THE YUTHANAN UNIVERSE: MANAGING THE TOKYO WAVES
Starting out in PR and buying before eventually branching out to start his own brand, Yuthanan came to Tokyo with the goal of disrupting and breaking the system.
In an industry where being young is often related to being inexperienced, he completely turns this concept around by involving himself in various different ambitious and creative projects. Aside from just being very ambitious and creative, another special point about him and his projects are the often wild origin stories behind them.
During Yuthanan’s time here in Japan, his work and do-it-yourself approach to develop his brand and photography has captivated and interested people all over the world, with his work steadily rising in popularity not just in Japan but in countries with booming markets such as Taiwan and China.
One of his main projects, Sillage, is a brand that is consistently rising in stock and in itself is quite unique from the always diverse and vibrant fashion scene here in Japan.
Sillage specialises on utilising very oversized silhouettes and various layering options derived from Yuthanan’s own philosophy and tastes, which ranges from everything like vintage Land Rovers and Hip-Hop music all the way to middle-eastern-inspired patterns.
For the past 4 years, Yuthanan has also obtained success through his photography having done work for New Balance all the way to taking pictures for the F1 Japanese Grand Prix. His distinct style in photography also helped in establishing Sillage’s primary DNA. Aside from this, Yuthanan has also recently started an online store called #whatwewear store where he curates and sells select goods from a variety of talented artists and craftspeople from all over the world.
With his brand being on a rapid rise to the top and his photography talents being employed by some of the industry’s heaviest hitters, we sat down with the man himself to talk about his universe and journey as an incredibly successful creative living in the city we all know and love, Tokyo.
For anybody who is not familiar, can we get a quick introduction?
I’m based in Japan now for over 4 years now and I came to Japan at first as a press manager as well as a buyer for a shop in Tokyo but I could not adapt to the Japanese system of working in a company so I quit and then met someone who eventually became my partner for my brand, Sillage. A brand which we started from scraps with just one design.
Are there still any cultural norms you haven’t gotten used to in Tokyo or Japan?
No, after 4 years now and with a wife and a kid, It isn’t that hard to adapt - if you want to, you can.
You have experience in buying, you’re a photographer and run your own brand - we’re impressed by all the things you do.
Can you explain to us how you maintain an overview and do all of these things simultaneously? How does Yuthanan run and maintain balance in the Yuthanan Universe?
I still mostly do these by myself. But it takes time and the balance is not easy to find when you do so many things by yourself. Even with my own brand it's only a super tiny team so we do everything by ourselves like the press, the shootings, the designs, logistics and all the planning for the brand events.
Also now I have to manage 3 websites and managing content for other brands, and I have 7 instagram accounts to manage. Besides this I also have my photography job and I like to do everything by myself like the shooting and editing. Lots of work, but honestly even if you’re busy like this you can still find free time.
You had previously worked as a buyer here in Japan, can you share with us what that experience was like and how that experience helped the shaping of your own brand?
When I moved to Tokyo looking for a job with only 1000 euros, my goal was to find one in a month and I contacted everyone I knew. Eventually 1LDK hired me to manage the buying for the Paris store while I was doing the photography and PR for the Tokyo store.
Before this, I was also a buyer for a shoe store in Paris. I started very early at 17 to understand the buying system and that really helped me even until now. I think that that’s a big asset to start as a shop staff and manager, you talk to clients directly which is the first step of the buying process, you know what people want, what people like, and how they judge a product.
All the skills you learned when you were young you can still use in the future so understanding the market really helped me with Sillage because I could understand what my community wants.
So you were super young in Paris working as a shop staff and you were getting buying experience, But did you ever go to Japan at that time?
I’ve been once in 2015 but I was not interested in Japan much at the time, I like Japanese designers but I never watched anime or read any manga so I had no attraction to the Japanese culture at that time, I just went because my friend wanted to go. But then I was like ‘wow, thats where I want to be.’
After that trip, Japan became my goal and when I came back to Paris, I was still a fashion student at the time, I stopped my school and worked full time to get enough money to try my luck in Japan. So I asked my boss at the shoe store I was working at to please hire me full time until I move to Japan and I ended up saving 1000 euros for 1 year, it's not much but it's all I could save because I like to spend money you know. So even if I was saving, I was still also spending money [laughs]. It was my first salary and I was working at a sneaker store.
What do you remember from that first time in Japan that made you go ‘Wow this is where I have to be, this is my goal’ ?
I could never answer this question. I don't know. It’s not something you can explain. My impression of Japan is beyond words, you know, it's just, I’m so happy that I’m here now and I don’t regret leaving France.
I think that Japan and Asia is the place to be to have a peaceful life full of opportunities. That’s why we are all here and I invite all the people reading Sabukaru to try their luck here after COVID. There is space!
It’s pretty crazy to us how you were like ‘I am gonna try my best and get a job within a month’ and you hit up every shop and hustled like crazy.
Yeah I had to ask so many people, and some people probably wanted to hire me but I was young and didn't speak the language so that was tough. But I got lucky that one of my friends trust me and he hired me and after that it was just a snowball effect. The timer starts and ever since it has never stopped, the time is still ticking!
That’s wild, respect.
I get a lot of people saying that to me at the time, but it’s not difficult. You can if you give yourself the power.
You’re also a prominent photographer, can you explain to us how you got started taking pictures and how your photography style evolved?
I think everybody has evolving skills, and it’s not necessarily for better or worse, you're just evolving. When I started 4 years ago I used my phone and had no skills, I didn't know anything about photography. So when I bought my first camera, I practiced during the daytime and nighttime and the skills came naturally by itself. But I can't really describe how I shoot, I just do it with my feeling.
I can't really describe my style and I think good photographers also can't describe their style, it’s just using their guts you know. Of course when I look back at old photos I think it’s not as good but that's how brands grow and also how people grow. My community also grows with me, and their style and universe also grows with me.
So you would say that the image you create for your brand through photography is as important as the garments itself?
49:51. Photos are 51, garments are 49. Without pictures it’s impossible to sell.
Moving on to your brand, Sillage, can you share with us how it started?
I had one design way before I had thought of the brand. I wanted to make oversized clothes because I could not find any clothes for my size in Asia. I wanted made in Japan clothes in my size but it did not exist before so when I had the chance to make brand after meeting my business partner, I did. It started with the Hakama pants which is now one of our classic silhouettes.
In the beginning I had no budget and I only had enough money for a sample so when we did the pre-orders people needed to wait for two months. All the website and online stuff I also did by myself back then. When I launched the website at 12pm, one guy, who actually still buys to this day after 4 years, bought one pants and then after a few minutes people started buying and I sold around 20 pieces within the first hour. So yeah, started from zero with just one pants, launching by myself. But still, until now we still do most things by ourself, just a bigger scale.
With Sillage, we can see a wide range of influences from different cultures like South East Asia and the Middle East. How do you fuse these influences with your own brand’s ethos?
It’s easy, Sillage’s slogan is ‘inspired by the world, made in Japan’ so I have no limit. And Sillage is based on me and the universe around me, So it’s just making things I like. I think it’s not difficult mixing cultures for the brand if you keep following what you like. If you keep doing what you like, it will match. Sillage is inspired by anything. If I think its cool, I’ll do it.
Almost every Sillage item comes in one very oversized size, do you feel that more companies should ‘challenge’ their consumers into wearing different silhouettes?
It's not about the challenge, having one size is just easier to manage. And also I want people to wear big. If you give people the choice of size they will maybe buy a size too tight for them and since I want people to wear oversized, it should only have one size you know. If you buy Sillage you wear really big, that's the only deal.
recently, you also created your own store [#whatwewear store], what goes into your mind when curating what items you want to sell there?
It’s curated with the same concept of Sillage. For example if I’m browsing instagram and see someone making something cool I’ll reach out. I’m also happy to be supporting other artists and local businesses with this store. We are selling some hand-knitted hats from London and some necklaces from South Africa and jewellery from Mexico and ceramics from Japan. The store has connection with the world. The goal with the store is not to make money but it's just for fun.
We see the vintage Land Rover Defender that you got recently and we obviously see you're a big car guy, where did this passion for cars start?
Honestly, I have no idea and my passion for cars is new. I also only got my license when I moved to Tokyo. But I had the idea for the Defender for a long time.
It could be because my business partner owns a Range Rover and I go to shootings with him every week. But I also wanted a car because I have a kid now and I wasn’t interested in new cars, so the Defender was my goal and it was actually quite tough to buy it in Japan. I had to import it from London and I even modified the gearbox to be automatic so I now own one of the only automatic Defenders in Tokyo. I’m also a very impulsive person so before the car arrived I already started buying things related to it like Hot Wheels toys, and so many other Land Rover Defender memorabilia.
I’m also planning to make an association of Land Rover owners in Japan, coming soon.
You also have a sneaker background, what are some sneakers from this year that have really excited you so far?
New Balance, that’s all. They have the best projects and collaborations, and great colourways.
so, What's next for Yuthanan?
I'm always trying to be in new markets and try to reach people everywhere. We're even trying to reach through markets in Asian countries like China through their own social media. My goal is to revolutionise the market and break the system and I want to get people to follow their tastes and personalities and not just trends.
and Finally, is there a message to any young creative still trying to pursue their dreams in Tokyo or the world that you want to say?
Honestly, just move your ass. You need to do things. You can't postpone. Find a way to do it even with no budget, I think everybody has access to the creative process. If you can think, you can do it. It’s borderless. You can do it.
THANK YOU A LOT FOR YOUR TIME!
Text and Interview by: Avian Massie
Images by: Natsuki Ludwig
