What is nonsense., the creative team behind the WAPAN graphics?

There is an up-and-coming brand that creates original graphics, logos, and apparel with ski motifs.
Its name is nonsense. The two members are Kanta Kojima, a 25-year-old graphic designer based in Tokyo, and Kouya Tanabe, a photographer.
By assimilating the music and art that they have come into contact with, and linking it with skiing, they are sublimating it into their own new creative. His innovative style is popular not only with skiers, but also with young people, especially in Tokyo.

Who the hell is nonsense.? interviewed them.

What is nonsense.

It was launched in 2017, four years ago.
At the time, two university students who were active as alpine skiers launched the brand based on their desire to engage in activities other than alpine skiing. Starting with T-shirts, he has created a wide range of items such as hats, tote bags, and zines that imitate photobooks.
They don't necessarily make only items with a ski concept, but they have been accepted by people including skiers.
Besides skiing, they are also conscious of Japaneseness. Because he was born in Japan, he is often attracted to things related to Japan such as hanafuda and daruma dolls.

Currently, while working as a clerk at a major outdoor apparel shop, they are energetically engaged in creative activities with the theme of what they want to wear and make.

Their origins, encounters, and roots

Surprisingly, they were born and raised in western Japan, where Kojima is from Kyoto and Tanabe is from Hiroshima.
Tanabe was born and raised in a relatively snowy area of ​​Hiroshima and went skiing with his family.
It is said that Kojima was taken by her father, who loved skiing, on expeditions to places like Hachikita. The two of them, who have been learning alpine skiing since childhood, have improved dramatically with repeated practice, and have been selected as designated athletes by the prefecture. And we met at the venue of the West Japan Elementary School Tournament.

After that, Tanabe went to Gifu and Kojima went to high school in Akita on the recommendation of skiing.
The two of them grew up to be alpine racers with the ability to win at inter-school and national competitions when they were students, and they often spent time together at training camps and competitions.
In the evenings, we would talk about music and common hobbies. From around this time, we will try to do something other than skiing. There was also talk of germination of nonsense.

What made you decide to do something yourself? Tanabe mentioned that person's name.

“Akira Sasaki has had a big influence on me. There is no one in our generation who hasn’t been influenced by him.In the alpine world, which has an athletic temperament, Akira skateboards and plays reggae. It was a far cry from the image of alpine skiers that I had seen up until

now.It was cool to see the world's top skier launching his own brand, which was unconventional for When I was in high school, I had a smartphone, so I used to follow Akira-san's Twitter all the time."

The two people, who were greatly influenced not only by Akira Sasaki's skating, but also by his lifestyle, had the same values ​​and hit it off. After that, the two of them went to Tokyo to go on to college, and made the dream they talked about in high school come true.

What is the origin of the name nonsense.?
Kojima answered.

“Nonsense literally means ‘no meaning. Repeatedly disappearing, it doesn't last.

So what's the point in creating a brand that will eventually die?
With the idea of ​​antithesis, we decided that it would be fine to say nonsense. ……It was a little sharp (laughs). With the theme in mind, the logo has a strikethrough line above the character font.”

Last year, a big chance came to nonsense., which has such roots.

I was offered to draw graphics for WAPAN, a ski brand originating in Japan that started in 2018.
WAPAN is a coined word that combines "Wa" and "Japan", and the concept is to create skis that express the goodness of Japan by Japanese people. The graphic design is based on Japanese patterns such as Hanafuda and Ukiyo-e.

Click here for details of Wapan's 21-22 lineup

I want to read together

The theme is "Japan" for the whole board. skis produced by WAPAN SKIS, a garage brand originating in Japan , there is a brand that has attracted attention for its eye-catching graphics. WAPAN SKIS is a garage brand launched in Japan in 2018. WAPAN is the spelling of JAPAN...

How I worked on WAPAN graphics

In June 2020, WAPAN producer Ono was looking for a designer to commission graphics for next season. On the internet and social media, he checked out a wide range of people, from professionals to amateurs and even tattoo artists. And among the candidates was nonsense.

At that time, a certain ski brand held an event on Facebook to solicit graphics for next season's skis from users.
The application method is to put the graphics drawn on the timeline. Kojima applied for this event. Ono, who was following Kojima, also saw this post and was convinced that "Kojima can draw the image of WAPAN". And he immediately made an offer to Kojima.

“When WAPAN told me, I made a quick decision. I immediately thought, ‘I want to draw’.

Actually, at the custom fair two years ago, I happened to stop by the WAPAN booth and fell in love with the board graphics at first sight.
"I want to ride this board! (laughs) I didn't know Mr. Ono, but I knew the brand. What a great way to turn your drawing into a graphic for your favorite brand! I tought. Besides, I felt that doing it as a job would open up more possibilities.”

are three types of plate designs: camellia, daruma, and white tiger

As soon as I received the offer, I started working on it.
She fell in love with WAPAN at first sight, so there is no need to explain her world view and concept. Producer Ono only told one thing. "As a benchmark, make a board like J SKIS". J SKIS is a handmade brand recently founded by LINE founder Jason. In a world where only the specs and ride quality of a board are evaluated, Ono sympathized with his attitude of not only making excellent boards, but also sticking to graphics.

Kojima explained the three designs he drew.
“First of all, I definitely wanted to draw camellias. Nonsense. was also based on the same theme of WAPAN. In our minds
, camellias are a symbol of that. We are both attracted to camellia flowers.

The design of the Daruma is an arrangement of the long T-shirt design released by nonsense. a few years ago.

The white tiger was drawn third. When I was looking online for something with a Japanese pattern that was nonsense.

Changes born from drawing WAPAN graphics

As alpine skiers, their skiing life was smooth sailing with many results.
That's what I thought, but Kojima suddenly told me.
"I quit skiing halfway through college because the doctor stopped me. It seems that my hip joint was born bad. When I went to the hospital because of the pain, the doctor stopped me, and from that day on, I stopped skiing."

I wonder if I didn't hate skiing that I couldn't do it even if I wanted to.

“I hated skiing from the beginning.

So, I skied for the first time in a long time this season. Take the board you drew

Tanabe also says:
"I was surprised because I skated with Kanta for the first time in a long time. I was like, 'Oh, can you skate?'

I only met Kanta at a competition, and I had almost no experience skating with him, so it was a very strange feeling.”

Kojima continues.
“Skiing for the first time in a long time was really fun. I put on the boards I drew with my friends, skied, and talked on the lift
. I don't know if it's right for me yet.This year I skied with the goal of turning 360 in jumps, and I achieved that goal.I'm
looking forward to skiing in various ways from now on.I'm temporarily stopped by the doctor, so I used
to hate skiing, but when I think of people riding the boards I drew, I feel like I've done it all again (laughs).

Tanabe said,
"Let's enter another alpine competition next time. Why don't you make a nonsense ski club? I think we can definitely win."

After listening to them talk about the bright future of skiing, we finished our interview.

What is WAPAN, a brand originating in Japan?

There are 4 models in the board lineup. We have a wide range of boards that are developed in Japan to be easy to slide, and are good at skiing powder and parks. For the first order, you can choose your favorite graphic from camellia, daruma, and white tiger.

Instagram: wapanskis
Facebook: Wapanskis
web: http://wapanskis.com/

nonsense.

Instagram: nonsense.nnsns

Also, for two weeks from June 1st to June 15th, WAPAN and nonsense. collaboration T-shirts will be on limited sale.

Click here for reservations that are completely made-to-order and accept reservations from the online shop

Interview/Written by Daigo Onozuka, STEEP Editorial Department