photo by Jamandfix

Looking at them like this, I see a lot from around 1982. Once International Gallery opened, we were able to create a sales floor and offer more design-oriented items.

This "Balor" was a Beams original, a brand I designed myself. We had a top-focused brand called "Sitarra" that made henley neck shirts using Indian cotton, and of course, the name came from the president's surname. It was an era where you could get away with things like that, thinking, 'The previous generation wouldn't object to this' (laughs).

Around the time "Crolla" launched in London, we actually collaborated with Koji Tatsuno, a Japanese designer based in London, to launch a brand called "Klare." It only lasted one season, though. We then planned to create a brand called "Balor" inspired by ethnic clothing from India, China, and Vietnam. Since the designer had left, I ended up starting it myself. However, Beams' very first original brand was "Flamingoglow," which we launched when the first store opened.

These are shoes I designed for "Balor" and still wear quite a lot. I wear them on resort trips with a safari jacket, a sarong, and bare feet in these slip-ons. They're peculiar shoes; people always ask me, 'Where are those from?' The motif was inspired by the velvet slippers of British royalty. At International Gallery, we also made python shoes, and I was personally very satisfied, but they didn't sell well (laughs). Occasionally, something would sell, though.
(1982 / ¥19,800)

#28 $20-22 in the ¥365 Era

NO BRAND / 1965-67

photo by Jamandfix

These are slip-ons I wore a lot in high school, a sort of "Hush Puppies knockoff." Among American shoes from the '60s, these have a pointed toe, a heel grip on the side, and a beautiful shape. I used to wear them with slim-fit pants made of Dacron cotton blends from "Dickies." These were also military surplus, bought for me by an American school kid.
(1965-67 / approx. ¥8,000)