Kenji Kamiyama × Dr Monroe × TOM Collaborative Products to Be Released to the World! [1/2]

The key element to the story of director Kenji Kamiyama’s newest work 009 Re:Cyborg is the Angel’s Fossil. In response to the message portrayed in the film, director Kamiyama implemented a collaboration with the original jewelry brand Dr Monroe. To find out more about the details of this collaboration, the brand Dr Monroe, how these collaborative items were produced, and the significance of this collaboration, we talked with the representative director of Dr Monroe, Masakazu Ito.

TOM: How did this collaboration with director Kamiyama come about?
Ito: It seems to have been around the fall of 2012 when director Kamiyama talked about Dr Monroe in a tweet. The staff at the time came across it, and, also being fans of his, replied to it. That seems to be how it started. I myself have also seen director Kamiyama’s work and am a fan, but at that time, we still didn’t know that he was also a fan of Dr Monroe’s accessories. From that sequence of events, we were invited to a private showing of the completed 009 Re:Cyborg. There, we were able to talk with director Kamiyama. It seems that when a work is completed, something is always presented to the staff, and he expressed a wanting to make the current accessories based on the Angel’s Fossil.

TOM: So director Kamiyama first approached you then?
Ito: That’s correct. We were able to see 009 Re:Cyborg, and the Angel’s Fossil left a great impression on us, so we talked about certainly doing it. However, after talking together, we both became busy and had very little free time. Then, when we talked about it again, a bit of time had passed, so we decided to follow through with making the products.

TOM: I see. The collaboration was decided on because you both had free time. At what time did you hear that the Dr Monroe ring imprinted with the phrase “Winners Never Quit Quitters Never Win” had been a favorite of director Kamiyama since 10 years ago?
Ito: I remember seeing those words scribbled on a wall in a boxing gym in a remote area of America. I heard that director Kamiyama owned the ring when we met. Of course, those words having an impact on both of us may have been a coincidence.

TOM: Dr Monroe has many other accessories that are also imprinted with messages. What is the reason behind this?
Ito: Of course, even though we make accessories, there are things we want to convey. It’s a good feeling to have words that resound with us which we adopt into products also resound in customers who wear those products. When speaking of 10 years ago, I think it was a considerably difficult period for director Kamiyama. That’s why I am happy that Dr Monroe’s message made an impact on him.

TOM: So those aren’t just fashion statements by Dr Monroe, but also a wanting to convey positivity in a wearable form?
Ito: Of course, accessories are a part of the category of fashion. To say it roughly, they are things to decorate one’s outer appearance, and yet they are much more to people. I think they represent the personality of the person wearing them. More than being completed as designs or stand alone items, they are items that are complete when someone is wearing them. I think it is the mission of Dr Monroe’s accessories to help express outwardly what people are thinking. Of course, they are a part of fashion, so they change depending on the current trends. It’s natural for what people wear to change, but I don’t think those people’s way of thinking changes. Therefore, we bear this in mind to prevent our accessories from immediately becoming stale and also so they don’t become too decorative. To elaborate a bit more, I think they are something made for the future that can be passed down from parent to child, generation after generation.

TOM: So Dr Monroe uses those sort of important messages. When was the brand established?
Ito: Dr Monroe was established in 1990. However, at first, we solely made cute accessories for women. At that time, we were making accessories for ourselves and many customers were pleased with them. From there, we rapidly expanded to our current size.

**TOM: It’s very interesting that you grew to your current size because it was what customers wanted, isn’t it?
Ito: At the time, there was a boom in chrome hearts, and accessories that fit that sort of taste were being sold. However, many of the items were very extravagant and didn’t have designs like the simple ones that Dr Monroe creates. Therefore, I think we received support from customers because we made items that they wanted.

Sales of the Dr Monroe × Kenji Kamiyama accessories will begin on July 1 on the Tokyo Otaku Mode Premium Shop!
http://otakumode.com/tag/KENJI_KAMIYAMA

Designs were created with 3D software using director Kamiyama’s design illustrations. A detailed meeting was held to discuss the original 3D models of each wing and the design concept.
Designs were created with 3D software using director Kamiyama’s design illustrations. A detailed meeting was held to discuss the original 3D models of each wing and the design concept.
An illustration drawn by director Kamiyama
An illustration drawn by director Kamiyama
Based on the original picture the skeleton and each wing were modeled using 3D software. This work required one week and totalled 213 parts.
Based on the original picture the skeleton and each wing were modeled using 3D software. This work required one week and totalled 213 parts.
 
 
Kenji Kamiyama × Dr Monroe × TOM Collaborative Products to Be Released to the World! [1/2] 5
Kenji Kamiyama × Dr Monroe × TOM Collaborative Products to Be Released to the World! [1/2] 6
Kenji Kamiyama × Dr Monroe × TOM Collaborative Products to Be Released to the World! [1/2] 7
Kenji Kamiyama × Dr Monroe × TOM Collaborative Products to Be Released to the World! [1/2] 8
Kenji Kamiyama × Dr Monroe × TOM Collaborative Products to Be Released to the World! [1/2] 9
Kenji Kamiyama × Dr Monroe × TOM Collaborative Products to Be Released to the World! [1/2] 10
Kenji Kamiyama × Dr Monroe × TOM Collaborative Products to Be Released to the World! [1/2] 11
Kenji Kamiyama × Dr Monroe × TOM Collaborative Products to Be Released to the World! [1/2] 12

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