――How did the collaboration between LOOPWHEELER and Graphpaper come about? How did the two of you first meet?

Satoshi Suzuki (hereafter, Suzuki): The first time I became aware of Minami was about 20 years ago, when he was still at CANNABIS, and I had just started Loopwheeler myself. Takuya Mitsugi - who is now the editor-in-chief of Begin magazine - told me, "There's someone interesting I want to introduce you to. He runs a shop called CANNABIS, and it could be interesting if you collaborated." So I went to properly check out the store, but there were skeletons on display and it had a pretty intimidating atmosphere. I remember thinking, is it really okay to collaborate with this place? I'm not sure I get it… That made me uneasy, so I didn't say anything to Mitsugi afterward, and in the end, we didn't meet for quite some time.

Later on, Minami started 1LDK. At first I didn't know he was involved, but when I visited the shop thinking, this is an interesting store, his name came up again. I thought, is this the same Minami from back then? That was the next time he left an impression on me. From when I first learned about him to when we actually met in person, about 13 or 14 years had passed.

Takayuki Minami (hereafter, Minami): We first met when I went to speak with them - before opening the Graphpaper store - about whether there was any possibility of working together. At the time, Suzuki told me very clearly that their most basic items weren't wholesaled at all, weren't up for discussion. Even so, I pushed and asked anyway.

"LOOPWHEELER Sendagaya" Yamana Building B1F, 3-51-3 Sendagaya, Shibuya-ku, Tokyo

Suzuki: Basically, we don't do wholesale at all - we operate only under a double-name structure. Plain, basic items can only be purchased at Loopwheeler's three stores and, in limited cases, on Amazon. So it's unthinkable for another shop to carry plain sweatshirts or hoodies. Looking back, I have to say - it was impressive. It felt like I was being pinned in a headlock, completely body-pressed (laughs).

Minami: I was so nervous I barely remember anything. I fully expected to be turned away at the door.

Suzuki: At that point, all I knew was that he'd gone from CANNABIS to 1LDK. I didn't yet know what kind of person Minami really was.

――In addition to Graphpaper, you've collaborated with many artists and brands. In the early days, how did you approach collaborations with other companies?

Suzuki: We sometimes received offers from major corporations as well, but our rule was that unless we could become the kind of people who'd have dinner together, we wouldn't do it - in other words, we wouldn't work with people we didn't know at all. Usually, we'd be introduced through a mutual acquaintance, go out to eat together, gradually get a sense of the brand and the personality of the designer or representative, and then - after about a year, once we understood each other - we'd say, "maybe it's about time." That was the general flow of Loopwheeler collaborations during our first ten years.

As Loopwheeler gradually became better known, we also felt the need to raise the quality of what our collaborations meant. At first, most projects involved designers using our body as a canvas, adding graphics or prints - we rarely made major changes to design or patterns. After understanding the Loopwheeler base, it was usually about adding a small twist, a plus-alpha, or at most creating an exclusive color.

Tubular loopwheel crew sweatshirt "LW01"

――So how did the collaboration with Graphpaper begin in that context?

Suzuki: LW01 is a style that represents Loopwheeler - it was the first sweatshirt we ever made, and it defines our idea of what a sweatshirt should be. Seeing Minami place importance on LW01, the piece I most wanted to convey, was something I really appreciated. I thought, so that's where he's coming from - impressive. Because he approached it from that angle, it really felt like I'd been put in a headlock again. He identified the most important part and came in saying, "this is what I want to see first," with such strong conviction that he had no interest in doing sweatshirts anywhere else. That's when I finally understood why Mitsugi had said we'd get along. I felt like this might be someone I could work with. A lot of the people around me don't look flashy on the surface, but they have strong cores and passionate ideas - those are the kinds of people I've collaborated with up to now.

"LOOPWHEELER" for GP Raglan Sweat

――The raglan sweatshirt series is now a popular staple for Graphpaper. Why did you decide to go with raglan?

Suzuki: At the very core of sweatshirt heritage, there are three indispensable vintage patterns that you can't leave out: set-in sleeves with a double-V gusset, raglan without a V gusset, and a "freedom" style with a front V. When I started Loopwheeler, I absolutely wanted to make all three. But no matter how much we wanted to, we weren't well known, we had no power, no customers - three similar styles just didn't sell. From ten meters away they all look the same; it's only when you get closer that you can tell it's a set-in - it's a world for enthusiasts. Maintaining all three was difficult for us, so aside from the double-V set-in LW01, the raglan LW02 and the freedom LW03 are occasionally revived, but they still keep getting discontinued.

So raglan is something you rarely see at Loopwheeler. And since one of the requirements was making something Minami's body type could wear, raglan also made sense from a pattern perspective. Back then, big sizing wasn't yet the trend it is now, so if you tried to size up a set-in, you'd have to drop the shoulder line drastically, and it would end up looking like an ordinary loose-fit fashion sweatshirt. So looking back, choosing raglan was the right call.

Minami: Yes. I felt that if I broke too far from the base, it would undermine everything Loopwheeler had built up until then. So, trembling, I showed Suzuki a huge raglan sweatshirt I owned - probably Champion or something, from around the '90s - with no V gusset at all, completely simple. I was worried he'd say, "that's not even a sweatshirt" (laughs).

Suzuki: Raglan was already discontinued, and expanding it to a size Minami could wear without changing the design made perfect sense.

Minami: I told him I wanted one too, but honestly, set-in sleeves were too slim for me to wear. What I remember most is Suzuki asking me, "is there really a point in making a big sweatshirt?" He explained that the concept was to make proper sweatshirts that would go on to become vintage, and that's the base it all stands on. I said, "of course, I understand that, but there are also big sweatshirts like this one, aren't there?" - a bit cheekily. Then he said, "well, we do have raglan, and we're not doing it right now, so that could work," and I remember feeling so happy that he'd even consider it. Even now, I still think I'm glad I worked up the courage to say it back then.

One of Graphpaper's concepts is removing the size gap between people like me who are big and people who are slim, so in that sense too, raglan widens the range of people who can wear it.

Loopwheel fleece

――At the start of the collaboration, it was free size, but now there are more sizes.

Minami: That's just because I personally got even bigger (laughs). The earlier one was already big enough, but I'd gotten even bigger myself, so I went to apologize and explain. He said, "seriously? Lose some weight!" (laughs)

――So how are Loopwheeler's sweatshirt patterns actually developed?

Suzuki: Before starting Loopwheeler, when I was doing OEM work, I often received patterns from apparel companies that the factory simply couldn't sew. That's because woven fabric is stable and doesn't move, but cut-and-sew fabric moves vertically, horizontally, and diagonally depending on the material - so even making the same single sweatshirt, you can't use the same pattern across different fabrics. You have to change the pattern to match the material. So when I brought a finished first sample back to an apparel company's pattern room, a veteran chief patternmaker would narrow her eyes and say, "this has shrunk a little. Suzuki, you didn't sew this to my pattern, did you?" - it was well beyond just a cold sweat. Acting as an interpreter between the factory and the apparel company was the hardest part of OEM work. Drawing on that experience, when I went independent I knew above all that I needed patternmakers, so I asked two patternmakers to join me, and we started as a team of three. I still work with one of them today - we've been together for nearly 30 years now, so we're completely in sync.

A name label embroidered with "Loopwheeler" in katakana

――What kind of patterns came out of that process?

Suzuki: Compared to other cut-and-sew garments, our patterns are special - they incorporate curves. With the Graphpaper piece in particular, there's a subtle difference in length between the front and back body, but you can't get that clean result from measurements alone - it comes from balancing the subtle curves against each other. I've been drafting cut-and-sew patterns for close to 30 years now, so it may sound like I'm tooting my own horn, but I think we're better at it than an ordinary patternmaker. It's just a sweatshirt, but wearing it feels a little different. The quality of the material matters too, of course, but I think it's the pattern, the sewing, and everything coming together that makes people tell us Loopwheeler sweatshirts are easy to wear.

Minami: Unless every element is built at a high level, you can't end up with good clothing.

Suzuki: It's about the small things - not cutting corners on them. We only have around six or seven patterns to work from, and that's exactly what makes it hard.

Minami: And this flat-seamer stitching is incredible too.

Flat-seamer stitching

Suzuki: When you dig into vintage sweatshirts, a lot of them are sewn with a flat seamer. That's because, if the sewing is truly skilled, you can join the cut edges of the fabric flush against each other and sew them as they are. It's slow, so it isn't efficient, but it doesn't waste any fabric. And because it sews with four needles, it's also strong and resists fraying - in terms of function, it's a highly regarded method. The drawback is that the equipment is old-fashioned. Newer machines have been developed, but sewing with four needles takes far more power than sewing with one, so you need a bigger motor, and the vibration coming off the machine is stronger too. Unless you're fairly skilled, the machine can drag your whole body, or the vibration makes your hand shake and you can't sew properly. Sewing a straight line is still manageable, but sewing a curve takes real mastery.

The Loopwheeler sweatshirts are sewn at Maruwa Textile Industry in Aomori

The people who do this work are the artisans at Maruwa Textile Industry's factory in Aomori. That said, the floor is almost entirely women - there are probably fewer than ten men. We've worked with them since before Loopwheeler even started, so it's been over 30 years now. Basically all of our sweatshirts are sewn here - it's practically made-in-Aomori production.

We make and sell clothes, but without the people on the ground supporting us behind the scenes, we couldn't express any of this. Loopwheeler started from that concept, so growing together with the people at the factories is central to the brand's philosophy.

"LOOPWHEELER" for GP Raglan Sweat　NAVY SIZE 2

"LOOPWHEELER" for GP Sweat Parka BLACK SIZE 1

"LOOPWHEELER" for GP Sweat Parka

"LOOPWHEELER" for GP Full-Zip Parka NAVY SIZE 1

"LOOPWHEELER" for GP Full-Zip Parka

LOOPWHEELER Sendagaya
151-0051
Yamana Building B1F, 3-51-3 Sendagaya, Shibuya-ku, Tokyo
TEL 03-5414-2350
http://www.loopwheeler.co.jp/

Continued in Part 2