In this way, I moved to Tokyo after graduating from high school, left my parents' home at the age of 18, and started attending a beauty school as a correspondence student while working at a beauty salon.

fashion is the ticket

The early 00s was the heyday of street photography.

If you dress up and go to Harajuku, have your snaps taken and appear in magazines over and over again, you will instantly become a celebrity.

If you became a regular customer of Snap when you were a beauty student, it would be easier for you to get a job at a famous salon.

If it was apparel, it was easy to get accepted to a famous select shop or a place of employment.

It was truly a ticket to the future that fashion hopes for.

Omotesando is just like a runway, and I spend my spare time commuting to that place, thinking about how to coordinate.

Although it was published several times, I was frustrated that I could not become a celebrity in the field.

Irreversible loss

Time passed, and I had a rather busy life as a beautician.

I work as a member of the backyard of apparel brand photography, the Tokyo Collection and other shows, and I am in charge of model hair and photography at a studio in NY.

On March 11, 2011, the Great East Japan Earthquake struck, and my hometown, Miyako City, Iwate Prefecture, was swallowed by a huge tsunami.

I returned to my hometown at the beginning of April using my paid leave from the company I belonged to.

My stomach doesn't swell when I cut my hair. I was wondering if there was any point in doing something like this, or maybe they would hate me, but the first thing I did was ask my grandmother, "Can you cut my hair?"

I replied, "Of course!"

I've never been thanked so much by people, and I'm also full of tears.

Looking back, it seems that I have never had the experience of being recognized by others.

A lot of people in the evacuation center came from there, and I cut for about 9 hours while keeping them waiting.

I may have been able to help myself with this technology.

Once again, I realized that it was a worthwhile job.

A few years later, her mother died of illness at the age of 68.

Even now, I regret that I couldn't do anything for my mother, who said she had never been on an airplane before, and I was about to give her a trip as a gift.

I was wearing Rick Owens shoes when my mother told me that I was wearing good shoes when I went to the hospital to visit her.

A mother who saw things in terms of quality and design rather than brands.

Because of that, I still try to wear shoes that I like as much as possible.

Where are you all?

When I have a day off, I still go to see clothes and search for information on the internet...

I was suddenly taken aback by the fact that what I was doing hadn't changed in over 10 years, and when I got in touch with a friend who was just as enthusiastic about fashion as I was before, he said that due to the changes in lifestyle and environment, there are a lot of outdoor brand clothes. matter.

The haze I feel around my diaphragm while talking about how many things I can wear in the city these days.

As I get older, I don't wear heavy clothes, boots, or clothes that restrict my body.

What brands are the people who were crazy about back then wearing now? Is it no longer a brand, or where did you convince yourself of that?

Are you out of fashion?

Time has passed. The distance between people is not constant and there is nothing that can be the same.

Nostalgic scenery is gone, and people who thought they would live longer are gone.

Time flows in a certain direction and is irreversible. Even if I'm absent-minded or in a hurry, the same amount of flow will flow.

Aren't you living like you're living for hundreds of years? There are still things I wanted to do, and I think I can do it now.

I decided to go independent and start my own brand.

Ah, Fashion victim

It's not that I'm continuing fashion, it's that I haven't quit. He's an addict.

I feel like there's a difference between what I'm doing and what I haven't quit.

People say, "You've changed," but I haven't changed. You guys just got off I pull up again.

I consulted with a designer friend who was in charge of the hair for the shoot, and decided to make a T-shirt first.

I want it to be functional and stylish!

I mass-produced it to some extent, and thanks to the friends who bought it, it was all sold out.

Well, maybe I can do this too.

I am sure. I'm dead confident in my ability to discern what's good and what's not.

Don't underestimate fashion addicts who can't quit fashion even if they go over the limit of their credit cards and take on debt, turn off the electricity, or spend more than their monthly salary.

Even new designers here have life experience. Surround yourself with people who are much better than you.

No, no, no.

But here's the problem.

It's a completely unknown and unconnected fact.

Even if someone who doesn't have a history and who doesn't know who he is is told, "This is my brand," I definitely won't buy it.

Acquaintance with a heavyweight in the industry... Zero.

Plenty of funds...just a little bit of savings

You have to market yourself first.

Spend a year on marketing.

I have no choice but to use SNS to get to know.

I don't have my own brand yet, so let's share values ​​and be discerning.

There are no designers doing YouTube, so let's name the genre I want to propose as tech fashion.

After sending out for a while, my partner urged me to do an event.

I said to myself, "It would be terrible if no one came."

"Let's do it! I'll invest in POPUP"

Inspired by the voice of an angel, the first collection will be limited to 5 types, and a considerable number will be mass-produced.

I wanted to be particular about the materials from the beginning, so I personally imported Dyneema and GORE deadstock materials from the United States.

That's a lot of money for me.

It's not even a joke, it's over if it's smooth. I probably won't be able to make the next one.

The POPUP that started this way was a success, and now I can make the next clothes.

This is followed by now.

Partners help us at key points.

I would like to take this opportunity to say thank you. thank you for always.

What is HLVTC

The origin of the brand name is introduced in About us , so please take a look at it as well.

Clothes that you don't have to give up on the fashion you've been crazy about.

You can be comfortable and stylish if it's functional and sophisticated.

This is fashion that lasts a lifetime.

It may be the end of my destined arrival, who has become a cosmic addict of fashion.

Repeating production, meeting various people and researching, I come across a small amount of dead stock material.

It is very high quality, but it is said that it is not on the production line because it is a small amount.

Materials are very important to HLVTC.

Agile brands want to tackle this issue.

And the material developed experimentally by the manufacturer.

Many of the items are very unique and are often out of stock.

I remembered that I liked bands with experimental sounds in music, and I made it into shape while solving various errors. HLVTC has an obligation to challenge.

I believe that making good products, challenging things that would be difficult for a major company to do, and making clothes that update the daily life and grow the brand will be a way to give back to everyone involved.

HLVTC is the culmination of my fashion outlook.