We decided to catch up with our dear friends from CCP, with whom we go way back, and who have been making waves around the globe with their experimental, functional designs and free spirited aesthetics. We took to the streets of Moscow, with our city based part of the team, to showcase the variety of styles and their blending into the urban lifestyle we live. Tsutomu Kijima, brand's founder, told us about CCP's new found world popularity, coming outside their domestic market, new designs and events, as well as their proper launch of an English language website.

This, and much more, in our interview-editorial of CCP.

Editorial produced by TECHUNTER Media.

Questions, layout, styling: Alexander Zabelin [THM].
Answers: Tsutomu Kijima [CCP].
Photo, edit, creative direction: Ivan Dzhatiev [THM].
Md: TECHUNTER Media team.

[Our last interview with you was at the beginning of 2020 - probably one of the most difficult years for all mankind recently. How did you go through and are still going through with all these difficulties? What limitations have you encountered?]

We took care of our friends and acquaintances, they helped and supported us, together we turned troubles into opportunities, and we always strive and continue to stay positive and happy.

[Masks have become the main accessory, as well as a means of protection in the pandemic time. However it has been integrated into your clothes since the very beginning of the brand. Have you received an increased demand for products with a high collar/mask and what feedback have you received from customers on this functional element?]

We have been making full-face parka and other mask-like clothing for more than 20 years, so we don't think it was anything special to us or to the old CCP fans. However, after the pandemic, many people were surprised to learn about CCP's mask-integrated clothing, and we think the number of new fans has drastically increased.

[My new favorite silhouette of your brand is DOUGI trousers. Incredibly beautiful, simple and so elegant. Could you tell us the original design idea and the history of the creation of these trousers?]

An old apparel friend of mine was planning an event in Chiang Mai, Thailand, and when I came to support the event, I was inspired by Thai pants that the locals were wearing. I also brought in samples of kendo DOUGI. The designer, Sato, saw judo DOUGI and thought they were cool, which gave him an image to work off. We combined our references, and Sato gave it shape.

[For this editorial, we shot members of our Moscow based team, using different style images that correspond to each of us: modern fashion-outdoor, classic casual, urban commuting, business dark, and even avant-garde tech. And all this is based on the basis of your brand. How do you manage to do so many different things in terms of images and designs, while remaining in your own unique style? Can you name the very key feature that makes CCP pieces unified among themselves?]

We will continue to manufacture our products with sincerity and care, and to grow together with our customers.

This has never changed and will never change.

[You, as a brand, seem to be experimenting a lot in your designs. What's your core idea/motif of your output? What is CCP for the people behind CCP nowadays?]

The core for us is to blend nature into the city. We think they are not just looking for cool clothes to create, but also for ideas and the way we see things. We are glad that when you wear CCP's clothes, you feel energized, encouraged, and positive.

[What tech materials are you using now and what would you like/plan to work with?]


Functional petroleum-based materials, earth-friendly and environmentally-conscious materials.

[What is the "most CCP" clothing piece in your definition of the brand that you have done, or is the magnum opus still in the works? Are there any crazy fun ideas you are waiting to realise?]

I think I'll try to make clothes that I can eat and ones that I can live in, something like that. (laughs)

[You have created an English-language website and your clothing is already available in several foreign stores. How did this happen and what is the attention of customers to your brand now?]

People from overseas who came to Japan brought it back to their own countries. Also, we think our encounter with TECHUNTER magazine back in the day was a big factor.

[With the increase in worldwide distribution online and among selected retailers, has your production and team composition increased? Has something changed in your work with the increase in volumes?]

Originally, we did not do mass production, we still don't really do anything on mass, and we took great pride and care utilizing smaller Japanese sewing factories in our work.

We would like to produce at our own rhythm without haste and without fail.

[Could you share with us and our readers your immediate plans for the future? Possible collaborations, updates in the lines, appearances in new countries from foreign retailers?]

We have been working not only with apparel, but also with music events, consultation on planning and management, or company operation management.. At the moment, we have just opened a camping ground for rent, and a speaker and used record store, Global Chillage Tokyo in Toyama Japan.

We want to be involved in all aspects of SDGs [Sustainable Development Goals, UN's Agenda 2030], food, clothing and shelter.

We are seeking more friends!