Akira MINAGAWA

Designer, minä perhonen.

Born in 1967. In 1995, he established his own fashion brand, "minä" (minä perhonen since 2003). He focuses on creating clothing with original fabric designs, collaborating with textile producers in Japan and abroad to develop materials and techniques. He has also provided designs for textile manufacturers such as Kvadrat in Denmark and Liberty in the UK. In 2006, he received the Grand Prize at the Mainichi Fashion Grand Prix. In recent years, he has also been involved in lifestyle design, including furniture and tableware, as well as designing uniforms for the Aomori Museum of Art and Tokyo Skytree®. An exhibition of his work was held at Audax Textielmuseum Tilburg in the Netherlands in October 2009, followed by the minä perhonen exhibition "Ongoing" at Spiral Garden in Aoyama, Tokyo, in September 2010. His latest book, "minä perhonen?" (BNN Shinsha), was published recently.

Kenmei NAGAOKA

Representative Director and Chairman of D&DEPARTMENT PROJECT, Editor-in-Chief of d design travel.

Born in Hokkaido in 1965. After working at the Hara Design Institute of the Japan Design Center, he launched "D&DEPARTMENT PROJECT" in 2000, a new retail concept based on the idea of a store infrastructure for long-life design, in Setagaya, Tokyo. The project currently operates in six locations, including Osaka, Kagoshima, Sapporo, Shizuoka, and Okinawa, with a goal of expanding to 47 stores. Concurrently, he conceived and publishes "d design travel," a travel magazine written from a designer's perspective, covering all 47 prefectures of Japan. The "60 VISION" initiative, which re-examines the origins of Japanese companies, is currently in development with 12 companies, including Karimoku and Adelia. Since 2011, he has also been directing the 8/ floor at Shibuya Hikarie and launched "d47," a comprehensive hub for the aforementioned projects, featuring a store, museum, and restaurant. Exploring long-life design from a different angle, he also operates the collaborative store "GOOD DESIGN SHOP" with Comme des Garçons in Omotesando.

Kohki HIRANUMA

Architect.

Born in Osaka Prefecture in 1971. His notable architectural works include "House of Time," a detached single-family house; "SOYA," a renovation project that designed a demolition process for a restaurant over a five-year period; the conversion of "D&DEPARTMENT PROJECT," a design recycle store; and the environmentally conscious "University of Tokyo Air Space Laboratory" built on the Komaba Campus of the University of Tokyo in 2008. He has also received international acclaim for his experimental design proposals in conceptual works, being a finalist in international architectural competitions held in London, New York, and Beijing. He has garnered over 70 awards in 10 countries, including the Architectural Institute of Japan Prize, the Japan Institute of Architects Award for Excellence in Design, the JCD Design Award, the JID Award, the Japan Renovation and Conversion Award, the Good Design Award from the Japan Industrial Design Association, the Grand Design International Architecture Award (UK), and the Innovative Architecture International Prize (Italy). He currently lectures at Osaka University and other institutions.