Marukishi, Tokyo

Our first interview of the day was with Hideaki Kishi from Marukishi co ltd, who runs his third generation fabric merchant firm. I wanted to find out more about the success of British tweed in Japan and also to talk to someone who works as a fabric distributor, selling to department stores and bespoke tailors rather than directly to customers. It was really interesting to hear Hideaki’s Perspective on the similarities and differences between Japanese and English fashion industries and the rise of Harris tweed in Japan which is timelessly fashionable. One quite astounding point about Harris tweed in particular is that half of the worlds supply actually comes to Japan as it is so popular here. We talked about the shift of focus we have both noticed in our respective businesses, in people’s awareness and genuine need to search for a tailor or perhaps independent stores to find the suit or item of clothing that is individual and unique which hopefully will continue, so as to support the small flourishing family firms that depend on the need to find that item with a difference.