Under the heat of a late August afternoon, our Japanese correspondent Jeremie Perie had the chance to share a couple of hours with two of Tokyo’s most influential designers, Masafumi “Bebe” Watanabe of Bedwin and Hideki “Hue” Kimura of Deluxe. Sitting back and relaxing in one of their Tokyoite studios, the Hypebeast team went along with their two hosts through a large topics panel including fashion, art and lifestyle.

Interview with Masafumi “Bebe” Watanabe & Hideki “Hue” Kimura

MW = Masafumi “Bebe” Watanabe (Bedwin)
HK = Hideki “Hue” Kimura (Deluxe)

Through your teenage years and early careers paths, what led you guys into the fashion industry?

MW: Hue and I grew up together, we went to the same school in a suburb of Tokyo and we’ve been close ever since. Our first encounter with fashion was through sport. Back in the days, we played together on the football team. Looking good on the field was almost more important that the game itself. I started wearing brands such as Puma and adidas but my personal favorite was definitely Nike.

Later on, i get into street fashion via the skateboard and BMX scene. We, of course, had a lot of respect for the 80’s Japanese DC brands (High fashion) but it was so far from our reality that it didn’t influence us that much.

After high school, I studied interior design for a little bit while working as a model, however i really wanted to live overseas and experience a new kind of lifestyle. That’s why i moved to London and stayed there for about 2 years.

Hideki “Hue” Kimura on the left / Masafumi “Bebe” Watanabe on the right

It’s actually in London that i met my partners with whom I co-founded Tenderloin in 1996. We all were based in different cities when we started the label; I was in London, we had one partner in L.A and one in Tokyo. It was a quiet unique way to work, but we all learned a lot.

HK: Well, my career-path is a bit different. My first job in fashion was in a streetwear shop in Tokyo, it was my first contact with the industry. Then i moved to New York for 3 years. My experience in the States had opened my eyes both artistically and as a person. When i moved back in Tokyo I wanted to keep working in the fashion industry so i joined the Tenderloin team.

What made you guys decide to part company from the Tenderloin family and pursue your own projects?

MW: Towards the end, we had a lot of creative divergences within the Tenderloin team, so I decided to go solo in order to save both my artistic integrity and friendship with the other members of the crew.

I also knew that Hue wanted to build his own label in the future, so i convinced him to join forces to start together our own labels from the same base.

In 2003, you started Deluxe and Bedwin as sister brands sharing the same base. What’s the concept behind this joint creation?

MW: From our experience at Tenderloin, we decided to create two labels at the same time in order to avoid any kind of creativity conflict. Hue and I share a lot in common but our sources of inspiration are different. He’s been influenced a lot by his three years spent in NY while I’ve been more in touch with the London art scene.

Deluxe is Hue’s vision of street fashion and Bedwin represents mine, our likenesses and differences are expressed in our clothes.