Social Apartment tenants create original clothes from scratch! Talk session held for the second phase of the apparel company x Social Apartment!

On April 20 (Sat) at The Millennials Shibuya, a talk session was held for social apartment residents in conjunction with the second phase of the "loungewear product development project" that started last year.

This project is a collaboration between apparel maker "TARROW TOKYO" and "Social Apartment" tenants, and involves total production from planning to development and sales of loungewear. In fact, the project is rich in creativity, with even the models and photographers doing the work themselves. On the day of the event, members of Neighbors Kamikitazawa, who produced the "loungewear " ^*1 in the previous project, took the stage to talk with Mizorogi (TARROW TOKYO) and Kamikitazawa members about the behind-the-scenes story of the development, which is not easily conveyed on e-commerce sites and other online platforms, from their own perspectives. After the talk, we had a chance to talk about the product.

After the talk, TARO TOKYO ^ONIGIRI*2, which was decided to be prepared by chance, made an appearance (details to follow...). This time, the event was a collaboration of [SOCIAL APARTMENT × TARROW TOKYO × TARO TOKYO ONIGIRI], which is truly a collaboration of food, clothing, and housing! This event was a collaboration of food, clothing, and shelter!

Here is a report on the event!

1 [TARROW TOKYO ONLINE] Products produced last year: LOUNGE WEAR

2 A food brand that offers onigiri with original ingredients that pursue "rice," "salt," and "seaweed" mainly in the Tokyo area.

First, a quick overview for those who are new to the company.

About the apparel brand "TARROW TOKYO

TARROW TOKYO was born out of the question, "Are we delivering really good clothes? TARROW TOKYO is an original brand created by OEMs to sell high-quality "clothes for wearing" that they themselves want to wear at a reasonable price, rather than "making clothes for selling".

We believe that increasing the number of clothes that are cherished for a long time, rather than for mass consumption, is true sustainability, and we make clothes with a focus on simple designs and silhouettes that are easy for many people to wear.

Official website: https: //tarrowtokyo.jp/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/tarrow.tokyo/

The first phase of the project

TARROW TOKYO wanted to develop simple, basic products with a playful twist, and became interested in social apartments, a form of housing that allows residents to enjoy interaction with other residents in addition to living alone, and after discussions with Global Agents, the company decided to We decided to develop a product that utilizes the residents.

When project members were recruited for the social apartment residents, 16 teams with 76 applicants were selected, of which a team led by the residents of Neighbors Kamikitazawa was chosen.

Social Apartment residents have the problem of struggling with the boundary between loungewear and outerwear such as that worn in lounges and other shared spaces, and the team decided to develop loungewear that would solve this problem. The project started in March 2023 with the goal of commercialization in six months. After the sale of the product, there was a great response, with the product sold out & additional production decided.

For more details, please visit the following website.

>[A story about a resident who seriously made clothes with an apparel company vol.1-3 [Column]].

Start of talk!

Mr. Mizorogi and the Neighbors Kamikitazawa members met for the first time in about a year. It was impressive to see how they seemed embarrassed at first, but as they reminisced about those days, they gradually became more and more enthusiastic in their talk.

Ichikawa (PR Division): How did you want to proceed at first?

Mizorogi: TARROW TOKYO started in 2022 as a new OEM business, and we started with absolutely no know-how in brand management. We wanted to work together with everyone, borrowing their knowledge and wisdom. In fact, the SNS was mainly done by Kamikitazawa members.

Neighbors Kamikitazawa member At first, I was just hoping to make T-shirts, but I was surprised when Taro-san said, "Tops, bottoms, anything is fine.

Ichikawa: You approached this in a way that could only be done in a social apartment.

Kamikitazawa members asked themselves what Taro's brand concept and our strengths and characteristics were.

Then we turned our attention to the characteristics of social apartments. Social apartments are unique places where, by living with an unspecified number of people with various values, there are many opportunities lying around to learn about ways of thinking that you did not have. Through active communication with the residents and repeated brainstorming and MTG sessions, they were able to share with each other the concerns they felt because of their ordinary, casual lives. They felt that what we could do was to give shape to what we could see from this process.

The Kamikitazawa residents came up with ideas on their own and asked us to design and operate a social networking service (SNS) to announce Social Apartment, and through the SNS, they posted information about their creators, their personalities, and the production process to "people living close to them".

Mizorogi: I was more on the PR side, so I learned a lot about the field through this project. Through this collaboration, I felt once again that making clothes is fun.

What surprised me the most was the commitment of the Kamikitazawa members. Until I actually heard about the project, I had thought that the brand was the main focus and the Social Apartment residents were in a supporting role, but I was impressed to learn that they were building a more mutual relationship than I had imagined and were making products on equal terms.

Also, although "Taro-kun" is now an icon of TARROW TOKYO, at one time there was a movement within the company to refrain from using the character. This project was started and Kamikitazawa members thought it was cute and adopted it for lounge wear! The story behind the project is that the Kamikitazawa members decided to adopt the character for their loungewear, which they thought was cute, and this led to a new light being shed on the character, and it is now being actively used not only in products but also in the creation of Taro-kun stickers!

On the occasion of the second round of recruitment

The previous round of applications was Taro's first opportunity. He told us about how he proceeded with the project in a state of groping, using an audition format and conducting several rounds of questionnaires.

Project Flow

1) Brainstorming

Exchange of opinions on the actual theme and what kind of items to make.

2) MTG + Fabric selection

Once the general framework is decided, necessary information (fabric selection, etc.) is organized until samples are made.

③1st sample check

Try on the sample and live with it. Experiment with comfort and shape changes in the selection.

④Adjustment of size

Select colors and knitting fabrics to be developed, and adjust sizes, etc.

⑤Completion

Mizorogi: At Taro, if everything goes smoothly, we produce a garment in about three to four months, but this time it took more than eight months because we were very particular about each piece. Because we took our time, the response was better than for other products.

Neighbors Kamikitazawa Member All of the social apartments have a laundry with a shared dryer, but for those without a balcony, a dryer is a must. We were also particular about the fact that "washing is not stressful," and samples were worn and washed repeatedly for about two weeks to see how the shape changes. Pockets were also adjusted if they became obstructed after living in the garment, and size dimensions were adjusted millimeter by millimeter.

Mr. Mizorogi: (Normally, we would do one or two.) In the end, we raised about three or four samples. That gave me a sense of satisfaction when the final product was finished.

Ichikawa: It was the result of the enthusiasm of the Neighbors Kamikitazawa members. We plan to guide this recruitment in about 6 months as well, but I think we should consider the possibility that the actual time frame may vary a little.

Do you want to wear it yourself? Everyone was smiling with great satisfaction, saying that they were able to create an important piece of clothing that will always appear in their wardrobe, even today!

Neighbors Kamikitazawa members: I am very happy to have participated. To be honest, I was sometimes tired after work, but I was able to work hard because I was with everyone! The time we spent in the lounge at night exchanging ideas and opinions definitely deepened our relationship. To create something on your own, you first need to save up a lot of money and make connections, but it was a valuable experience that I got because I moved into the social apartment. The challenge itself is free, so if you are at all interested, you should do it! I highly recommend it!

After the talk session, it was time for a rough chat over "TARO TOKYO ONIGIRI"!

Participants enjoyed free conversation as they moved freely from one table to another to meet tenants from other properties. TARO TOKYO ONIGIRI, which was mentioned earlier in the program, is here!

As a side note... the author, who first learned of this project at this event, mistakenly thought that "TARO TOKYO" = "onigiri event," and as a result, the offering was decided upon (laugh).

The event ended without incident!

The straightforward "I want to bring good things to you" spirit of the people at TARROW TOKYO and Neighbors Kamikitazawa and their playful approach to making things that "make you want to tell someone about them" must have been felt by the author and all the other event participants! Everyone left the venue looking somewhat regretful.

(Reporting, writing, and photography by Yamada)