and wander ONLINE STORE

彼は、街のなかで好きな服を着ているときに感じる嬉しさ、楽しさ、気持ちよさと同じ感覚を山のなかでも感じてもらいたかったと語る。

「アンドワンダーは、登山をはじめとしたアウトドアアクティビティで機能することが大前提。そのうえで自分はファッションの世界の出身ですし、洋服も大好きだった。だから、僕たちの服を山で着ることで気分が高揚したり、時代を捉えた格好よさを人々に感じてもらいたいんです。このふたつの要素をアウトドアウェアで両立すること。それがアンドワンダーのひとつの大きな仕事なんだと思うんです」

“Bringing the sensibility of fashion to the outdoor world”
It all started from this idea. Founded in 2011, an outdoor brand “and wander” started its business in Tokyo.

Keita Ikeuchi, one of the founders of this brand, previously worked as a designer for “ISSEY MIYAKE” which is one of the most famous fashion brands originated from Japan. He then launched the brand “and wander” with Mihoko Mori, his co-worker at ISSEY MIYAKE.

Ikeuchi explained how he wanted everyone to enjoy the positive feelings of wearing your favorite clothes, not just when you hit the streets, but also in the mountains. The happiness. The excitement. The comfortableness.

“Our basic premise is to make functional products that are suitable for outdoor activities such as Multi-day hiking or Backpacking Trip. And what’s more, I used to work in the fashion industry and I also enjoyed fashion myself. That’s why we have the passion to deliver outdoor clothing with a stylish design that captures current trends while motivating anyone who wears them in the mountains. We want to have it both ways. I believe that this is one of our biggest missions.”

もともとは旅行好きだったという池内は、ファッションデザイナーの仕事をしながら南欧や中米、アジア諸国などを歩きまわるうちにアウトドアスポーツに興味をもちはじめた。いっぽうの森は、両親に連れられて登山やアルペンスキーをして休日を過ごすことが多かったと自身の幼少期を思い出す。

仕事仲間だったふたりは、次第に仲間たちとキャンプへと出掛けるようになった。だが、市販のアウトドアウェアには違和感も抱いていた。

「キャンプに行っても、食事を作ったり食べたりするだけで時間をもてあましていたんです。それで、キャンプ場から続くハイキングトレイルを歩いてみて、徐々に登山にも興味をもち始めていったんです。アウトドアの道具もたくさん集めてましたね。でも、アウトドアウェアで欲しいものが見つけられなかった。だったら、自分たちで作ったら、いいものが出来るんじゃないかなと思ったのがアンドワンダーの始まりです」

Ikeuchi, who was originally fond of traveling, started having interest in outdoor activities and sports as he traveled around the countries in Southern Europe, Central America, and Asia while working as a fashion designer. Mori, on the other hand, recalled and shared about how she often spent her holidays mountain climbing and alpine skiing with her parents during her childhood.

As they both work for the same company, Ikeuchi and Mori went out camping with their co-workers every now and then. The outdoor clothing that were sold in stores, however, just didn’t seem right to them.

“Whenever we went out camping, we cooked food and ate what we made, but we really didn’t know what else we could do. So, we decided to take a walk on the hiking trail starting from the camping ground and then gradually became interested in Backpacking Trip too. I collected a lot of outdoor gears, but I could never find an outdoor clothing that could get me satisfied. That’s when I thought, ‘if we can’t find it, why don’t we make something good by ourselves?’. That was the very first step of our brand, ’and wander’.”

池内の隣で会話に頷いていた森が、話題に加わる。

「もちろん市販されていたアウトドアウェアは、保温性や防水透湿性といった機能、登山での動きやすさといったスペックは充分でした。でも、洋服としてのシルエットやカラーリングといった要素で、私たちの感性を刺激してくれるアウトドアウェアが欲しかったんです」

森は、特別な登山技術がなくても楽しめるアウトドアや登山に合うウェア作りをしているとも話す。それは、東京で仕事をしながら、週末や夏休みに少し長い休暇を取りながら、電車や飛行機に乗って出掛けられる山だという。

「エベレスト登山のようにすごい時間と費用がかかるわけでもなく、天性の才能が必要なエクストリームな世界の話でもない。最初からは登れないかもしれないけれども、ちょっと頑張れば誰でも手が届くところにある山や自然。私はそんなアウトドアが好きで、遊んでいます。例えば、今年の１月はテキサス州のビッグ・ベンド国立公園に行ったり、２～３月には北海道や八甲田でスキーをして、ついこのあいだは南アルプスの仙丈ヶ岳を登って、来月は北アルプスの針の木岳を歩く、といったように。アンドワンダーの製品も、そんな自分たちがほどよいと感じるフィールドで遊ぶことを前提に作っています」

Mori nodded as she listened to his story and joined the conversation.

“Of course, the outdoor clothing sold at stores were very functional, using fabrics that are stay dry, waterproof breathable, and easy to move. But we wanted more. We wanted an outdoor wear with a unique style and coloring that could inspire our sensibilities.”

“and wander” also focuses on designing clothes for outdoor activities that does not require any advanced climbing skills, according to Mori. Their outdoor clothing are perfect for the mountains where people working in Tokyo can reach out to visit using their weekends and summer vacation by train or plane.

“We’re not talking about some time-consuming, costly, and extreme mountaineering like climbing the Mount Everest, where you would need a gifted talent to reach the summit. Our brand sets target on the mountains and woods that might be difficult to walk on your first trip, but where anyone could reach the summit if you could give a little bit of effort. That is exactly the kind of place I love to go and have fun at. I visited Big Bend National Park in Texas this January, went to Hokkaido and Hakkoda in February and March to Backcountry Skiing, and I also visited the Southern Japanese Alps to hiked up Mt. Senjougatake quite recently. I even plan to go to the Northern Japanese Alps next month to hike Mt. Harinokidake. Based on our own experience, “and wander” products are designed to be well suited for outdoor activities that we feel is just right for our level.”

“日本の山”がベースになっていると付け加えるのは、池内だ。

「僕たちが日常的に遊んでいるエリアですからね。無雪期ならば標高3000ｍくらいまでの山岳エリアで快適さを感じること。同時に、雨が多くて湿潤な島国という環境では、不快なムレ感を解消する機能も大切だと考えています。だから、軽量なレインジャケットにも、重くなるとしても脇の下に換気を促すためのベンチレーションジッパーをつけているんです。さらに蒸れないように、背中にもベンチレーションを備えた製品もあります。僕たちは軽いほうがいいからという理由で、ベンチレーションジッパーをなくてしまうという選択はしないんですよね。この感覚は、湿度が高くて蒸れたときのツラさを感じやすい日本の山を普段登っているからだと思います。快適に歩きたいという気持ちが大きくて、この快適さを山を登る人にも共有してもらいたい。それに山で感じる快適さを、日常生活でも感じてもらうために街中でも着てもらいたいですね」

彼は、山中で着るための機能性アウトドアウェアと、洋服がもつファションとしての側面の両立を目指しているとつけ加える。森は、これまでアウトドアとは無縁の生活をしてきた人たちがアンドワンダー製品に触れることで、アウトドアアクティビティに興味を抱くきっかけになればと微笑んだ。

「アンドワンダーを手に取ってもらって、どんなブランドなんだろうって思っていたら、『あぁ、山とか、自然のなかで遊ぶことを想定している服なんだ』と知ってもらえたら嬉しいですよね。山にはこんな遊びがあるんだとか、自然のなかで遊ぶとこんなに気持ちがいいんだとか。それで一度でも山に行ってみようかなと思ってもらう。そのきっかけになる役割は、今後ももち続けたいです」

Ikeuchi also added that imaging “mountains in Japan” became the basis of their product design.

“It’s the area that we are most familiar with. One of the most important characteristics of our product is that it can maintain comfort even in the mountainous areas; our users can enjoy a comfortable trip up to 3000m above sea level in green season. Considering the humidity and how much rain we have throughout the year in Japan, we also believe that it is important that we keep the users dry. That is the reason why we decided to have ventilation pit zips for our lightweight rain jackets, even if it adds a few more grams. There’s also jackets with a back vent in addition to the ventilation pit zips for more breathability. We don’t choose to give up on pit zips just because we want to make the jackets lighter. I believe that this sensibility comes from our own Backpacking trips experience in Japan and understanding how rough it can be in a humid environment and getting our clothes damp. It is our aspiration to make hiking experience more comfortable and we hope that the users of our product would share this wonderfulness to their family and friends. Besides, we want the users to use our product for everyday wear to feel the same comfortableness on the street as well.”

He also explained that the brand aims to combine two aspects: the functionality of outdoor clothing for mountains and the stylishness of apparel products. Smiling, Mori added that it would be great if coming in touch with “and wander” products would be the trigger for the people who had no interest in outdoor activities to change.

“The consumers would pick up one of our products, wondering what the concept of the brand is. But then, they would instinctively understand that this clothing is suitable for outdoor activities in the nature like Backpacking trip. That’s when it’s rewarding for us. Spreading the ideas of how to enjoy your experience in the mountains and having people to understand how relaxing it is to play in the nature, hoping that it would be their very first step to have interest in challenging the mountains. What’s important for us, is to continue making opportunities like that.”

アンドワンダーにおける特徴的なデザイン要素としては、光を反射するリフレクタープリントやリフレクターステッチ糸があげられる。これは、山中ではもちろん、街中で自転車などに乗っているときの視認性を高めるためにファーストシーズンから取り入れられている機能だ。当初はロゴマークなどに採用していたが、いつしかリフレクタープリントはブランドの個性となっていった。また、これまでシーズンごとにオリジナルの迷彩柄やグラデーションデザインなどを展開してきたが、2019年の秋冬シーズンにはリフレクター機能を進化させたスプラッタープリントを採用する。

アンドワンダーを特徴づける製品へのこだわりや真髄についての話題は、このあともまだまだ続いた。
次回は、ふたりが考えるデザインフィロソフィについて詳しく紹介していこう。

Reflective printing and reflective stitching are some of the unique design features of “and wander” products. These light reflecting features have been adopted since the first season of the brand for better visibility not only in the mountains, but also for urban cyclists. It was initially used for the brand logo, but it soon became the identity of the brand. They have been offering new products every season with their original designs including camouflage and gradient colored design. For 2019 Fall/Winter season, they will be releasing a new design with enhanced reflecting feature by adopting the splatter printing technique.

The interview continued, digging deeper into the uniqueness of “and wander”, focusing more on the essence of the brand and how they are committed to making quality outdoor wears. Learn more about their design philosophy in the next article.