Original Anime Streetwear with New York Based Clothing Brand, Imouri!

INTERVIEW WITH THE IMOURI TEAM

What is Imouri? How did you come up with the name?
Imouri is a New York based clothing and lifestyle brand dedicated to designing original apparel and accessories inspired by elements of anime and Japanese aesthetics. It was a personal goal of mine to try my best to come up with a name that was short, memorable and something that probably nobody had heard or seen before. At the core, that is what the brand is all about. Our tagline has always been, “Original Anime Streetwear”. We’re visually displaying moments of inspiration and imagination through fashion infused with an anime base art style. The name itself literally has no basis, history, translation or meaning, yet still, phonetically, has a Japanese ring to it. I loved it, ran with it and never looked back. 

What is some history for the brand? When did you start it?
Anime has always been a part of my life for as long as I can remember. As a little kid, I’d tune into Toonami almost every night, watching Sailor Moon, Gundam and Dragon Ball Z to name a few. They all had me hooked. As I got older, I kept watching new shows and learning more about the culture behind the art I was consuming.

Fast forward to 2015, I had just graduated college and was working in Web & Graphic design. On business days, I’d get dressed up to present for work, but come the weekends, I’d try my hardest to find some cool Anime shirts to match my personal aesthetic. Problem was, at the time, I had limited options. In person I could maybe try shopping at Hot Topic or FYE, which (no offense to either company, they’ve both come a long way since then), only offered questionable quality tees with mainstream Anime characters printed on them. Online, it was the same story.

I could never find what I was truly looking for, so that year, I decided to take a stab at making my own shirts. Anime tees that had virtually no ties to any show, but instead, highlighted the art, language, look and feel behind the media I had loved for so long.

I had the graphic design skills to make what I wanted and I could build a website where I could share the designs with friends who might also be interested. I wasn’t 100% sure if there was anyone else out there looking for the style I was crafting, but that didn’t really matter to me. It was a passion project and a void I wanted to fill for myself first and foremost. 

What are some of your inspirations behind your designs?
As weird as it may sound, a ton of inspiration comes to me when I study Japanese. I’ve been teaching myself the language since 2013 and when I find new kanji or words, it helps fuel some creativity and I can focus designs solely around just one word or phrase. You see that a lot in my designs, especially since I find the Japanese writing system to be one of the most beautiful in the world.

On the other hand, more inspiration comes from different Anime where you can tell that studios and animators put their soul and heart into what the audience would visually see. Work like Makoto Shinkai’s, “5cm Per Second” is one of the first and most perfect examples of what I’m getting at. When I first watched it in 2010, I was in disbelief of just how beautiful and unique of an art style Anime really can be when the boundaries are pushed. I try to incorporate that same essence into my own work. 

Of all of your designs, which ones are some of your favorites and why?
First would have to be my “Mecha” hoodie and tee. I’m a die-hard Gundam fan and the whole vibe of the design brings me back to the 90’s mecha era, which holds a special place in my heart. Aside from that, my “UwU” beanie brings me a ton of joy for just how stupidly simple and cute it is. More recently, the “Issue 1” hoodie and tee, which features our mascot, “Imouri-Chan” in a Japanese magazine cover feature style (lots and lots of text and color) is a personal favorite too. It was super fun to imagine what that would look like if it was actually something published and printed in Japan. 

I’ve noticed that your brand has been around for some time now. If you were able to bring back a design and re-vamp it, which design would you bring?
One of my first designs called, “Karoshi” had some dark undertones to it, but honestly, it looked so dope. I pulled it from the site in early 2017, so it’s been gone for a good minute, but that would be a theme and design I could definitely see myself touching on better today than I could back then. 

What is your favorite part about having a clothing brand?
Absolute favorite part is being able to work on something I’ve been so passionate about my entire life. If I could go back in time and tell 5-year old me that those “cartoons” I was watching would one day be the industry I’d be working in, I wouldn’t believe it. Going to conventions, being around the art, interacting with the anime community as a whole — it gives me so much purpose, energy and happiness. 

Do you have any brands or artists that you would like to collaborate with?
Absolutely! I have to shout out kaomoji ® and LOWKEY! Geeks. They were two of the first anime focused brands I found that were doing things along the lines of what I was trying to do. A collab with either would be sick because they’re both still killing it to this day. I have huge respect for them. What’s different this year from the past for Imouri, is that some potential collabs are already lined up. I can’t spill too much info, but one is a well known convention I’m working with, so only time will tell what happens there! 

What are some of your favorite anime series?
I have a weakness for slice-of-life in general. I love to watch anime that feels real or is emotional. My all-time favorite anime is “Ano Natsu De Matteru” (Waiting in the Summer). Any time I tell people that, it usually gets one of two responses: 1. “Really?” or 2. “What is that?” Rarely does anyone ever agree and I totally get it, but the overall vibe of that show has spoken to me ever since I watched back in 2013. Beyond the endless list of slice-of-lifes I could give, Gundam Seed & Seed Destiny are definitely up at the top along with Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood. 

Do you have any future designs or plans for the brand? What are some of your goals for the brand?
Introducing our mascot, “Imouri-Chan” last year was a huge first step in the direction that I want to take the brand in. This year going forward, forming her narrative and design is something I’m really focused on currently. I’m also really invested in our “Secret Anime Club” that I created last year. It’s a Discord full of Imouri fans, but building that tight knit community is something that really puts everything I’m doing into perspective. Being able to talk to fans and customers on such a personal level — as if it’s our own little school club and we’re just there hanging out — that’s something I’ve come to cherish and want to grow that feeling through streaming outlets and more video based content. Lots of plans! 

If you had any words of advice to give to any fellow brands, or people who would like to get into creating their personal brand, what can you tell them?
This might be cliché, but follow your passion for the sake of following your passion. I think if I had treated what I’m doing solely as a business first and as something that I enjoy second, the brand would not be where it is today. When you love what you’re doing, you’re inherently focused to keep doing it better. From the business side of things, there are so many low risk ways to get started with a brand these days. It just takes a little bit of time and some Google searches! If it’s something you feel strongly about trying, don’t be afraid to try it. Start small and make it a side-gig, so that there’s nothing really to lose if it doesn’t pan out. You don’t know what’ll happen until you try.