Five Fits With: Ray Suzuki, Who Blends New York Expression with Japanese Tradition
Ray Suzuki is the founder of Chowa, a company seeking to change how Western luxury companies approach their historically wasteful packaging practices. Suzuki (whom I met through past Five Fits With subject Emilie Hawtin) was born in New York City, moved to Tokyo when he was four, and bounced back and forth between the two places after that. In Japan, he learned about traditional culture. In New York, although he says he’s “not really in the menswear world,” he would interact with the folks around his father, Engineered Garments founder Daiki Suzuki.
“I was definitely influenced by his community in New York. I would come visit all the time,” he says. “That was always part of my life, having both experiences.” After studying at New York’s Fashion Institute of Technology, working in tech, and starting a skin-care brand, Suzuki—now 30—founded Chowa. Below, we discuss bridging the gap between modernity and tradition, finding menswear much later in life despite having an industry legend for a father, and plenty more.
Fit One
Bespoke hakama by Y& Sons; turtleneck by Uniqlo; shoes by Crockett & Jones x Barneys New York.
Tell me about Chowa. How did it come to fruition, and what is it?
We make boxes called kiri-bako with artisans in Japan and provide them as a super-customizable premium packaging solution for luxury brands in the West. It’s a style of box making that has more than 300 years of history. I want to honor the great pursuit of excellence demonstrated by these generations of artisans. When you think about packaging in luxury in the West, it’s all about experience of unboxing. They do everything it takes to make you excited when you unbox, but when you take out what’s inside, the packaging intrinsically loses its value immediately. Whereas this box-making practice of kiri-bako starts with the idea that it has second life after serving as a packaging.
For example, once I wanted to make a tie box that was flat and rectangular. The artist said, “No, I don’t want to make it.” I asked, “Why?” He replied, “Roll the tie, and then make a cubic box so that the box can be reused again afterwards.” It’s not just the material that’s sustainable—they use a specific tree called kiri, or paulownia in English; it grows ten times faster than pine trees and most hardwood in the world—but the whole approach of what they want to produce. I have so many other stories like that of the ancient wisdom in this craft, and I really wanted to celebrate that in the West.
Fit Two
Jacket and trousers by Engineered Garments; turtleneck by Uniqlo; vintage belt; glasses by Cutler and Gross.
How do you apply these traditional techniques in a modern context?
Chowa, in Japanese, means pursuit of harmony. It’s not just the word harmony, but it includes the pathway in which you reach harmony—the constant idea of pursuing it. It’s one of my favorite words in Japanese. What I do with this practice is seek the essence of both cultures when I’m doing close cultural collaborations. What I always say is “A two-month-old idea in New York, made with 20 different languages in 30 different cultures, can be as sophisticated as a 500-year-old idea in Japan.” If I can find that essence of both contexts, and then put them together, there’s something really, really exciting. I don’t want to just bring traditional elements and toss it in a completely different context. It’s equally important to celebrate New York culture then find a way to harmonize it.
Are there any misconceptions, or even just a general lack of knowledge, of Japanese culture and ceremonies that you’ve observed from Americans and would like to straighten out in this interview?
Let’s say a tea ceremony is ten steps. What comes before the ceremony is a hundred steps. And what comes after the ceremony is 50 steps. The reason why certain utensils are being used in the ceremony is because of seasonality, or context, or location, or what kind of garments you’re wearing—all the things in harmony. How it’s perceived in the West is “Oh, I like that cute little tea bowl.” That is completely out of context, and it completely ruins the whole point of the tea ceremony. When I go back to Japan, traditional people from that community can be very, very closed-minded and say people outside of Japan will never understand, so we can’t do anything about it. That’s the wrong approach. I always say, “Why don’t we summarize those hundred steps into five steps and communicate that in a way that people can understand?” Then they will understand that there’s more to it. I go back to Japan and I say, “You can tell me about your craft and tradition, as many hours as you want, but when you're done with that, you have to listen to me talk about New York the same exact amount of time, because that’s the beginning of our collaboration.” If they’re not down to do that, I have no intention of working with them. That’s the only way to seek that actual cultural harmony.
Fit Three
Jacket by Engineered Garments; T-shirt by Good Work; trousers by Nanamica; vintage bandana by L.L. Bean; vintage belt; sneakers by P.F. Flyers.
Tell me about your first outfit.
It's called hakama. It’s like the tuxedo of Japanese culture. It’s used for ceremonial-grade occasions. For example, the coming-of-age ceremony when you turn 20 in Japan, called seijin-shiki, or for tea ceremonies or graduation ceremonies. But obviously I wore it with Crockett & Jones tassel loafers and a turtleneck. So it’s not the most proper way, but I enjoy that.
When did you first become interested in clothing and style?
That’s actually very interesting, because up until when I was in high school, because of my father’s influence, I despised fashion. I felt mainstream culture was everything. In all these different communities of nerdy fashion, I just couldn’t understand any of it, and I wanted to run as far as possible. Then I obviously became more interested. When I moved to New York—and I started to understand the full context of what my father was doing and experienced the community around that—that was when I was really starting to get more interested and started to ask my more fashion-nerd friends about all things that I’m obviously still learning
What are some influences on your style?
I have always looked up to a historical figure in Japan named Jirō Shirasu. He is known for being the first man to wear jeans in Japan—amazing taste in suit and cars, too! Definitely my father. My mother used to be a fashion stylist, so both my mom and my father had a very specific approach to clothing. They always had this personal story to tell for whatever they’re wearing. That’s definitely a big influence. When I put something on, I want to have a story that is directly connected to me and a personal connection to my pieces.
Fit Four
Jacket and sweater by Engineered Garments; trousers by Dries Van Noten; vintage bandanna by Etro; shoes by Crockett & Jones x Barneys New York.
Do you find any overlap between what you do at Chowa and how you approach your own style?
A hundred percent. Obviously in modern times, Japanese traditional wear is not day-to-day clothing that I wear. At the same time, to me, fashion culture and community in New York is as important as understanding traditional crafts in Japan—constantly seeking that depth and story, how a certain piece is designed. It’s definitely a similar practice of seeking the roots of a story, so I definitely see the connection there.
What lessons have you learned about personal style through Japanese style versus New York style?
New York is definitely far more expressive, in terms of people’s individuality. In Japan, although people are expressive, there’s a very strong sort of—I wouldn’t say playbook, but it’s like there are categories of people that are very united, which is great, but I don’t really belong to any of those movements. I’m not in the deep end of the menswear community. In that sense, I really am exploring my own way.
How have you honed your style over the years since you first became interested?
I’m constantly seeking my own style. For example, getting into suits is definitely something new for me. Friends are definitely a really big part of it. One of my closest friends comes from a family who makes suits. He’s really knowledgeable in menswear. When I was hanging out with him in New York, I learned so much from him. I’m also very close friends with Yudai, who’s my business partner.
Fit Five
Suit, Universal Language by Aoyama; shirt by J. Press; tie by Drake’s; shoes by Crockett & Jones x Barneys New York.
Can you remember your first significant clothing purchase?
Definitely the first time I made a tailored suit with Aoyama. It was quite an experience—choosing the fabric, measuring, styling. And you always make a mistake, and next time you want to address that. That’s something I remember very vividly. It took months, and when it finally came, I just remember the joy. That was definitely special. In terms of other day-to-day clothing, I’m very fortunate to have sample-sale access to Engineered Garments stuff. I’m very lucky.
What is your most recent clothing purchase?
The hakama from Fit One is my last purchase. I got it end of last year for a tea ceremony.
If you had to wear one outfit for the rest of your life, what would it consist of?
Probably my second outfit. Just nice pants, little baggy, comfortable but stylish, and a turtleneck, with a jacket. I dress like that every day. And I love this tasseled loafer. It’s crazy, because I have many shoes.
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