Interview with Aoki Toshiki
Aoki Toshiki is executive director of Aoki Hifuku and designer of the company's own brand. Turning 40 in 2023, he is attracting even greater attention for what he will do next as a denim creator.
In recent years, he has drawn on the knowledge he has accumulated to date and devoted considerable energy to collaborations with companies in the prefecture.
In an interview with Aoki, we looked back on the first half of his life and asked about the ideas motivating his new activities, his vision for the future of denim, and more.
“〇〇 Denim” Is Not the Essence of the Product
I hear that you write your own press releases. Why do you avoid loudly promoting “Ibara denim,” and say that “Okayama denim,” the better-known place name, is fine too?
Aoki (honorific omitted)
I see that kind of labeling as secondary information that isn't very important. Personally, I'm not deeply attached to things like, “This is white selvedge denim from Ibara...”
We leave that sort of thing to manufacturers who care deeply about it. We (Aoki Hifuku), on the other hand, have made things through brand storytelling, creating within our own brand's worldview.
For example, when customers try on denim products in a store, telling customers from Japan that it's Okayama denim, or customers from overseas that it's made in Japan, might increase their desire to buy by 10 or 20 percent.
But what first raises their desire to buy is the visual color, the feel of the fabric to the touch, and, above all, the product's unique design. Aren't these what determine its essential qualities?
Of course, when it's necessary to explain “Ibara denim,” we make sure to do so.
Sharing a Sustainable Local Environment Through Products
I hear that you're also working to contribute to the Ibara community.
Aoki
We have “Bisei Denim,” which we developed from scratch and registered as a trademark.
Bisei Denim is based on the concept of “carrying the starry sky with you.” It depicts the meteor showers that color Bisei's night sky using hand bleaching, a special dyeing technique called “hoshizome” (star dyeing).
One way Ibara's natural environment affects denim is through the soft water of the Oda River. It helps the dye take evenly and produce beautiful colors, while also bringing out depth in the denim's changes over time. In other words, it contributes to denim's dimensional character, which grows richer the more you wear it.
The local denim manufacturer Kuroki Co., Ltd. has also built a system to purify water from the Oda River used in dyeing through a circulation system.
I think this is a sustainable initiative worthy of the reputation of first-rate denim.
Is close communication with fabric manufacturers important?
Aoki
The presence of the material is important to a product, so we start working on it from the development of original denim.
Once we have a fabric with a story behind it, it sparks ideas that we can develop across the same line, whether for hoodies or pants.
Studying Abroad Opened the Door to Fashion
I feel that your broad perspective on denim is connected, at least in part, to your experience working in a major city and studying abroad. Could you tell us about your roots?
Aoki
I was surrounded by this environment (a sewing factory) from early childhood, but at the time my interest in making things was still uncertain. By my mid-teens, I was also dreaming of a future in a band.
Around the time I entered university and studied English in Perth, Australia, my career goals began to take shape, and I started thinking that I wanted to work in music overseas.
At the time, I really enjoyed watching music videos by overseas musicians, so I naturally became interested in fashion, which is closely connected to music.
A Fashion Show That Made a Powerful Impression
The company that operates the TAKEO KIKUCHI brand, which is also connected to Aoki Hifuku, was your entry point into the fashion business, right?
Aoki
After graduating from university, I joined World Co., Ltd., which operates the fashion brand TAKEO KIKUCHI. I was assigned to production management, where my main duties were calculating costs and delivery schedules.
The turning point came when I saw a fashion show by Takao Kikuchi in 2006. I was involved in part of it behind the scenes, and the glamour of the runway made a deep impression on me.
The collection presented at that show was full of clothes that seemed to have rock music playing through them, with bold, edgy use of punk-inspired colors.
I was captivated by the aggressive fashion created by Nobukuni Taishi, who was the creative director.
Discovering the Exceptional Quality of Ibara Denim in London
Was seeing the fashion show what inspired you to study abroad?
Aoki
Yes.
That experience—the impact of the fashion show—led me to study in London. Design, a creative job, began to look incredibly appealing to me, clearly different from production management, where I dealt with documents full of numbers.
I made up my mind and consulted a patternmaker at the TAKEO KIKUCHI brand. I then learned about the fashion scene in the UK and how I could develop my creativity.
I also had the opportunity to accompany Nobukuni Taishi to business meetings, which greatly changed my perspective on fashion, and to learn the secrets of selecting materials.
In the late 1990s, Nobukuni attracted attention with a show presenting his graduation collection from Central Saint Martins in the UK. He then launched his own brand and served as creative director of TAKEO KIKUCHI from 2004.
Over time, Central Saint Martins became a goal that would open the door to my future, and it prompted me to quit my job and decide to study abroad.
I studied at a university in London for about two years while also taking part in an internship. What surprised me there was how often the words “Okayama denim” and “Ibara denim” were used alongside adjectives such as premium and luxury.
Hearing the name of my hometown, Ibara, in London was a huge surprise precisely because it was so far away in Europe.
Tips for Combining Different Factors
You later launched your own brand. Was there something that prompted you to do so?
Aoki
Leading brands and their designers tell us that the quality of Ibara denim is at the highest level by global standards.
Feeling that this wasn't being promoted enough also became a reason for launching my own brand.
At the same time, my designs had already been selected by the brand where I was interning, Snake & Dagger.
It was a small, elite avant-garde brand, where there was always an atmosphere of enjoying experimentation.
Denim Has Latent Expressive Power
Where do you get the ideas for the distinctive treatments that are a hallmark of the FAGASSENT brand?
Aoki
First, I think about “the kind of atmosphere I want to create”.
Sometimes I attach photos of minerals or animal scales—things you wouldn't normally associate with apparel materials—to an order sheet and ask them to express that image.
Conversely, there isn't much that I consider wrong. We make samples, and even when they differ from the original intention, we actively make use of spontaneous ideas that turn out to be unexpectedly interesting.
That’s why we don’t give overly precise instructions; our approach is to keep the creative process flexible. After all, even when denim is treated or distressed, no two pieces have exactly the same look as if they were printed—that’s where denim’s value lies.
On the other hand, we pay close attention to the silhouette of each product.
For pants, for example, we specify details such as “tapering from around here, with the legs quite long below the calves.” The measurements are designed down to the millimeter.
It’s an approach that combines boldness with meticulous attention to detail, but above all, you can sense Aoki’s humility in listening to what the denim has to say.
Rethinking the company’s direction in response to the COVID-19 pandemic
In recent years, you’ve been actively collaborating with companies in the prefecture. What are your aims in pursuing these collaborations?
Aoki
The fashion industry changed in some ways in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Until then, I had presented my collections at trade shows in Paris four times a year, but that became physically impossible.
FAGASSENT had always been a brand committed to its own distinctive worldview, so there was a time when I thought it would be difficult to build connections with the local community.
But I came to see that it could also be interesting to create denim items that reach out to a wider range of people, not just those in the apparel industry.
Right in the midst of the pandemic, there was talk of opening a brick-and-mortar store in Kurashiki. We deliberately shifted to an offensive strategy, aiming to make our mark with products and apparel rooted in the local community.
Once the store opened, our ties with the local community grew, and we had opportunities to take part in building cars and to work on a glamping facility.
We believe these initiatives expand the potential of “Okayama denim.”
At the same time, to make it less vulnerable to price fluctuations, it is essential to further enhance the value of Okayama denim.
If we develop it into a high-value-added premium product, customers will be willing to pay a higher price. And once they experience its superior quality, consumer awareness should naturally rise as well.
As consumer awareness grows, Okayama denim will become more accessible, which may also help us move beyond the deeply rooted preconception that “denim is casual and inexpensive.”
From the Writer
Aoki’s vision for the future of denim seems to be shifting away from differentiation through cutting-edge design and toward the presence denim itself has in everyday life and society.
He is currently working on filming his second movie on the theme of denim, and the expanding scope of his creative work itself seems to reflect the material’s potential.
How will denim rooted in Okayama’s climate and culture be reconnected with people through firsthand experience? I look forward to following what his journey reveals.
Aoki Hifuku Co., Ltd. Information
| Organization name | Aoki Hifuku Co., Ltd. |
|---|---|
| Industry | Apparel manufacturing and sales, primarily denim products |
| Representative | Representative Director Shigeru Aoki |
| Year established | 1961 |
| Address | 501 Nishiebara-cho, Ibara City, Okayama Prefecture |
| Contact | 0866-62-1105 |
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