Our guest this time is Alasdhair Willis, who served as Publishing Director for the British lifestyle magazine *Wallpaper*, consulted for various brands and companies, and then became Creative Director for HUNTER in 2013. He is also known as the husband of designer Stella McCartney. We spoke with him about his role at Hunter, the brand's vision, and the world it projects.

Yuma Tomoki (hereinafter, Yuma)Do you visit Tokyo often?

Alasdhair Willis (hereinafter, Alasdhair)Perhaps not that often, but I'd say I come here quite a bit. Maybe once a year. We had planned to come this time with my wife Stella and the whole family, but it didn't work out, so we intend to do so next time.

YumaSo you're here alone this time.

AlasdhairThat's right. Stella was here on her own a couple of weeks ago. Tokyo is a wonderful city.

YumaCould you tell me about any favorite shops or places you always visit in Tokyo?

AlasdhairI love Japanese gardens. This time, I'm enjoying visiting various gardens. As for shops, I recently went to Shibuya Scramble Square, which just opened.

YumaIt's futuristic, isn't it?

AlasdhairIt had many new concept stores, which I found very interesting. There were a lot of people, and it was lively. It's good to have that energy.

YumaThat area at night looks like something out of the movie *Blade Runner*.

AlasdhairExactly. There's a lot of traffic too. Looking down at the city from the rooftop of Scramble Square, I saw so many buildings under construction.

YumaShibuya is changing at an incredible pace. What are your thoughts on that?

AlasdhairWell, I feel a constant sense of change not just in Shibuya, but in Tokyo as a whole, and I draw a lot of inspiration from it. For me, Tokyo is a city of rapid growth and transformation. With the Olympics next year, the energy level feels even higher.

YumaIt's exciting, isn't it?

AlasdhairIt reminds me of the feeling just before the London Olympics in 2012. There was a lot of redevelopment in the area, and I felt the energy building up. But in Tokyo's case, I think it's a city that changes even more fundamentally. It feels like it's constantly transforming more regularly than London, which gives me the impression of being a city that doesn't change much. For example, Notting Hill has stayed the same for ages.

YumaIndeed, it hasn't changed.

AlasdhairYes, it's the same. Even with new developments, it doesn't seem to change.

YumaShoreditch is similar, isn't it?

AlasdhairShoreditch hasn't changed much in about 15 years either. Perhaps regeneration and redevelopment happen more actively in Tokyo.

YumaChange is important, isn't it?

AlasdhairI agree. It's exciting. Well, perhaps that's because I don't live here.

YumaWhat about Hunter? Is it changing?

AlasdhairYes. Hunter is a very old brand with 160 years of history. It has changed considerably over the past five or six years since I became involved. However, this change respects the brand's heritage. Hunter has always valued a strong emotional connection with its customers. As the brand moves forward, it's important to maintain that emotional bond. I believe we must have the courage to push forward with new things while respecting the past. For me, being involved with a brand with such a long history and heritage is about deciding what to keep and what to let go of.

YumaThat must be a challenging task.

AlasdhairIt is. There's also the assumption that if a brand has history and heritage, it inherently has value. However, the value associated with it might not always be the right one. It could be a constraint preventing progress. Therefore, we must move forward with courage and insight to create new value.

YumaWhen you make those bold decisions, what serves as your criteria?

AlasdhairMany things. My starting point at Hunter was about how we could play a meaningful role in our customers' lives. How can we position products created with Hunter's value within our customers' lives? This isn't just about making products; it's about carefully considering and offering the various values we cherish to our customers.

YumaI imagine market conditions and brand sales are factors, but do your personal insights from your own life influence the 'Hunter value' you just mentioned?

AlasdhairThe values I hold dear in my life, and the values I'm raising my children with, I try to bring as much of that into the business as possible. As a company, we focus on corporate social responsibility. The same applies to sustainability. In terms of sustainability, we focus on three key areas. First, social responsibility: the people we work with. Second, product sustainability: over 250 of our products are vegan. Finally, environmental sustainability: we are building production methods that are considerate of the global environment. Thus, all our activities must be checked to ensure they align with the values in these three categories. These are values I strongly believe in, and I trust that they resonate with hundreds of millions of people worldwide, making them commercially meaningful.

YumaI see. Are you perhaps vegan yourself?

AlasdhairI'm vegetarian. I eat eggs and cheese, but no meat or fish. It must be difficult to be vegetarian in Japan.

YumaIt is. By the way, the project where you flew a hot air balloon shaped like a boot seemed like a lot of fun. Was that your idea?

AlasdhairYes. When I first got involved with Hunter, I wanted to fly a balloon over the Glastonbury Festival(a large-scale outdoor rock festival held in the UK since 1970)and drop Hunter boots from it as gifts to the attendees on the ground. Unfortunately, it wasn't permitted due to safety concerns (laughs).

YumaIt sounds fun, but I can see why (laughs). The idea itself is great, though.

AlasdhairSo, I had always wanted to build a hot air balloon, and it finally happened last year. We flew it in places like the Bonneville Salt Flats in Utah, USA, and in Hollywood. We plan to fly it over Niagara Falls and Mount Fuji in the future.

YumaThat's wonderful. Building a hot air balloon must be quite an undertaking. Did you commission designers or artists?

AlasdhairI came up with the idea, and then I went to balloon specialists. It was a very large-scale and complex project. We plan to bring it to Tokyo next year, so would you like to ride with us?

YumaI'd love to! It would be especially exciting during Fuji Rock Festival.

YumaHave Hunter's product lines changed since you became involved?

AlasdhairPreviously, footwear was overwhelmingly dominant. Now, 45% of our total products consist of non-footwear items like apparel, bags, and accessories. At the same time, footwear is also growing, of course. I feel we have a healthy, solid business and are building a resonant relationship with our customers.

YumaThat's precisely progressive heritage.

AlasdhairYes, we are moving forward while cherishing tradition.

YumaFor the past five years or so, Hunter boots have been my go-to for rainy days. I own three pairs.

AlasdhairThat's wonderful to hear. I'm a fan too.

YumaAre the pants you're wearing today from Hunter?

AlasdhairThese are Stella McCartney (laughs).

YumaNice. What's that pin badge?

AlasdhairEvery November in the UK, we observe Remembrance Day, also known as Poppy Day, to commemorate fallen soldiers. The Sunday closest to November 11th, the date of the armistice of World War I, is designated as a day of remembrance, and as it approaches, the streets are filled with people wearing artificial red poppies. In recent times, it has come to honor not only those lost in World War I but also soldiers who died in World War II and more recent conflicts in Afghanistan and Iraq, in which Britain has been involved.

YumaI see, so it's a poppy motif.

AlasdhairIt's said that red poppies bloomed abundantly in the fields of Flanders, Belgium, a major battlefield during World War I, on the land where soldiers had fallen. This is said to originate from a poem written by a field surgeon who witnessed this scene, and since then, the poppy has become a symbol of remembrance for fallen soldiers.

YumaHunter's apparel is also doing well, I hear. Do you plan to continue focusing on it?

AlasdhairYes, we plan to expand both men's and women's lines. Bags are also very popular, so we want to put even more effort into them.

YumaWill you also focus on categories other than rainwear?

AlasdhairWe aim to be a lifestyle business, so we want to extend the value of functionality as protective gear into other areas. It's important that everything we create is 'authentic' and embodies the Hunter spirit. Of course, we have ambitious plans to grow the brand further, and we are actively considering collaborations with other brands.

YumaThe brand has a long history, but do you have the archives?

AlasdhairActually, we have very few. Hunter has made many things over its 160-year history, including boots for the military and wetsuits, but unfortunately, due to numerous changes in ownership, past documents and archives have been lost. One of the projects I've undertaken since joining the business is the 'Hunter Archive' project. I patrol the internet and buy back Hunter items from people around the world who own them.

YumaHave you found any old items?

AlasdhairYes, most of them are boots and footwear. Hunter also used to make car tires, you know.

YumaReally! I didn't know that.

AlasdhairIn fact, the brand started with tire manufacturing. When we were founded in 1856, we made things like car tires and wagon wheels. While it's difficult to go back that far, we have found boots from the 1910s and 1920s.

YumaI'd love to see them.

AlasdhairThey are in London, so please come and see them sometime.

YumaThat's a wonderful story.

AlasdhairIsn't it? Still, it's a shame that most of the archives are gone. Some other British heritage brands have managed to maintain their archives properly.

YumaBurberry is like that, isn't it?

AlasdhairYes, and Mackintosh also seems to be able to preserve old pieces as archives.

YumaBy the way, you have a great physique, Alasdhair. Do you play cricket or ride horses?

AlasdhairThank you (laughs). I ride horses and play tennis. I don't ride much anymore, but I used to cycle a lot. I also enjoy walking. However, running is not for me.

YumaMe neither.

AlasdhairI've always hated running (laughs). Skiing is probably the sport I'm best at. I was even selected for the British national team at 17. I quit after going to university.

YumaWhat a shame!

AlasdhairI know. I'm thinking of getting back into exercising a bit more lately, especially with four children.

YumaFour children must be a handful. How old are they?

AlasdhairMy eldest son is 14, my eldest daughter is 12, my second son is 11, and my youngest daughter is 8.

YumaI have one son myself, and when he was little, I used to put him in Hunter boots.

AlasdhairHow cute. How old is he now?

YumaHe's 21.

AlasdhairWow, your son is that old. Is he your only child?

YumaYes.

AlasdhairThat's nice. One child is enough to keep you busy, isn't it? (laughs)

YumaIt is (laughs). Lastly, could you tell us about your future goals and the brand's outlook?

AlasdhairOur immediate goal for our global business strategy is to achieve a 50:50 balance between footwear and bags/apparel. From a creative perspective, we want to build a close relationship with our customers and create products together. When we flew the hot air balloon over the Houses of Parliament in London, I believe it brought surprise and emotion to those who saw it, so we want to continue creating such surprises. Also, I feel that many brands are overly focused on sales figures and data to drive their business. But that sterilizes the brand. That's why I want to move forward with creativity and heart.

YumaThat's a pioneer spirit. I really like that.

AlasdhairThank you.

YumaThank you as well for your time today.