Aoyama Yoshinori
(FACTORY 900)

Mr. Aoyama Yoshinori is the designer and the founder of the eyewear brand FACTORY900.

Mr. Aoyama Yoshinori is the designer and the founder of the eyewear brand FACTORY900.

– Could you introduce yourself and your company, FACTORY900?

My name is Aoyama Yoshinori. I am a designer and the founder of the eyewear brand FACTORY900.

My grandfather created the Aoyama Optical company 85 years ago in Fukui Prefecture, Sabae city. Sabae is one of the leading eyeglass-producing areas in the world, along with China and Italy. Aoyama Optical is an OEM (Original Equipment Manufacturer) factory, which means it is specialized in manufacturing other companies’ products.

I joined my family business in 2000 and decided to launch our own eyewear brand under the name FACTORY900. Our factory eyeglass industry union member number (factory number) is 900. This is why I choose the name FACTORY900 for our brand.

As an OEM factory, we put our destiny in other people’s hands. I have seen us suddenly lose work from one day to another. I wanted to use for ourselves the technology my father created. Now, we control everything, from creation to manufacturing, to sales. FACTORY900 has 2 direct stores: one in Osaka and one in Tokyo. Overseas, we are now partnering up with 200 stores in about 30 countries.

I’ve also been doing a lot of collaborations. In 2013, I had a partnership with the Belgian brand Theo, and we launched together a design called Theo by 900. More recently, in 2018, I worked with Toyota’s Lexus and developed driving glasses. I think it is really important and interesting to collaborate with new people and companies, small or big. I can really learn a lot by doing so.

– I have heard you won a few awards. Could you tell us more about those?

The first award I won was the Eyewear of the Year, at the IOFT, an International Optical Fair in Tokyo. I actually received it for three consecutive years. After that, I wasn’t interested in this prize anymore, and haven’t joined the competition anymore.

There is an optical fair held in Paris called Sylmo d’Or. It is a major award, almost like the Academy Award of the eyeglass world. I really wanted to get it, and I did, twice, in 2013 and 2015. I was the second Japanese to ever receive it.

In addition, I also won the German iF Design Award and the A’ Design Award in Italy.

– What did it mean for you to win the Sylmo d’Or?

There is a reason why I wanted to win the Sylmo d’Or award. When my father proposed to my mother, he told her: “I will make the best glasses in the world.” I think that my father is a real genius when it comes to the eyewear industry. When I was a kid, I heard that all the time. Adults around me used to tell me: “Your father is amazing.” And I do think that his technical skills as an eyewear maker are the best in the world.

I wanted to get proof that we were the best in the world. Something tangible to leave behind.
This is why the Sylmo d’Or award was important to me. However, my ultimate goal is to make beautiful glasses, and I think there is no end to the research of perfection. I am still far from reaching that point.

– Where does your inspiration come from?

I have been asked this question a lot. I am inspired by our era. By that, I mean that inspiration comes from what I have lived through, what I have eaten, what I have seen, what I have felt, and who I have met. What I have experienced in my life shaped my sensibility. This is why I say that my inspiration comes from our epoch.

– There are 3 series: FACTORY900, factory900labo, and factory900retro. Could you tell us more about those?

I first started with FACTORY900, which has a very artistic aspect. It embodies whatever we want to convey, it is very free. The series factory900labo is more like a laboratory, it’s very experimental. I use this series as a way to try new things and research new ways of making eyewear. Finally, the series factory900retro has a more fashionable look.

There are so many nuances in each series, however, FUTURE is the concept behind them all. I’m calling it FUTURE, but what I really want to do is make beautiful glasses, and there is no end to this goal.

– Is there something reminding us of Japan in your designs?

There are no direct links to Japanese motifs or patterns in my designs. However, as I mentioned earlier, I am inspired by the world surrounding me. I spent most of my life in Japan, in the Fukui Prefecture. I have been shaped by my experiences there.

Fukui Prefecture is close to the sea, but the mountains are also right there. It is often cloudy and it rains a lot. But when it’s sunny, everyone gets so happy. It is a place where you can really enjoy the four seasons.

Since I was a kid, I have been playing in the rice fields. It is a beautiful place. The rice fields stretch as far as the eye can see, and behind them, the mountains. Colors are always changing there. You never experience the same colors twice. I think that my sensibility has been shaped by what I saw and experienced during those days. So even if I don’t intend to give my creation a Japanese feeling, people from abroad often tell me that they can feel Japanese influences in my designs.

– What kind of people can wear your glasses?

I want everyone and anyone to wear my designs. There are no specific types of people that can wear them. Even if there are only a few of them, I want people who encounter my glasses to be moved by them. I want my glasses to turn on a switch inside them. I call it « a beat ». Something that is moving their heart. I think that beautiful glasses are the ones that make here (show his heart) beat. I want people that have been moved by them to wear them.

TO STUDIO