Slam Jam Socialism Pays a Visit to Cav Empt's Studio for Japan-ism Volume 2
Sitting down with the brand’s co-founder Toby Feltwell.
Slam Jam Socialism took a visit to Cav Empt‘s Tokyo space for the latest episode in its Japan-ism series. The Milan-based creative studio and retail space also sat down with Toby Feltwell, BAPE alumni and one of the three Cav Empt founders. The interview covers everything from the origins of the Japanese brand and the secrecy that surrounded it at the start, to the number of brands emerging at the moment. Here are some key excerpts from the interview with Feltwell, but head over to the Slam Jam site to read the whole thing and see additional shots from inside Cav Empt’s Tokyo studio.
On how brands develop:
Having been involved in these kinds of brands before, I realized what the brand turns into is not entirely up to the people making it. The company in charge of making the clothes are also making the brand, in a sense. So part of it is understanding that you give birth to it, but then it has its own life and you’re not completely in control of it. It exists in the perception of all the people who see it.
On the current landscape for brands:
I can’t remember it being such a common aspiration to own a brand. A lot of musicians are doing it as well and it’s not just business reasons. The DIY spirit should be exciting because it means that anybody can get involved.
But a lot of people haven’t really got much to say. Having a clothing line is kind of just a way of participating in something that exists already. So you make a similar version of something that’s already out there just to participate. Maybe that’s actually okay, but it’s quite interesting to see what brand owners exactly feel by creating their own brand.
On the original secrecy around Cav Empt:
I think that we backed ourselves into a corner where we had no option but to do it. We were all very reluctant to do, so for the three of us involved, we liked working behind the scenes.
And while that was one of the most enjoyable things, we had to get over that. We had no choice. We sort of gave ourselves no choice, I think. It’s something none of us are comfortable with, but once you do it, you realize it’s not quite as bad.
