Ahead of the launch of its Spring/Summer collection, Graphpaper is introducing an entirely new shoe collection. Working closely with Director Takayuki Minami to develop the ideas, the shoes are designed and produced by Toshinosuke Takegahara, the creative force behind FOOT THE COACHER and BEAUTIFUL SHOES. The two have known each other for many years, but this marks their first collaboration. Here, they look back on how they came to work together and the ideas, thoughts, and stories behind the resulting products, in their usual candid style.
Interview & Text by Rui Konno
―I've known for some time that Minami was involved in PR for Takegahara's FOOT THE COACHER and BEAUTIFUL SHOES through Alpha PR, but seeing the two of you in conversation like this feels fresh.
Toshinosuke Takegahara (hereafter, Takegahara): Yeah. It really is our first time doing something like this.
Takayuki Minami (hereafter, Minami): It's the first time we've appeared together like this. We've known each other for quite a long time, though.
Takegahara: I've known Minami since his days at CANNABIS, but I think the first time we really had a proper conversation was around the time Graphpaper was launched.
Minami: That's right. We'd talked before about doing something together, like, "It'd be great if we could make something together someday," but things always got busy and it never really happened.
Takegahara: There was no need to force it. We figured that when the right timing came, we'd do it.
―And that time has finally come.
Minami: I'd wanted to make a pair of classic leather shoes for Graphpaper for a long time. So I started consulting Takegahara about it, and he said, "I think we could make it work if we approached it this way."
Takegahara: When I heard the idea, I simply thought, "I want to try this." I knew Graphpaper had been using our shoes in its lookbook shoots for a long time, so I felt they worked well with the clothes. On the other hand, when you get an offer based on a completely opposite concept, it can be difficult...
Minami: You mean offers like, "Change this, change that, change everything!"?
Takegahara: Exactly. Sometimes the comfort is completely ignored, or the design is extremely abstract. Once, I was given a design drawing that was basically an optical illusion, and I had to say, "It's physically impossible to reproduce this." So until I hear the details of a project, I'm often a little nervous...
―Like something out of an Escher drawing.
Takegahara: Exactly. This project wasn't like that, so it was easy to work on.
Minami: From the beginning, the consultation was about wanting to make something basic that could continue as a staple for a long time.
―This service shoe certainly has that kind of universal character.
Minami: Most of the leather shoes I wear myself look like this. That's basically all I own, apart from a few loafers. I don't like anything too dressy, and I find this kind of balance easy to wear, so it naturally ended up looking like this. I tend to wear quite voluminous silhouettes on my feet, too, so an open-lacing upper like this just feels right.
Takegahara: In terms of materials, we specified everything from the selection of the raw hides for the leather used on the uppers. We paid particular attention to the color. For the black, for example, we added a little red over the top so that it wouldn't lean blue. We also specified a lighter-colored lining than what is normally available.
―Your shoes do have linings that are almost white. Usually they're closer to natural vegetable-tanned leather.
Takegahara: Right. Sometimes that can feel a little old-fashioned. We wanted something more refined. For the upper leather this time, we also chose a leather that would develop character as it was worn. It has a slightly inorganic quality, but we reproduced a natural texture on the surface, so it still has the warmth of leather. Unless you put that much work into the leather, it can end up looking rather lifeless even when the shoe is finished.
Minami: Yeah, yeah.
Takegahara: And then there's the way the creases develop. The large, soft creases that appear as you wear the shoe are another important point, and achieving that requires a special technique during the leather-making process.
―Does that depend on which part of the hide you use?
Takegahara: The location on the hide is certainly one factor, but it also depends on the substances that are incorporated between the fibers during the tanning process. If you skip that stage, strange creases develop as the shoe is worn and it ends up looking cheap. Looking at the clothes Minami makes, I feel like there are similar kinds of details scattered throughout them.
Minami: Things that don't necessarily reveal themselves on the surface, but ultimately show up in the finished product.
Takegahara: Exactly. There's something special about qualities that gradually emerge over a long period of time. Especially with a shoe like this, where the upper design is simple, the quality of the materials and the last become the highlights. I wanted to put a lot of effort into those aspects.
―It's similar to how the more minimal a garment becomes, the more important the fabric is.
Takegahara: Exactly.
Minami: The facing here is actually constructed almost like a bagged seam.
Takegahara: Yes. This construction is difficult to adjust at the pattern stage and also requires a lot of extra work during sewing, so it isn't particularly suited to mass production. But I deliberately proposed it because I thought it felt very Graphpaper: a familiar overall silhouette, but with a lot of time and care invested in the details.
―I heard that the heel was changed from the leather sole used on the mainline model to a Dainite sole. Does that make a significant difference in comfort?
Takegahara: Leather and rubber heels feel completely different. Dainite, in particular, has a higher hardness than other sole manufacturers, so it has excellent abrasion resistance. I also like the sound it makes when you walk.
Minami: At first I said, "How about making the entire sole in leather?" But he told me, "That would be too classic, and a leather heel is slippery and wears down." I thought, "Okay..." and then he came back having changed just that part.
Takegahara: (Laughs.) Normally Dainite is used for the entire sole, but I thought using supple leather at the front and Dainite only at the heel made sense. It's also quite a luxurious construction.
―So Minami didn't know about this specification until the sample came back?
Minami: No. I was like, "Ah, I see..." (laughs). It's something I've hardly ever seen, so it felt new to me. If the whole thing were Dainite, it would feel a little clunky to me.
Takegahara: Right. There are already plenty of shoes like that. I'm always thinking about these kinds of things. Even when I'm driving, I'll find myself thinking, "I want to put one special element into that shoe. What could it be...?"
Minami: But, in a way, these kinds of classic shoes are actually more difficult to make.
Takegahara: Definitely. And I think there's a meaning to Graphpaper releasing a shoe like this. The brand's philosophy is firmly embedded in such a simple shape. With the kind of collaborations you see everywhere, where they simply change the color or put a different name on something, I don't feel much conviction behind them.
Minami: Exactly. It really made me realize that he's someone who actually makes things himself, someone who understands the production floor.
Takegahara: (Laughs.) But I think it's fine if only people who are sensitive to those things notice them. I'll explain when someone asks, but it would be a little gauche to loudly announce all of those details ourselves, wouldn't it?
―Anyone who loves shoes, even if they aren't particularly knowledgeable, would probably sense that something about them is different from an ordinary shoe.
Minami: My role is basically just to communicate the kind of shoe I'd like to see made. Takegahara already understands my taste intuitively, so even if I don't tell him what to do with the details, he'll go much further and obsess over the finer points himself.
Takegahara: We also know each other privately, so I have a pretty good idea of the music he listens to and the kinds of things he likes. When all those sensibilities click into place and the result becomes something you couldn't have imagined on your own, it really gives you chills. Sometimes it makes me feel like this is what I live for.
―So that's the real pleasure of collaboration. There's also a women's model this time, right?
Minami: This slip-on. We intend to continue it as a staple as well. We've often had women wearing BEAUTIFUL SHOES in Graphpaper looks, and I'd frequently talk with the female staff about it: "What would be the most versatile shoe?" We eventually decided it was this slip-on. I mentioned the idea to Takegahara, and he suggested, "Since it's for Spring/Summer, why not make it so you can step on the heel?"
Takegahara: Actually, I'd originally been planning to do this construction as a mainline model. We even made a sample, but I decided it didn't feel quite right for a shoe brand to release it. I felt that shoes proposed by my own brand needed to have a proper heel counter and provide stability. So I also wanted to see that original idea come to fruition in some way.
Minami: So the concept was already there.
Minami: Since it's Spring/Summer, I also thought it would be much better if you could wear it in both ways. So I said, "That's a great idea!"
―Do you sometimes deliberately hold back ideas like this because of what you do as a business, even if they're interesting concepts?
Takegahara: Yeah, sometimes. I have a strong desire to try all kinds of things, but there are definitely aspects that I restrict because I'm running a shoe brand. That's why being able to express those ideas in an apparel context like this is simply exciting.
―Almost like a form of creative detox.
Minami: The girls on our team heard that and immediately said, "That's great!" I don't think I fundamentally understand what makes a women's shoe good or bad, you know.
Takegahara: Come to think of it, when you gave us the logo data for this project, I noticed something. The vertical center of the two logos was slightly misaligned. It wasn't perfectly centered.
Minami: Ah, that.
―What do you mean?
Takegahara: I'm talking about the logo stamped on the insole. We were given a file containing both brands' logos. Normally, you'd align them perfectly at the center, but the file Minami gave us had them shifted slightly upward, by about one millimeter. We tried correcting it ourselves, but somehow it didn't look right. In the end, the original balance was definitely the best, and our staff were like, "Ah! As expected."
Minami: I always check those things before I send them over. Sometimes I'll even ask the staff obsessively, "Are you sure everything is properly centered?" In this case, once the logo was on the insole, you see it vertically when you look down at it. If it were perfectly centered, it felt really uncomfortable to me, so I adjusted the data.
Takegahara: I knew it. A lot of people don't pay much attention to things like the insole or foil stamping. Even brands that have been around for a long time. Maybe it's because managing the temperature and pressure is quite difficult. We actually developed this leather specifically so the stamping would come out cleanly.
Minami: Takegahara's shoes are incredibly precise.
Takegahara: That's really thanks to the craftsmen. The leather supplier worked with us throughout the development, and the metal plate for the stamping also required specialized work. The engraver made multiple prototypes for us. And then there's the foil-stamping craftsman who actually applies it. He isn't specifically a footwear specialist, but he's the only person we trust with this.
Minami: So he doesn't only work on leather goods?
Takegahara: Right. There are foil-stamping specialists who work specifically on shoe insoles, of course, but their work can feel a little rough. This guy does each one carefully, almost like a single stroke from a samurai sword. Attaching the insole is almost the final stage of making a shoe, but if the quality there is poor, it affects the finish of the entire shoe.
Minami: That's deep. (Laughs.) And with Graphpaper's font at this tiny size, most people couldn't produce something like this anyway.
Takegahara: Japanese craftsmen really do have incredible technical ability. Being able to work with those craftsmen to complete something is one of the joys of what I do.
―Now, of the three models, this sandal is the only seasonal model, right?
Takegahara: Yes. This is a model I proposed because I thought it would work well with this season's Graphpaper collection. We also changed the material from the one used on the mainline model to something slightly softer.
Minami: The upper detail is quite close to the design of the waistband on our Chef Pants. It was basically, "What about this detail?" "Yeah, I like that." When I imagined pairing it with our wide trousers, I liked the idea of having a voluminous sandal underneath the tapered hem. I'd wanted to make something like this myself anyway.
Takegahara: When designing shoes, I often imagine what kind of clothes they'll be worn with. I thought this one would work particularly well with the kind of voluminous clothing Graphpaper makes. And adding the Graphpaper small label, which isn't on the mainline version, really finishes it off.
Minami: The base was already so complete that I barely had anything to do, actually.
Takegahara: If anything, I was the one who suggested, "Why don't we add the small label?" (Laughs.)
―That's what a genuine collaboration should be, isn't it? Completely different from collaborations that are built around having a topical hook.
Minami: Once Takegahara's actual samples came back, I had almost nothing left to request. Without me having to nitpick, he brings back something where even the smallest points have been thought through, and then presents it himself. I'm just sitting there thinking, "What!? You thought this far ahead too!?" It's genuinely impressive.
Takegahara: But it's simply fun, isn't it? I want to make things because I respect the person I'm working with. Our meetings usually finish in about five minutes, and then we just spend the rest of the time chatting about random things. That's pretty much how I approach collaborations.
Minami: And every time, he takes whatever I imagined it might become and pushes it even further. That's why I have such absolute trust in him. He really makes my life easy. (Laughs.)
Takegahara: I try to pick up on words and ideas even during those casual conversations. (Laughs.) Creating something is a special kind of time, so I want to raise the energy during meetings too. Ideally, I want not only the end user but everyone involved in making the shoes to feel some sense of joy through the product.
Toshinosuke Takegahara
Representative of AUTHENTIC SHOE & CO. He began making shoes independently while studying at an art university, then moved to the UK, where he studied shoe design at the Tricker's factory. After returning to Japan, he became involved not only with his own brands but also with footwear for a wide range of other labels. Today, he operates four shoe brands, each with a different style and intended wearer: FOOT THE COACHER, BEAUTIFUL SHOES, Marbot, and PPACO.