The Process of Deriving: Shinya Murata of 02DERIV.

Introduction, switching from photography to fashion and apparel & how the name 02DERIV. came about…

Can you introduce yourself and your role at 02DERIV.?

My name is Shinya Murata, born in 1972 and raised in Osaka, Japan and I am the designer for 02DERIV. I do all the design and handle most of the business for 02DERIV.

Having studied photography, how come you turned to fashion and apparel?

Since I was a kid I always had an interest towards clothing. This has to do with that my grandparents had a small clothing shop in Osaka and for a long time I always saw them make all kinds of clothes for their customers. Therefore at a certain point I started messing around with the sewing machine to customize my own clothes and then I would wear them. But after high school I kind of got lost and did not know what to do career wise, so my dad suggested I study photography. While studying photography I still had the idea of doing something with fashion in the back of my head. It wasn’t until my grandparents passed away that I felt that I had to something with fashion again. My grandparents passed away and I inherited all the tools to make clothes. That’s when I knew that I wanted and had to commit my life to designing and making apparel.

Why the name 02DERIV.?

The name 02DERIV. consists of two parts. 02 stands for 2002, that is when the brand started and DERIV is an abbreviation for the words: “Derivation, Derivative and Derive.” The name is more to show when it derived as a real brand.

Defining 02DERIV., photography vs. designing for apparel & how the philosophy of the collection is shown…

As a brand how would you define 02DERIV.?

02DERIV. is a brand that is influenced by the surf and skateboarding lifestyles combined with the need for everyday life clothing. Therefore quality, functionality and fine details are the focus of each piece. So to put it straight I would define 02DERIV. as a “lifestyle streetwear” brand.

Does the process of designing and making apparel work similarly with that of photography?

First of all when I was doing photography I had to do everything with film, since there were no such things as digital cameras back in the days so with that in mind, yes to me personally they are very similar. When I took a photo I knew I only had a set amount of frames/shots that I could do. So I could not permit making a lot of mistakes. With that in mind I would carefully look, observe, think about the right composition and so on. In order to omit mistakes I had to take my time, work and think carefully. With digital now a day, there is much more room for mistakes, as you can fix them straight away without any costs. So looking at the work process of photography and clothing with a film point of view it is the same with how I make clothes – I have to look, observe a lot of things, and then think of what I need to focus on when it comes to making the clothing because most of it is being handmade, and with the materials that are being used there is not a lot of room for mistake. So to me the process of design is very similar that of photography.

As a designer how do you exude your own “philosophy” on your collection?

Regardless of the position I am in, my philosophy is always reflected in each piece I make. My philosophy is a mix of the lifestyles I like combined with detail, quality and functionality. But in the end my clothes are being worn by people so I have to find a right balance between my own philosophy and with that from the people who would wear them.

“02 stands for 2002, that is when the brand started and DERIV is an abbreviation for the words: “Derivation, Derivative and Derive.” The name is more to show when it derived as a real brand.”

Shinya Murata on how the name 02DERIV. came about

What he hopes to achieve through design, what is his style, thoughts on the current fashion scene & what to expect…

What do you hope to achieve through your design?

That is something I often ask myself as well, I hope that through my designs at a certain point that everyone can take part in what I make which is good-looking, well-made and functional, and to a certain extent affordable.

Stylistically how would you describe yourself?

Personally I always liked simple but good clothes, but when I was a kid I got influenced by the skateboard culture, fashion magazines from that time, and especially by ’80s and ’90s fashion. So in the end I try to combine all of the above.

Since 02DERIV. has been around for about 10 years, what are your thoughts on the current fashion scene?

From what I have experienced with trends, they come and go and so the fashion scene always changes. Since 02DERIV. has been around for around 10 years, designs always changed. I haven’t been with 02DERIV. from the start so there were times I personally did not always liked the direction they were taking. To a certain extent that is only natural because fashion scenes and trends always come and go. But if I am really honest, I don’t have much to say about the current fashion scene, that is because I personally try to stick to what I like and always have tried to do so as much as possible.

What can we look forward to in the future from 02DERIV.?

With 02DERIV. I would like to make it more basic, clean and simple. Going more towards basic clothing aimed at people who live in the central parts of the big city, so make it even more functional.

“That is something I often ask myself as well, I hope that through my designs at a certain point that everyone can take part in what I make which is good-looking, well made and functional, and to a certain extent affordable.”

Shinya Murata on what he hopes to achieve through
his designs