Masahiro Yamada is an artist with a love, particularly for graffiti art. He is a successful Indie T-shirt designer and his brand, Absolutely Marvelous has continued to gain more attention not only in Japan but in the U.S. and the U.K. with GQ U.K. taking a very strong interest in his designs. While he has attained some great success the road to get there was not always easy and he still has much he wants to accomplish.
Born and raised in Osaka, Japan, Mashiro Yamada (Yamada-san) designs are a true reflection of the cool, playful spirit of the Kansai people of Japan. He learned how to make bamboo into a fishing rod from his grandfather as a kid. Little did he know this would be the seed from which his company would grow.
Simple drawings on paper were the humble beginnings for his designs, and then one night at a bar he got the idea of putting a design he saw on a coaster onto a T-shirt. The idea was that a picture on a paper or coaster can easily be thrown away, but putting your brand on a T-shirt allows people to see the brand more often. “My company name came from a cheap hotel I met a friend while traveling abroad,” he says. Masahiro always was an avid T-shirt collector, but he appreciated the product more when he decided to be a designer himself. While the idea and the motivation was there, it would be a hard road turning this dream into a reality as the financial cost for starting up the company was a bit daunting.
Drawing from his experience as a child working in his grandfather’s shop, Masashiro would teach this skill to friends, family, and various clients to earn money for the start-up of his company. He also hand made the screens for printing his shirts by collecting scraps and cutting material from trees. It truly was a grassroots beginning to the company.
Yamada-san’s perseverance and dedication paid off though. His designs have been embraced by many including performing artists as well as advertising agencies who have employed him for written designs, both with and without T-shirts. The designs have been on display at T-shirt exhibitions, and even in the film industry where he has even made the occasional appearance as an extra! There will be two movies coming out this year in Japan where Masahiro’s Brand will be on display: Rurouni and Samurai X. His designs will be worn by stunt actors in the movie and he is very excited about this. He also hopes maybe he’ll be a movie star someday as well (Haha!).
Masahiro’s designs are very diverse in nature, and all of them have a sleekness to them making them very appealing for everyone. One can see the array of influences from urban graffiti one might find in Los Angeles or New York to manga (Japanese comic book). The styles range from very simple to a complexity that leaves the viewer amazed and in awe of the craftsmanship. And it is no surprise someone who has built up a company from literally zero yen to a very successful business is full of such ingenuity.
In a two-front effort to help people out during the COVID-19 pandemic whilst promoting the Absolutely Marvelous, he designed facemasks for the homeless selling magazines and T-shirts to keep them warm. Normally when one is trying to take their business to the next level and gain more financial stability, giving away products would be the last thing on one’s mind, but Yamada-San is a very humble person and giving has always been in his nature. He says “I’m still not a success. While I don’t have my own store yet, I am optimistic it will happen in the future. I have many ideas that I am excited to share with the world, and I hope that one day my shirts will be worn by everyone all over the world, spreading good fortune to all.” You can find his T-shirts for sale at his store, creators’ markets/expos as well as social network services.
We at Occhi Magazine would like to thank Masahiro Yamada for his time, and perhaps there will be a future collaboration between our two great companies. Who knows!
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