SL: It would really be cool. I saw some great children's clothing in SF, which kind of blew my mind. Not surprisingly, the stuff was all from Japanese manufacture. And it certainly had that sort of aesthetic.
Kiya: You went to Cotton Sheep.
SL: Yup. I had a conversation while I was out there about the heritage movement, wondering if it would simply be a trend, or if it would develop a type of American consumer we are a bit unfamiliar with. In Japan there is a great deal of interest in the back-story and construction, and similarly in England via the remnants of casual culture. But in America that seems even more niche.
Dealing as you do in that sort of market, have you noticed over time a shift in consumption?
Kiya: It's hard for me to say because I feel like we deal with such a small group of people in the grand scheme, yet at the same time there are people from all social classes and types that are really getting into knowing exactly everything about their garments and accessories.
It's an interesting thing, because these are people that are now buying less, but buy more pricey items that they'll keep for a longer period of time. And because the design of everything we deal with is based around subtlety and classic stylings, you'll know that what you're wearing will never look ridiculous regardless of where fashion goes.
SL: I think that is absolutely true. It was amusing to hear about people returning product to H&M in England, almost a backlash to the disposable notion of fashion in a way. Do you think that Internet forums are instrumental in producing a broader knowledge base for consumers?
Kiya: Definitely, I think message boards are essential to this type of obsession over what goes into the manufacturing and materials that make up anything. Without message boards there'd be no way to question anything without getting multiple answers.
Blogs do nothing to answer questions, they're a one-way form of media. Comments on blogs are read, but only for the first few days the post has gone up, with a message board you have a three-year long conversation about ONE type of denim or one model of jacket reproduction.
