CONCEPT

The FERAL FLAIR pop-up boutique in the SEIBU department store was a huge success, and the person in charge at SEIBU told us that they had never experienced such high sales at a pop-up shop. Being there to help sell the clothing allowed me to notice something really interesting.

Oddly enough, those who came to see the shop and buy our clothing had something in common. You may think that it was their appearance or style, because they came to see clothes. But it wasn't. It’s hard to express in words, but I would say that it was about their humanity. I might be overstating it, but even though they didn’t know each other, if someone had told me that they all were friends, I would have believed it. They definitely had something in common. And though I didn't actually know them, I would have been really happy to make their acquaintance. I can’t explain the feeling, so let me just say that I felt that they were all so charming. It was a happy discovery for me.

Then it happened. I saw one lady take a good long look at the FF clothing. She took her time looking through the shop, and then went away, but soon came back. She chose some clothing to try on, including a print dress. When I opened the curtains of the fitting room, I saw that she was flustered, because she and the dress were incompatible. She had a stiff look on her face instead of a smile, and then told me with an embarrassed smile,"it is too good for me”. She didn’t buy anything, and left. It may have sounded hackneyed to offer some excuse, so I didn’t. But, to be brutally honest, I can say that her words were true, because she couldn't wear the dress with the right effect. Her appearance was good, but she had a problem with her attitude, and in her mind she wasn't ready to wear the dress. Maybe she thought that a thing is a only a thing after all. Initiative was always on her side, and she simply avoided things and clothes that she couldn't control. Take a car, for example. Perhaps she drove a car that could easily be driven by everyone, but had she ever driven a car that was a bit eccentric in its steering and handling? Had she ever, after controlling it, opened herself up to its ability and potential, and experimented or played with it? Or could she ever have even entertained such an idea about a mere “thing”?

There is a saying that, “A human owns a house, a house owns the human" Humans own a house after taking the initiative to acquire it. But the human who bought the house cannot carry or move it. The house does nothing, it just stays there with an air of deep composure. The human can come and go freely, but in the end the human goes back to the house every day, obediently. Now the perspective has changed, as if the house keeps the human obedient, and the human loses his or her initiative to the house.

FERAL FLAIR clothing is rather loosely tailored and the garments are not too eccentric, but it's also true that not everybody looks good in FF clothes. The clothing may require customers to be in fairly good shape, and the designs of our prints are so particular that they don't suit everyone's taste. FF clothes are by no means difficult to wear, nor are they necessarily easy to wear.

Of course I know that clothes don't care about their shape on a body and that anybody, no matter who they are, is the ideal type...

Then I came to another realization. FERAL FLAIR clothing itself had started to provide a service to customers before I did. They asked customers about their shape (Is there enough space in the FF clothes for them?), their opinion about the design (Do they like FF designs?), and expressed our policy (What do you think about FF’s attitude of creation?). They attract customers who approve of our creations. Then I understood why only those with similar kinds of humanity came to see our shop. I merely provided a service to the customers, taking over their duties.

FF clothing doesn’t flatter customers, and it expresses our creative process with a resolute attitude. Seeing this, I thought to myself, “the way they are taking it is just fine.”

Isshi Kanamaru 10. 2014

初めてのフィラルフレアのオンリーショップが西武百貨店本店で二週間開催され「期間限定店では過去に前例がない程の売り上げ成果」と担当者に云われるくらい好評でした。自分自身もお店に立ち、接客を手伝いました、そして、気付いたことがあります。

私達の服に興味を持ち集まって来る人達そして購入までして下さった人達は皆、不思議な共通点があるのです。洋服なので、その人達の格好やスタイルなのでは?と思われるかもしれませんが、そうではないのです。言葉で表現するのは難しいのですが、それは、人間性みたいなものが、似ているのです。極端に云えば、その人達同士は全く知らない間柄ですが、その人達が実は皆、友達同士だった、と云われたら、そうなんだ、と自然に納得してしまうような、そんな同じ種類の人間同士が持つ共通点がありました。そして私はその人達と初めて逢った間柄ですが、願わくばその人達と知り合いになれたらいいのに、と思える人達というか、上手く表現出来ませんが、私から見て、とても魅力を持った人達だったのです。それは幸せな発見でした。

その期間中の出来事です。ある女性がFFの服を時間をかけ見て回り、その場を立ち去ったのですが、やはり思い直したのか、また戻って来て、色々試着し最後にプリントのワンピースを試着したのです。試着室のカーテンを開けると、まるで洋服と相容れない感じにどきまぎしている彼女がいました。素敵な笑顔を浮かべるのでなく顔はこわばり「私には素敵過ぎる」と苦笑いをし、結局何も購入はされませんでした。勿論その言葉は物事を穏便に断る際の常套句なのですが、完全にワンピースの方に着られている彼女を見て、厳しいですが、その通りなのかもと感じました。容姿は素敵な彼女でしたが、その洋服を着ようという気持ち、心構えの方が全く出来ていないと感じました。恐らく彼女にとっては洋服は完全に物以外の何者でもなく、主導権は自分にあるのが当たり前で、自分の思い通りにならない物や洋服になど出逢ったことがないのだろうと感じました。愛車に例えると、どんな人にでも運転しやすい車には乗ったことはあるけど、ステアリングやハンドリングに癖があるものの、それを使いこなせばその性能やポテンシャルを存分に発揮出来る車になど乗ったことも、まず物に対してその発想もないのだろうと感じました。

「人間は家を所有すると、今度は、家は人間を所有する」という言葉があります。最初は人間が主導権を持って家を購入する図ですが、買った側の人間はその家を携帯することも動かすことも出来ない、買われた家は何をする訳でなく、ただその場にどっしりと佇んでいるのみです。人間は自由に動き何処かに行くことは出来ても何処に行ったとしても結局はその家に毎日、従順に帰ってくる図になっている。それはまるで家自体が従順な人間を飼っている、所有しているかのような図になり、主導権が完全に交替してしまうという意味です。

フィラルフレアの洋服は多少ゆったり目に作られていますし、それほどは癖はないと思いますが、でも誰でも似合い、着こなせるという洋服ではありません。ある程度の体型維持が必要ですし、プリント柄も独特なので好みが分かれると思います。決して難しい服では有りませんが、決して簡単な服でもありません。

勿論、服としては、どんな体型、どんな人にも似合う、というのが理想型なのだろうけど。

今回、もう一つ不思議な経験をしました。自分が客に接客する前に、洋服自身が先に、接客を始めているのです。客に体型的なことを伺い、デザイン的な好みを問い、精神的なことを謳っているのです。それに対して賛同してくれた人達を呼び集めてくれていたのです。だから人間性の似た人達が集まって来ていたのだと、そして私はその引き継ぎに接客をしていたに過ぎないと。

客に媚びるでもなく、毅然したその態度で接客しているFFの洋服達を見て、「それでいい」と、思いました。

金丸一志