Pelle Morvida Interview with Yoshimasa Hoshiba Part.II
Following Part.I of the interview with Mr. Yoshimasa Hoshiba, we will deliver Part.II.
Participated in the ``LEON'' editorial department at the enthusiastic invitation of Mr. Kishida
Participated in the ``LEON'' editorial department at the enthusiastic invitation of Mr. Kishida
It's just a coincidence, but I've been blessed with some great seniors. Then, when I went to Germany, there was an old man I always met at parties... We were always drinking at parties and talking about interesting things. Then, one day, someone asked me, ``What are you doing now?'' I replied, ``No, I'm in charge of fashion at Esquire,'' and he said, ``I see. You're extremely fashionable!''
Then, he said, ``Please come visit my editorial department sometime.'' ``Huh?'' I thought, and it turned out that the person in question was actually Mr. Kishida (Mr. Ichiro Kishida)*2, the person who launched LEON. So when I went to the editorial department, Kishida-san and Okubo-san*3 were there, and they said things like, ``Hey, you're hot!'' It's no longer a ``dry place'' (lol). Then, all of a sudden, he said, ``Hoshi, would you mind doing these six pages for me?'' Even though I was working for another magazine, I was asked to help with the front page of LEON. I was an employee at the time, so it's not normally possible. So, when I said, ``It's impossible,'' they said, ``No.'' I was told, ``I'll keep it a secret,'' but of course I couldn't say ``Okay.'' Even so, they were reluctant to do so and said, ``Just do it.'' So I had no choice but to create a page that actually received a great response. Immediately after that, Mr. Kishida said to me, ``You should come to our editorial department as soon as possible!'' So, at the age of 26, I participated in the preparatory issue of LEON.
*2 After launching a number of magazines at Sekai Bunkasha, he transferred to Shufu to Seikatsusha and launched the men's magazine ``LEON'' and the women's magazine ``NIKITA.'' Currently, he is the editor-in-chief of the monthly magazine "GG". *3 Kiyohiko Okubo, former deputy editor of LEON.
From then on, I was in charge of 60 or 80 pages per month by myself. I thought, ``Now I can do what I want,'' and created many hit projects. Three months later, I heard the phrase "popular old man," and one year later, I heard the phrase "a bit of a delinquent." That word was born, and LEON's style gradually took shape. Around that time, I started appearing on TV.
―That's when LEON's rapid progress began, and your own style began to be established.
I agree……. It's difficult to be fashionable if you overdo it, but it's not cool. I've started to think that there's something cooler than that kind of over-the-top flashy fashion. The style I propose, for example, in my first book, is a gray suit, white shirt, and black tie. He dresses just like a normal office worker, and doesn't wear any unusual fashion. It's basic and doesn't use any color. Of course, there are many twists and turns before arriving at this style. When I was around 30 years old, I tried a lot of different fashion styles, and it wasn't until I started cutting back on a lot of things that I finally started to form myself.
-This may be a little off-topic, but where does your desire to be cool as a businessman, which you mentioned before, come from?
It's been a long time. It's a very cheeky way to say it, but I was thinking, ``Why are Japanese businessmen so uncool?I want to make them cool somehow.'' When I go abroad often, I see a lot of cool older people there. Especially in Italy, ``fashion for mature adults'' is cooler. Kids are just kids, and adults are cooler. I guess it means that she has a tendency to admire adults more.
―But, when you were 26 years old, Mr. Kishida from LEON told you that you were “so cool”… He was really older, wasn’t he?
I think Kishida-san is about 20 years older than me. So when I joined LEON, I built the foundation for that fashion, and I feel like I changed Mr. Kishida's conservative style. Mr. Kishida didn't wear jeans at that time. However, I always suggested that adults wearing jeans, white shirts, and jackets were cool. As Mr. Kishida's fashion changed, he also allowed Girolamo*4 to adopt the same style, and he himself grew... I think LEON was created. Mr. Kishida and Mr. Jiro still talk about it, and they even appeared on a radio program.
*4 Mr. Panzetta Girolamo. An Italian who is currently active as a TV personality. Active as a model at LEON.
Leaves LEON and launches “OCEANS”
―So, since you have been active in LEON, you have expanded your field of activity more and more...what has happened since then?
When the words ``popular'' and ``badass'' became popular in LEON and started to spread, I would go to Nishiazabu, open two buttons on my shirt, drink champagne, I started seeing a lot of "old men" with jackets, and I felt a little cold when I saw them. Then, there were three people working under Mr. Kishida at LEON, Mr. Okubo, Mr. Ota*5, and myself, and someone said to me, ``We're going to invest in you guys, so please create a completely new magazine different from LEON.'' Give it to me!'' I was asked... I can really say it now (lol). That's hundreds of millions of dollars...
*5 Mr. Kiyohiko Okubo. He worked on ``LEON'' with Mr. Hoshiba, and currently serves as the editor-in-chief of ``OCEANS.''
-That's an amazing story.
That's why it seemed like they were rebelling against LEON. The top three members who were making the most magazines said, ``Sorry, Mr. Kishida, but I'm quitting,'' so the magazine became a weekly magazine. Our names were written all over the place. Despite all this, I launched ``OCEANS'' about six months later.
I thought it would be impossible to create a magazine similar to LEON, so I decided on the concept of ``cool even if you have children.'' So, the advertisements in the first issue were 300 million. Perhaps that record has not yet been broken.
I did OCEANS for 5 years. But as I kept doing it, my style gradually became more casual. I don't dislike that style, but at a certain point I quit because I wanted a more mature style. I wanted to create something that was consistent with my own style, so I published my own book, had it serialized in women's magazines ``STORY'' and ``Domani,'' and published works in ``Nijiiro Jean'' and ``Nijiiro Jean.'' He started appearing on TV shows like "Hirunandesu!" a lot.
