Teton Bros. livery

Since the brand was founded in 2008, we have been creating products based on the concept of "Functional Beauty."

In addition to the functional aspects of materials, patterns, and fine details, Teton Bros. coloring is an important element in creating Teton Bros. products.

How are the colors decided upon, with opinions from stores and users such as "earth tones that blend in with nature" and "colors that are unique to Japanese brands"?

In this column, we will introduce what the Teton Bros. staff, who are responsible for the coloring of all products, consider important when deciding on colors and the thoughts they put into them.

The most important thing to me about color is whether it suits the skin tone of Japanese people. I've never followed the industry's color trends, and I don't refer to order data that varies depending on the color. If I had to choose, I'd say it's the color I like.

The skin colors of people around the world, including hair and eye color, can be roughly classified into six types.

We Japanese have yellow skin, while Westerners have white skin. So it's only natural that the colors that suit our skin are different. Even if a color looks great, it often doesn't suit Japanese people. I first began to vaguely feel this when I was still wearing clothes from overseas brands.

I would choose my favorite color from the color variations available in the store, but when I actually wore them and skated, I often felt that the color didn't suit me or that it made my skin look dull. There was a big gap between the impression I got from the colors lined up in the store and how they looked when I tried them on. So I think that's the starting point of my color selection - trying to bridge that gap as much as possible.

In fact, when deciding on the color scheme, I used to often refer to the colors of kimonos and the color combinations of Japanese clothing.

I even looked into how to coordinate the twelve-layered kimono. The colors of kimonos are originally dyed, so there are no scientifically synthesized colors. The colors are taken from natural materials such as plants found in Japan, and over many years they have been adapted to suit the skin of Japanese people.

I was once given the advice, "Teton Bros. has a lot of dull colors overall, so it's better to add one bright color."

In fact, there was a time when we used to create bright accent colors from these, but recently we have become less particular about that. When we stock our products in stores, we leave the vibrant colors to other brands, and at Teton Bros. we focus on colors that express the world view of each season.

Deciding on the colors each year is a fun job.
But there are times when I struggle. At times like that, I try relying on trend colors or referring to best-selling data. However, if I allow that to influence me, there's a risk that I'll become biased in some way.

After all, I want to choose colors with as little sensibility as possible. So I just wait for inspiration to strike. If I keep thinking about colors and how to combine them, inspiration will always strike me at some point. It often happens when I'm taking a bath or right before going to bed.

What makes me happy about this job is when people say, "What a nice color" or "That's a typical Teton color."
Personally, the happiest moment for me is when people compliment me on the color.

Text by Junko Sakaguchi
Teton Bros. General Manager / Coloring
Snowboarder