Text by Mark Cho / Photo by Mark Cho
Mark -
How are you feeling about Drake’s and about being in Japan right now?
Michael -
Very excited, it’s been a long time coming. We started in Japan 40 years ago and whilst we’ve been wholesaling there for a long time, we’ve never really retailed outside of London. To have our first permanent spot outside London, in Tokyo, is very fitting, as it’s a market we’ve always loved. To be able to communicate face to face with our Japanese customers directly about every category we sell is a great opportunity for us.
Mark -
Yes, during our meeting yesterday with the Jean Rousseau team, they said something that resonated with us: When you’re in Japan, you really feel like you’re building, step-by-step, a business and a brand for the market. .
Michael -
Totally, these things do take time. We look at it as a long term project, but in some respects, we have the best of both worlds. We have had many years where our products have been in the market and we have been building our reputation, yet we can now have a fresh start as a retail presence.
Mark -
Talk a little bit about the new retail. When we took over Drake’s in 2010 and we started introducing the other categories over the years, it was because we wanted to introduce the Drake’s look, i.e. how we envision men in our style of clothing. How does the appearance, the feeling, the aesthetic of the shop work as an extension of the Drake’s look?
Michael -
Given that we had to expand beyond London, we required a template for our store’s design. The template needed to allow us to be sensitive to any local market, yet retain a consistent aesthetic. So whilst our old shop was charming, it was also somewhat limiting. At the time we opened that store, ties were the biggest focus of the business and we designed the store around them. We remain committed to ties as a fundamental part of the business and the product that we love the most. However, we have been selling more and more of our other categories, e.g. jackets, shirts, knitwear, better and better. It became more important to integrate those products into the store and merchandise them together. Therefore, we needed a template that could take this into account.
Our template maintains some of the materials used in the original London store, e.g. walnut and brass to maintain some consistency, but we’d also like each store to have its own personality and individuality. Certainly, in Tokyo there’s more of an opportunity than anywhere else for us to represent the concept of our factories. Hence the factory glass, the “tongue and groove” wall panelling, the washdown kick board in dark green - all things that remind me of a British factory. This, I think, will resonate with the Japanese market. A good friend of ours, Adam Dant, drew the original Drake’s factory on Garrett St and we’ve hung this drawing in our Tokyo shop to show off the ‘making’ side of the business to the Japanese customer.
Mark -
With the new materials, new furniture and more standard layout, it’s also an efficiency issue, we knew some of our shops would be small and we had to be able to plan them in a much more precise way by using our own standard of furniture.
Michael -
Yes exactly. While the shop is relatively modest in size, we can still get most of our products in there. I think the other interesting thing is that our store is based in the “British Made” shop, our partners in Tokyo, and our physical shop is actually made in Britain - as in we made large parts of it in England and shipped them to Japan.
Mark -
Any bits of the fit-out you really like?
Michael -
All I’m seeing right now is how I want to improve it for next time.
Mark -
I love the new white mosaic, it brings so much light into the space.
Michael -
I think so too. Designing a shop remotely has been a good challenge. You’re not as hands on as you would like to be. You see things on completion that could be done differently, but for our first foray in Japan we are satisfied. I’m only looking to tweak the shop at this stage. It’s a journey. You don’t always get it right first time and we’re improving all the time.
I think the factory themed elements work really well aesthetically. Particularly the haberdasher’s counter with the slipper’s mark on it. The little stool in the changing room and small side table, by Flange in Yokohama, positioned between the leather arm chairs, both from Tokyo craft companies. It’s nice to have a bit of Tokyo in the shop! We also have a pair of antique club chairs from Lillie Road in Fulham to remind us of London.
Mark -
Any new products you want to talk about?
Michael -
We’re opening halfway through the season, so it wasn’t easy putting it together. Autumn/Winter in September will be the full representation. Currently, it’s a mix of Drake’s classic and seasonal highlights. I cherry picked our best things from every category. There are still some cardigans and jeans to come in later in the season. In time, we would like to do some special, exclusive products for Japan and nowhere else. We want to make the in-store experience as special as possible.
Mark -
Any favourite pieces in the shop right now?
Michael -
I love the seasonal ties that are on the top row of the tie display - the ones with the diamond pattern and everything from that series. Combinations of bright navy with ecru printed on silk poplin.
Our button-downs, developed with the old Brooks Brother collar in mind, are my favourite shirts, at a great price and using great cloth. The ticker stripe, the blue oxford and the white oxford can be worn for almost any occasion.
Of the jackets, I like the chocolate brown linen. It’s so versatile. People often get scared by a brown suit, but you can wear it with so many things. Grey trousers for a more dressy look, or cream cotton for a more relaxed look.
I grew up listening to Michael Drake talk about the Japanese market. He admired how the Japanese could take ideas from Naples, Milan, Paris, London, give it their own twist and make it better. For us to be opening up our own store in this market is very humbling. It’s a real challenge and we really have to deliver for a Japanese customer that is so knowledgeable. We are among serious competition with such a rich amount of great classic menswear brands in Japan. There should be a customer base for us and we’re dedicated to serving them well.
This must be reflected in our product. Clearly, this is English focussed, but we’ve been influenced by the Japanese market over the years and this filters back to what we do. Yes we’re English, but there’s an international standard that we try to stand alongside. We don’t want to just come here and say: “We’re English and this is the only style we believe in”. I think it will be interesting to see what spin offs and collaborations will happen as a result of us being here. I think we can produce something much richer than if we were on our own.