The reason why niko and... collaborated with 39 J.League clubs to create T-shirts
Following last year's success, the "J.League Design Collaboration T-Shirts" went on sale again this year on August 9th. This year's collaboration features 39 clubs from J1 and J2 combined, an increase of 6 clubs from last year. It's a wonderful project that aims to energize the J.League and local communities through fashion. We asked them about the concept behind this year's collaboration project.
Koike Kikuchi
|
2019/08/13
"niko and...", a brand operated by Adastria Co., Ltd., sold original T-shirts in collaboration with 33 clubs to commemorate the 25th anniversary of the J.League last year, and they proved so popular that several of the T-shirts sold out immediately.
This year as wellJ.League design collaboration T-shirtIt was released on August 9th.
This year's collaboration involves 39 clubs in total from J1 and J2, an increase of 6 clubs compared to last year.
On August 1st, a launch event was held at niko ano ...TOKYO, inviting people from the soccer and fashion industries, creating an exciting atmosphere where people were eager to promote soccer from various angles.
A talk show was also held featuring GAKU-MC, an artist who serves as a brand ambassador for niko and... and is a huge soccer fan, and Takayuki Suzuki, a former Japan national team player who has played for five J.League clubs.
Photo provided by: niko and...
Photo courtesy:niko and ...
The 30 minutes flew by as everyone shared their insightful perspectives on how to boost the J.League and sports through fashion and music.
Later, I spoke with Chiaki Kobayashi (Chief Creative Director of Adastria Co., Ltd.) about the concept of this year's collaboration project.
—Why are there six more clubs collaborating this year compared to last year?
KobayashiLast year, tickets sold out in no time. Hearing about that success and realizing "we should have done that" was one of the reasons for the increase in sales.
Furthermore, each team showed more interest in collaborating with fashion than we expected, and almost all teams resonated with the idea, so we've decided to continue collaborating with fashion this year as well.
Recently, collaborations between companies have become mainstream, and I think one of the contributing factors is the trend of collaborations between completely different types of businesses becoming more common.
—Collaborations between fashion and soccer are increasing, aren't they?
KobayashiI think football has become more fashionable. Juventus is a good example, and Hokkaido Consadole Sapporo has also teamed up with a creative director to move towards a more fashionable image.
As a result of these efforts, collaborations with fashion have become more widely recognized, and I believe they will continue to increase in the future.
—Could you tell us why you're collaborating not only with J1 teams, but with almost all J2 teams?
KobayashiThe term "glocal" is also coming up frequently, and there's been a lot of talk lately about local needs and how to revitalize local communities.
Local clubs like Matsumoto Yamaga FC and Kagoshima United FC have become even more popular, haven't they? I'd be happy to contribute to revitalizing local communities through fashion and sports.
—Are there any improvements in this year's collaboration compared to last year?
KobayashiLast year, the products were only sold at niko and..., but this year they will also be sold at the club's stadium and on the club's website, so I think it will help bridge the gap between the fans of niko and... and the club.
Since mutual customer referrals have become stronger this year, I hope that next year we can power up even more, cover J3 clubs as well, and liven up clubs all over the country.
--This is a different topic from the collaboration T-shirts, but you also support Mito HollyHock by providing them with travel wear, right?
KobayashiMito City is where Adastria Co., Ltd. was founded and headquartered. We want to support the fashion-forwarding of the Mito HollyHock club, and in doing so, we hope to contribute even a little to creating a team that is loved by its supporters.
—So, why did you decide to create the J.League design collaboration T-shirts in the first place?
Kobayashiniko and... takes up nine genres—clothing, food, shelter, play, knowledge, health, travel, music, and Tokyo—as "UNI9UE SENSES," and works with collaborators in these nine categories.
"Ken" means health, and in the sports aspect, we're collaborating with the J.League this time. We also do collaborations with food companies, housing manufacturers, travel companies, and music companies.
This brand engages in various collaborations, and its goal is to generate mutual customer traffic with fields outside of fashion.
—It would be great if, once again this year, cool and cute T-shirts could spark interest in J.League clubs and increase the number of soccer fans, even by just one person. As a soccer fan myself, I'm looking forward to future developments.
（了）
This year as wellJ.League design collaboration T-shirtIt was released on August 9th.
This year's collaboration involves 39 clubs in total from J1 and J2, an increase of 6 clubs compared to last year.
On August 1st, a launch event was held at niko ano ...TOKYO, inviting people from the soccer and fashion industries, creating an exciting atmosphere where people were eager to promote soccer from various angles.
A talk show was also held featuring GAKU-MC, an artist who serves as a brand ambassador for niko and... and is a huge soccer fan, and Takayuki Suzuki, a former Japan national team player who has played for five J.League clubs.
Photo provided by: niko and...Photo courtesy:niko and ...The 30 minutes flew by as everyone shared their insightful perspectives on how to boost the J.League and sports through fashion and music.
Later, I spoke with Chiaki Kobayashi (Chief Creative Director of Adastria Co., Ltd.) about the concept of this year's collaboration project.
—Why are there six more clubs collaborating this year compared to last year?
KobayashiLast year, tickets sold out in no time. Hearing about that success and realizing "we should have done that" was one of the reasons for the increase in sales.
Furthermore, each team showed more interest in collaborating with fashion than we expected, and almost all teams resonated with the idea, so we've decided to continue collaborating with fashion this year as well.
Recently, collaborations between companies have become mainstream, and I think one of the contributing factors is the trend of collaborations between completely different types of businesses becoming more common.
—Collaborations between fashion and soccer are increasing, aren't they?
KobayashiI think football has become more fashionable. Juventus is a good example, and Hokkaido Consadole Sapporo has also teamed up with a creative director to move towards a more fashionable image.
As a result of these efforts, collaborations with fashion have become more widely recognized, and I believe they will continue to increase in the future.
—Could you tell us why you're collaborating not only with J1 teams, but with almost all J2 teams?
KobayashiThe term "glocal" is also coming up frequently, and there's been a lot of talk lately about local needs and how to revitalize local communities.
Local clubs like Matsumoto Yamaga FC and Kagoshima United FC have become even more popular, haven't they? I'd be happy to contribute to revitalizing local communities through fashion and sports.
—Are there any improvements in this year's collaboration compared to last year?
KobayashiLast year, the products were only sold at niko and..., but this year they will also be sold at the club's stadium and on the club's website, so I think it will help bridge the gap between the fans of niko and... and the club.
Since mutual customer referrals have become stronger this year, I hope that next year we can power up even more, cover J3 clubs as well, and liven up clubs all over the country.
--This is a different topic from the collaboration T-shirts, but you also support Mito HollyHock by providing them with travel wear, right?
KobayashiMito City is where Adastria Co., Ltd. was founded and headquartered. We want to support the fashion-forwarding of the Mito HollyHock club, and in doing so, we hope to contribute even a little to creating a team that is loved by its supporters.
—So, why did you decide to create the J.League design collaboration T-shirts in the first place?
Kobayashiniko and... takes up nine genres—clothing, food, shelter, play, knowledge, health, travel, music, and Tokyo—as "UNI9UE SENSES," and works with collaborators in these nine categories.
"Ken" means health, and in the sports aspect, we're collaborating with the J.League this time. We also do collaborations with food companies, housing manufacturers, travel companies, and music companies.
This brand engages in various collaborations, and its goal is to generate mutual customer traffic with fields outside of fashion.
—It would be great if, once again this year, cool and cute T-shirts could spark interest in J.League clubs and increase the number of soccer fans, even by just one person. As a soccer fan myself, I'm looking forward to future developments.
（了）
In-store sales start on August 9th, and online sales (.ST) are scheduled for the end of August, but are now planned for sometime in September.
Interview cooperation:niko and ...
http://www.nikoand.jp/
Interview cooperation:niko and ...
http://www.nikoand.jp/
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