Editor’s note: This isn’t just another interview, this is the interview to read this year. Whether you go through the entire article, or just read the next paragraph, some respect and appreciation are due for The Inoue Brothers and what they stand for. They have been by far, some of the most inspirational people we’ve ever met. Fashionable, human development – that’s what’s up.
Born and raised in Copenhagen, Denmark, Japanese brothers Satoru and Kiyoshi Inoue combine Japanese sensibility and Scandinavian simplicity to create something they call ‘SCANDINASIAN design’. In 2005, The Inoue Brothers put this philosophy to work by forming (and continuing to maintain) a unique collaboration with the people of Bolivia to create hand-knitted Alpaca garments. With sustainability and social responsibility as their key values and starting point, The Inoue Brothers are working together with a network of traditional Bolivian knitters – artisan mothers working from home, unable to leave for a city job due to family commitments. As a result, their collection of garments are the products of ordinary human decency and respect and of the finest craftsmanship produced with pride by professional mothers.
We caught up with Satoru Inoue to talk about the beginnings, Alpaca, the design process and profitability versus sustainability.
LH: Generally speaking, most brands treat sustainability and social responsibility as reactionary or an after thought, you decided to use it as your starting point, why?
Satoru Inoue: We started doing design for clients in the UK and Denmark but mostly graphic and conceptual design. Since we were teenagers, we’ve always been fascinated by fashion but more as an artistic expression and not the industry. The vanity, greed and exploitation often seen in some areas of fashion had kept us away from it but when we where introduced to the craftsmanship and alpaca fibre of the indigenous people of Bolivia through a common friend we knew immediately this was something of interest. Finally, we saw a way of working with fashion while contributing to a different way of approaching the business and industry.
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LH: Why Bolivia versus other South American countries?
Satoru Inoue: Initially we were introduced to the alpaca-fibre, which is produced mainly in Peru but also Bolivia and other Latin-American Andean countries. Through research we discovered that Peru was the leading country in alpaca production but their way to success has also been at the expense of the poorest indigenous alpaca shepherds. Bolivia on the other hand had the same potential and geographic circumstances, but never had the opportunity to fully manifest because of the fact they were and still one of the poorest countries in South America and have been in the shadow of the more developed alpaca producing countries.
Around the time we were learning the facts, Bolivia also became one of the few and first countries to elect an indigenous president. The whole political turnaround, to a more socialist way of running the country and the unused potential, made the country very intriguing. We saw the opportunity to develop new friendships and partnerships almost from scratch and it gave us a strong feeling of mission.
LH: Tell us about how you go about sourcing your materials (The Pima Cotton, Andes Highland Wool, Alpaca and Baby-Alpaca):
Satoru Inoue: The different materials have different characteristics and functions. They all originated from the extremely high altitudes of the Andes and the climate of South America which gives them a common but unique quality and softness. The pima-cotton for example is very light and soft and ideal for the spring and summer season. It is also very durable compared to normal cotton. The high-land wool is very warm and light and is ideal for our chunky and thick garments without becoming too heavy.
The alpaca and especially the baby-alpaca has a unique cashmere-like softness and because the animals live in the harsh climate of the Andes is has developed a natural thermal characteristic which keeps and releases the body-heat according to the surrounding temperature. Alpaca fleece contains almost no lanolin, which also makes it hypoallergenic. Its features makes it ideal for very thin garments which are still very warm when needed and comfortable in indoor climates as well.
Next season we will introduce our most exclusive material so far, a sophisticated blend of Mulberry Silk and Baby-alpaca. These garments will be of the highest quality and represents our most exclusive part of our collection.
LH: Can you give us a little walk through of the process from your design to the showroom?
Satoru Inoue: The concept, over-all design and aesthetics are developed in our bi-annual creative sessions between my brother, my wife Ulla who is a qualified tailor and myself, a proper old-fashioned family business. This part of the process usually takes 1 month.
Then Ulla develops production samples and molds for each style and garment.
We all meet again and from the large amount of yarn-samples from our partners in Bolivia and the production samples, we select the colour ways and design the graphic patterns together.
We then send it all to Bolivia where our partners have sufficient time to go through it all. This process is followed up by Kiyoshi and I going to Bolivia to develop the finishing touches.
During our time there we engage in a close dialogue with the artisans and production-leaders and work out the final fitting of each garment and decides on the different knitting techniques and details. It is in this process and close teamwork with our partners we obtain unique features and details we wouldn’t have been able to create on our own. It is during this time we have the most unforgettable time with the local community and the indigenous artisans.
Our Bolivian partners then begin to produce the first round of samples while we are there and as a result of our close partnership and good understanding, they often manage to finish the final sales-sample in one production round. Some more complicated garments take maybe 2 or 3 rounds and those are finished after our return to Europe.
After 3 months from the initial design process, we have a full sales sample collection to show our clients.
LH: Your collaboration with Comme des Garcons on a holiday knitwear collection for ‘08 really helped launched the brand, how did that collaboration come about?
Satoru Inoue: In 2008, Dover Street Market, the Commes des Garcons concept store in London, bought our then third collection since we started. It was then presented to Rei Kawakubo the founder of CDG. We were told she was very interested in our brand and that she’d felt a certain passion in our products. We were extremely encouraged and excited by her reaction. A few months later we were contacted by her husband Adrian and invited to collaborate on a part of her up-coming x-mas knit collection. The x-mas 2008 collection was launched in all CDG stores worldwide.
LH: Does putting social responsibility and sustainability first hinder your growth as a brand at all?
Satoru Inoue: Both yes and no. It all depends on how you look at it and how you define value. Business is driven by efficiency and profit. If those two principles are valued in only financial means, then our methods are slow in growth. But valued in human development, quality and creativity, then our methods have been very profitable.
The fashion industry is in many ways very fast, short-termed and competing. Everything has to be cheaper and cheaper even if it means exploiting cheap labour or causing extreme pollution. In such an industry we had to prepare ourselves from the beginning and we were ready for it to be up-hill and with head-wind or else we would be naive.
However, on the other hand we’ve been privileged with more interest from clients and media attention and been able to stand out a little in the vast amount of brands in our over-consuming market.
LH: You’re also involved in other fields such as developing graphic identities, photography and interior design, is managing the fashion-side of things the main focus? How do you divide your time?
Satoru Inoue: To elaborate further on the previous question; we’ve only been able to grow organically and sustainable because we both have our hair-salon in London and design-studio in Copenhagen to pay the bills and all profit has been invested in building up our fashion brand. We’ve kept the bills at a minimum by not expanding or investing in our other areas of work and kept our private life humble. In this way we have been able to spend as much time and liquidity as possible in our brand.
We have a strong dedication and big experience in our other fields of work, which takes up most of our time. In that sense our fashion-brand is not our main-focus but definitely our main-passion. In a way you can say that we are running three companies in total. The hair-salon, design-studio and fashion-brand. This has only been possible through our hard-working employees and partners and my brother and I have been working 12-14 hour days on average, 7 days a week since we started. Hard but worth the endeavour.
LH: Do you approach your other projects with the same principles as the clothing line, or are they treated differently?
Satoru Inoue: Definitely! Though it is manifested on different levels. It is more visible in our projects in Bolivia, but we do our best to approach every project and all work through utmost human respect, transparency, creativity, dialogue and tight team-work. For us value is measured in all the immaterial aspects of life and human encounters. All our profit is based on our business-sense and the satisfaction of our clients and customers. We never negotiate the price with our sub-suppliers, we trust them fully and they deliver their best quality.
LH: What’s next for the Inoue Brothers?
Satoru Inoue: We are starting up the research process in doing cotton production in Africa. Working with this continent is our next mission and goal. The results of this project will be launched spring 2010.
Also in October this year we will launch our collaboration with former confidante of the late downtown NYC artist Jean-Michel Basquiat, “The High Priest” Nicholas Taylor. A photographic exhibition hosted by St Martins Lane Hotel in London during Frieze Art Fair and in conjunction with the exhibition and to showcase the intrinsic link between art and fashion, we have additionally designed an exclusive clothing range, which will only be stocked in Dover St Market. We are also excited to independently publish our first ever book available during the exhibition in both venues.
The Inoue Brothers Fall/Winter 2009 Collection
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