Meeting United Arrows' Mr Kurino

I miss Japan.

I used to go to Japan every Autumn to meet customers and whenever I went, one of the highlights was getting to spend time with Mr Kurino, Creative Adviser of United Arrows. He is a legend in menswear, one of the original founders of United Arrows, and a very good DJ.

He was generous with his time, and his deep knowledge. He would take me around interesting Menswear shops, the latest Comme de Garçons displays - one featured antique cabinets from the V&A in London, if I remember right. There was another interesting company I went to, in the middle of a residential area, with no signs to it or on the door. They sold Japanese indigo dyed denim jeans. You only knew abut the shop if you knew.

He introduced us to our main customers in Japan at the time. The Japanese approach to craft is something to behold, as is the retail presentation.

So we would meet customers in Paris at Premiére Vision, and then at JITAC in Tokyo in the Autumn, weave samples for the start of the year. Then get orders to weave quickly after that, for around Spring time - so that the companies had time to make everything up for their Autumn collections.

I was pretty green when I went to Japan first, but soon learnt, after being gently escorted off the premises by a security guard at a Textiles shop in Ginza, that there was a way to do things. (Always set up a meeting first.) Also slip on shoes are good, they make life easier. And make sure you put business cards somewhere safe.

I met Mr Kurino when he gave a talk to a group of Scottish designers and weavers, who were in Tokyo on a trade mission with Scottish Development International. I remember Jonathan Anderson was on that trip as well. He held up a magazine with a picture of Gearannan Blackhouse village on the Isle of Lewis and he said - this is the kind of thing we like. I hadn't expected to see a photo of a blackhouse during my time in Tokyo.

After the talk was finished, everyone quietly filed out of the room, I think there was another talk or something, but I thought - stuff that. And so I went over to him for a yarn, told him that I lived down the road from where the photo was taken, which he was interested in. I've heard a few Tokyoites say, as they look at photos of the islands, that it must be nice to live in a place with no stress.

I went to the lift and then, this the only movie type moment in my life, a hand stopped the doors from closing, It was Mr Kurino. Come in and see me tomorrow, he said.

I went in the next day, expecting a quick chat with Mr Kurino, but it was himself, the head of District, and the head of United Arrows. So, no pressure.

I showed them a pattern blanket I had with me - we used to show the pattern blankets whole - most mills cut up the samples, but I always liked to see the patterns side by side.

They started to attach little labels to the different patterns. I wasn't quite sure what was going on. While they worked, I looked at where I had put their business cards. Business cards are important in Japan and so this is what I was thinking of about 40% of the meeting. At the start of a meeting, they are exchanged, you hand them over (holding it with both hands and you bow). I put them on the table, thinking that was the safest place for them. But apparently, it wasn't. There was no sign of them.

They've fallen on the floor, I thought. I'm ruined. I have to leave Japan tonight.

Meanwhile they had finished their deliberations. Mr. Kurino turned to me and said - we'll take all of these. All of these…? I asked. All of these patterns, he said. I left the room a bit dazed, clutching the pattern blanket and hoping no stickers would fall off, trying to scan the floor for stray business cards without anyone noticing. I found them in my bag later on, and never did that again.

Oh, it was mighty, working with these amazing companies, like United Arrows, Minā Perhonen (amazing textiles), Eikokuya and others.

There was a piece on Breanish Tweed in GQ Japan in 2012 (and you think you're behind with your blog writing), where Mr Kurino talked about his love of Scottish textiles. Here is the translation (images of the article below).

Since the Great East Japan Earthquake last year, I’ve been wondering what really constitutes a luxury, and thinking the criteria may have changed. I suspect a luxury may not be something famous or something new, but something whose creation involved considerable human labour.

The suit I am wearing now is this Autumn/winter’s three-piece from District. I had them weave a lightweight Breanish Tweed cloth from the Outer Hebrrides, and had the suit made in Japan. The fabric has the simplicity and freshness that is unique to hand weaving.

When I ordered it last year, I asked Iain, to make it the colour of the sea, so they created a fabric in the colours of the sea as they saw it, deep blue plus green and light blue. I heard that the shoe designer, Manolo Blahnik had a Breanish Tweed suit custom made through a tailor in Savile Row. This means that something made on an island, a village where only 2,000 people live was delivered to a man who understands the essential qualities of things.

Scottish brands such as the beautifully coloured tartans of Lochcarron, Johnstons who modernised cashmere, and Harris Tweed all involve human labour and touch the heart because, in a good sense, they are imperfect. Right now, they may be close to the things I like best.