INTERVIEW

2021SS VALENCIANO BY KELME finally arrived.
I interviewed Mr. Maito, a model who directs the brand, about the thoughts he put into the collection and the background on creating these product lines.  

― First of all, please tell us how this brand started. 

Maito（M）　 

I received an offer for the CBO position (Chief Brand Officer) of a sports brand called KELME, which is famous in football. As a model, I have worked with many sports brands before but this is the first time for me to be the CBO. Since my previous role was a professional soccer player, I was very excited about this kind of work with KELME, which is famous for soccer. When I thought about what I should do to raise the image and recognition of the brand as a model, I suggested that I create a stylish line specializing in lifestyle and fashion and VALENCIANO was born.

― So, what kind of concept did you come up with when you started the VALENCIANO?   

M 

The concept is to combine Spain, which is the root of KELME, and Tokyo, which is also the place where I play an active part and I tried to express this in colours. I decided to use an earthy colour (beige) to represent the land of Valencia in Spain and a dark colour (dark charcoal) as the image of the night in the city of Tokyo. Since it is produced for sports brands, I thought that I could make durable and high-quality products and the design is as simple as possible. I’m also developing additional lines for t-shirts, shorts, and caps.  

― The online store has opened from this month. What are your plans for selling offline?   

M 

There was a special connection between me and the brand and we started a pop-up at atmos, SHINJUKU. We also expanded this concept online with atmos and on our own website.  

We are currently collaborating with 8 companies, including atmos, and our products are stocked in a number of other stores. In the future, we will develop additional pop-up concepts in various other locations, which I’ll attend in person. Pop-up information will be announced on our Instagram account each time, so please check it for details.   

― Lastly, please tell us your recommended items.   

M 

Since the “top and bottom” set is popular, I should recommend that you match the colours and coordinate the whole outfit, but everyone is an individual, so I recommend that you incorporate one of our items and co-ordinate the outfit as you prefer. I think it's interesting to see outfits matched in different ways. Therefore, there is no right or wrong way to co-ordinate. I also posted snapshots on Instagram with people of various occupations to make it versatile, so please check that as well. I also look at it as a reference (laughs).