A circle of friends connected by gut touch! The “FIST BUMP” corner of the radio program “GRAND MARQUEE” features people who live and enjoy Tokyo in a relay format.
On September 19, Ryusuke Eda of the fashion brand “bal” will appear. We asked him about how “bal” came to be what it is today, his mindset for continuing the brand, and the appeal of natural wine and pisto bikes, which he says he is addicted to in his private life.
INDEX
The brand “bal” with a partner who has seen and heard the same things
Celeina (MC): Since this is the first of the week, we welcome by recommendation from the program Mr. Ryusuke Eda of the fashion brand “bal”. First of all, let me introduce his profile. Mr. Eda started “balanceweardesign” in Nakameguro in 1999, and changed the name to bal in 2003. He has participated in international art awards and provided graphic design for CD records and apparel.
Takano (MC): Congratulations on the 20th anniversary of bal this year.
Eda: Thank you very much.
Takano: Some of you may be learning about bal for the first time through this broadcast, so I would like to start by asking what kind of brand bal is.
Eda: Originally, four designers worked together under the name balanceweardesign, but two of them became independent and started another brand.So, I shortened the name and changed it to “bal” because Kabaya, who is now my business partner, and I will be the main directors.
Celeina：What is the brand concept?
Eda: It is a so-called street brand. It is a fusion of graphic design and clothing, and since we were in our impressionable period in the 1990s, we mix influences such as music, clothing, movies, and so on.
Takano: I see. I thought that was really cool.
Eda: Thank you very much.
Celeina：As you mentioned earlier, you are now working with Kentaro Kabaya as your business partner.
Eda：I was introduced to him by a mutual friend in 1998. Kabaya himself was playing in the hip-hop scene, and I was in a band, so we had a lot of fun talking about music. He saw a sample of balanceweardesign that I was wearing and was very impressed, so I introduced him to the then president, and he wanted to work with me.
Celeina：When doing creative work, it is very important to have a partner to work with, isn’t it?
Eda: That’s true.
Celeina：Was there a moment when the feeling was right?
Eda: I guess so. It’s the same with friends, but there are people who get closer unusually quickly when they see things in common. For example, my taste in music, comedy, movies, and so on… I often found that these lifestyles matched with Kabaya’s.
Also, when you are young, you have a lot of time on your hands, so you spend a lot of time together. So we saw the same things, went out to the same places, ate the same food, and so on. To be honest, we are both married, but our relationship is longer than both of our wives (haha).
Celeina: You guys are real partners now.
Eda: We have been together since we were about 19 or 20 years old.
Takano: Well, it’s amazing.
