Read below.

Takashi Imai

First of all, the naming originates from my own name.（Takashi Imai）
 
About TIMAI PHILOSOPHY:

10 years passed since I started making shoes. A few years ago, some subtle changes occurred inside of me. To trace the matter to its origin, speaking frankly, I lost interest in what I was doing. From a different point of view, I could say that I started seeing things that I didn’t see before. I also realized that I was only seeing things in a very blind way.
 
In the past, my creative method for shoes was surely based on an HIP HOP approach. Cutting the original sound source (inspiration) and pasting them together was in other words the same method as ‘sampling’ or ‘remix’. I truly believed that this would overthrow the existing values and create new values. As a result, I began to be immersed in such work.
 
However, in the past few years, I started becoming blind to the real nature of such work. No matter how much you knead around something that has been around already, it will never become original in true sense. No matter how hard I struggled, I realized that my soul would never attain self-fulfillment. It was as if this was a puzzle game and I was just a ‘gamer’ playing the game of shoe creation.
 
As the years passed, my crave for fundamentality increased more than simply enjoying the game. It was surely an aspiration for ‘originality’. How would I convert my self-expression into shoes creation? How would I completely express my inner projection? As I came to realize this, I started to attempt reconsidering the basics of shoe creation.
 
When thinking about the ideal form of a shoe, the first thing that came to my mind was ‘comfort’. It had to be easy to wear and intuitively comfortable. And most of all, it had to have an added original concept. How would I be able to drive in a wedge to the universality that a shoe carries? With this in the forefront of my mind, I decided to establish my new shoe brand.
 
A boundless horizon without imitation. Repeated confrontation with myself. Establishment of self-expression in order for ‘me’ to be ‘myself’. Endless trial-and-error, but the adventure of creating my own shoe continues forever.
 
How did you become a footwear designer?
 
I started out as a shop staff, and then became a buyer, shop director and from 2000, with an urge to produce sneakers, I started out learning by imitation. As soon as I started out, I was enchanted by the profundity and fun in shoe making and decided that this was going to be my lifework.
 
What can you tell us about the concepts presented on your collections?
 
That is a question I get all the time. People ask me ‘Why a squid?’… In the process of shoe making, my main thought was to make a shoe in a basic and minimal design whilst trying to see if I could integrate something soliciting within a simple structure. I am not pure enough to make a simple presentation of a simple thing. Without having some sort of twist to my creations, they would have sunk into oblivion among countless products in the market. So, I wanted to go back to the basic roots of a shoe, which was ‘comfort’ and firmly establish the basic parts of shoe making.
 
I spent a lot of time being afflicted with a proposition of how to express this part. Simply saying that the shoe was comfortable didn’t have an impact and there are countless shoes alike. Furthermore, there is a presupposition that comfort in a shoe is something ordinary. It was then that I realized that the shoe needed to have an added value which would make people want to wear it, and actually try it on.
 
I started asking myself if I could incorporate a sort of fantasy in ‘comfort’ itself. What would be conceivable comfort? During the development of the shoes, I realized that adding a squid’s acetabulum to the insole created increased comfort. The question was how to express this for solicitation. Thus leading to the creation of the following copy; ‘Reproduction of that feeling when you step on a squid with your bare feet’. This was an unrealistic approach and of course no one (well, maybe a few) have this experience. But this copy creates a situation where the mind enters a blank area creating an unexplainable interest towards trying the shoe on. A very mysterious feeling implicates the mind, and this of course is the world of fantasy. If declared, that becomes the stereotype and that outlook becomes so strong that people will start craving the experience.
 
I selfishly convicted myself to believe so and started my challenge to produce a comfort shoe pursuing that feeling of stepping on a squid. I actually did presentations like this and the reaction from people who tried the shoes on were very incomprehensive where they would comment that they had never actually stepped on a squid, but understood that ‘this’ is what I meant. In other words, the story progresses based on a presupposition about how it feels when you step on a squid. This of course is mainly a work of creation and in the margins outside of reality, lays such stories. There is no need to have any scientific basis for solicitation towards a person’s sense. Expanding the interpretation of the word ‘comfort’ itself and adding fantasy to that, allows for intuitive amplifying towards the fun of wearing a shoe. That indeed allows for oneself to appreciate the true charm of shoe making.
 

 
Most of your shoes are really disruptive, namely in terms of design – what can you tell us about that?
 
I haven’t learned shoe making to begin with, so I just throw in whatever derives from my rule of the thumb into the designs. Repeated destructive creation is the very thing that opens the door to the next stage.
 
What are your main inspirations when creating a new shoe?
 
I gain information from various things and then I digest all the information once by myself and pursue originality in my own way.
 
What about your views of the future of the footwear industry?
 
I think that big enterprises will certainly lead the industry, but I can’t help but keep my expectations that some shoe creator that can draw the line between such enterprises and aim for a counterpunch. I think that even under a small capital, there will be more and more independent companies who will be able to maintain business while at the same time being able to emit individuality.
 

Timai disclosed a promotional video of its most recent collection.

The Japanese brand, recognized for its fracturing designs and innovative style approaches, presented its Autumn / Winter 2013 collection weeks ago.

The visual journey led by the creative mind of Takashi Imai continues to take the brand way beyond the regular fields.

Take a closer at Timai‘s Autumn / Winter 2013 collection on this link.
 
 
 
 
 
 

The quest for visual euphoria is like a fifth sense for all those who treasure the difference. Since 2012 that Timai has been presenting footwear collections that are remarkable journeys, sometimes as if whole concepts were being reestablished.
 
The new Fall / Winter 2013 by Timai is a new chapter on that everlasting innovation ride. The brand founded by Takashi Imai finds that exploration is the ultimate path to visual glory. In come models such as the Shuki, or the Sensan to better prove that theory.
 
With its avant-garde approach to both visuals and material usage, Timai sets some new standards.
 

 
Find out more about Timai.
 
Images: Shoesmaster
 
 
 

Timai is back. After delivering a remarkable collection during the second semester of 2012, the Japanese brand has delivered a new set of shoes and sneakers.

The Spring/Summer 2013 collection features shoes made with all premium materials, surprising color combinations and exuberant design.

Timai is a Japanese brand founded by Mr. Takashi Imai.
 

Images: Timai

Timai is making its holiday season comeback with the release of the Choguy, a boot that is bound to disclose some new meanings to the significance of blending work and outdoor footwear concepts.

The Choguy gets its main inspiration from the classic trekking boots conceptions, but takes a leap forward with an individual style approach.

Last August, we had the privilege of first presenting Timai, a Japanese brand signed by Takashi Imai.

Walking just has to keep on being an experience.

Via KicksLab – mita sneakers

The Fall/Winter ’12 collection of Timai is a visual space trip. The gallant color tones, the quality materials, the minimalist agenda, are all fused together to bring on a unique selection of footwear.

Leather, nubuck, and canvas are some of the materials used to manufacture these grand pieces.

This is a brand with the signature of Takashi Imai.

Take a further look.

Visit Timai’s official website.

Images: Timai