Occupying opposite parts of the globe, the names jeffstaple of Staple Design and Hiroshi Fujiwara of fragment design both evoke thoughts of respect, innovation and creativity. Through a relationship that began in the late 90s and eventually blossomed into a full-fledged friendship, both jeffstaple and Hiroshi Fujiwara have continually pushed the envelope amidst a growing and ultimately extremely saturated product market. Despite the relationship these two influencers posses, their work together has been sparse occupying only a handful of team-ups, that was until the two came together to form the cornerstones of Burton’s advanced diffusion line, iDiom. In a conversation involving both personalities earlier this year in Tokyo, we get a chance to speak candidly between the two and get a better understanding of how their relationship has played out over the years.

地球の反対側を拠点とする、Staple Designのjeffstapleとfragment designの藤原ヒロシの名前は、リスペクト、イノベーション、クリエーティブな感性というような言葉を呼び起こす。90年代末から始まった二人の繋がりは、いずれ硬い友情で結ばれ、jeffstapleと藤原ヒロシ、二人とも成長し、飽和しつつある商品マーケットの中で、常に限界まで挑戦し続けている。この影響力のある二人の深いつながりに反し、一緒に仕事をする事はほんの一握りほどで、Burtonのアドバンスドライン、iDiomを作り上げるため、二人はついに集結した。今年の前半、東京で二人と会話する中で、この数年の彼らの関係性がどのようなものに発展してきたかを探ります。