Designer Interview - Yin Year designers Haruki Ikete & Kiwamu Hirasawa

We met the eyewear brand Yin Year at the Tokyo spring exhibition "Ramble 2025". Under the concept, "Your symbol, your memento, your legacy. We believe eyewear can illuminate our humanity and provide a new identity by becoming an essential component of you, not just an adornment—." the brand maintains a strong commitment to black frame colors and primarily uses celluloid materials.

In this interview, we had the privilege of speaking with Yin Year designers Haruki Ikete and Kiwamu Hirasawa about the story behind the brand's establishment, their preference for black frame colors, the reasons for choosing celluloid materials, and the inspiration behind their refined and artistic video productions. (Below: Yin Year "(Why not join us on this journey?)". Wearing Model YY C2-22.)

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— What is the meaning behind the brand name "Yin Year"?

Haruki: The brand name "Yin Year" combines two foundational words: "Yin" meaning "shadow" and "in year" meaning "year by year". It's a coined term created by joining these two concepts. We named it with the sentiment "Like a shadow standing by your side, accompanying you as time passes."

— You both launched the brand in 2019. Could you tell us about the background behind this?

Haruki: We met during our time at fashion college in Tokyo. We were in different classes, but since there were few male students at the fashion college, we spent our student life together—eating meals together and such.

After graduation, we each took different paths—I went into apparel, while Kiwamu entered the eyewear industry. Then around 2016, I reached out to Kiwamu, and that led to the founding of the brand.

— When you say you "reached out," do you mean you proposed starting an eyewear brand together?

Haruki: Yes, exactly. There was a reason why I wanted to create eyewear, but I wanted to work with Kiwamu, so when I asked him, he felt the same way, and that's how we began.

Actually, the story behind the launch of Yin Year started with an encounter with a certain woman. She was elderly, and she continued to meticulously care for her late husband's eyeglasses, keeping them nice and clean, maintaining them as if he were still using them. When I witnessed how she treated those glasses almost as an embodiment of her husband, I became deeply aware of the symbolic power that eyewear frames hold and their connection to memory and emotion.

Later, the woman passed away to join her husband. The sight of her friend crying in the hospital mortuary and the innocent expression of her young grandson present at that moment are deeply etched in my memory. The question of what scenery she might have seen if she had worn her husband's glasses has never left my mind.

Through this experience, I came to find special meaning in eyewear, which sits at the center of the face and greatly influences a person's impression. With the desire to create eyewear for those who truly cherish someone, the concept of Yin Year began to take concrete shape.

— Could you explain each of your roles in the brand?

Haruki: We both handle the design together. Beyond that, broadly speaking, Kiwamu manages production-related tasks, while I take care of PR and social media.

Above: Model YY C1-2 from "(Why not join us on this journey?)".

— Currently, Yin Year frames primarily use celluloid material. What's the reason for this choice?

Kiwamu: We're a brand that's particular about black frames. Within that commitment, the distinctive, nuanced black of celluloid has a quality that feels comfortable against human skin and can be used for a long time—we consider it an essential material. Additionally, celluloid's unique elascity provides excellent wearing comfort, and its resistance to deformation are also key factors in our choice.

— Where are your celluloid frames manufactured?

Kiwamu: When we first launched the brand, we worked with Okamura Eyewear Manufacturing in Chiba, a factory run by a single craftsman. However, after the craftsman passed away a few years ago. After visiting various factories in Sabae City, Fukui Prefecture, we found someone we deeply trust, and we currently work with them.

— One of Yin Year's major characteristics is the choice of black for frame colours. Could you tell us the reason?

Haruki: Eyewear sits at the center of the face. When we recall a person, the image that emerges is a fusion of their appearance and the atmosphere they project, which gradually becomes that person's icon.

The colour black, when placed on a person's face, doesn't compromise the dignity of that person's icon. Through curves and thickness, we believe it's a colour that can bring out a person's humanity. We chose black with the hope that the colour black alone could contribute to forming a person's icon.

Above: Model YY C1-24 from collection 2024 by Yin Year.

— When it comes to celluloid, is black just this one shade?

Kiwamu: For celluloid, yes, this is the one black shade.

— What's important to you when creating new frames, and where do you find inspiration?

Haruki: There are various elements, of course, but we begin designing by drawing from different cultural things and values within ourselves. When we ultimately request production from the factory, our criterion is whether the design enhances that person's icon—that's the judgment standard for the two of us.

Eyewear is a element that powerfully constructs one's exterior appearance. Starting from the desire to create a person's icon, we pursue designs that respect a person's humanity and their existing icon. Rather than frames tailored to specific ethnicities or bone structures, we pursue designs that leave a lasting impression while feeling natural on the face—creating an icon through design.

— Yin Year's brand videos have a distinctive worldview, aesthetic, and attention to detail. What do you particularly value in video and brand image production?

Haruki: Primarily, it's about the concept of life and death. We value the stance of thinking about and acting upon both living and dying, wanting to explore these concepts once again through our brand.

Above: Conceptual film 4 "落葉帰根 (translation: "falling leaves return to roots.")" shot in Taiwan by Yin Year.

— The video you created during your trip to Taipei, Taiwan around July this year was particularly impressive, almost like a documentary.

Haruki: Yes. Through interviews, we wanted to understand how people in different countries and of different age groups think about the concepts we uphold. We embarked on a journey to explore whether this way of thinking as a brand can be shared with everyone, and in Taiwan, we created a video in that interview format.

— It was a video that made you feel the atmosphere of the place —one that you would want to watch again after some time has passed, maybe after going through more experiences in your life.

Haruki: It's a long video (laughs). It requires power, or rather, stamina from the viewer. Of course, people don't have much time in their daily lives to engage with it. It's not just about eyewear, but the idea of life and death—re-examining how we perceive things, how we view family, and how we consider the concept of time.

For example, going to a movie theater to watch a film means forcibly turning off your phone and watching a movie for two hours. You can create the atmosphere and time to concentrate on watching the film and engage with it. But what a single brand like us can convey through SNS and YouTube is limited. If even a few people watch it, we hope we can communicate with them.

— The people appearing in the video aren't your acquaintances, but rather members of the general public, correct?

Haruki: Yes. We had initially discussed trying to find people we could meet in advance, but in the end, nothing was decided, so we went to Taiwan and approached people directly on location. But when you interview people—whoever you talk to—these perspectives naturally emerge. I believe that everyone carries their own view of life and death within them.

To interview someone means to truly engage with that person. Of course, technique is required on our side as well, but through that engagement, you can draw out their thoughts. In Taiwan, we interviewed many more people beyond those who appear in the video, and most of them had deep perspectives to share, so somehow we were able to give it shape.

— I found the video with contemporary dance titled "Reminiscence" shot in Hiroshima (Japan) to have a different approach.

Haruki: We shot in a location where you can see the opposite shore of the Seto Inland Sea, which is a scenery relatively unique compared to other ports. We conveyed the theme and sentiments to contemporary dancer Chiaki Horita, and she expressed them.

— Is the theme "reminiscence"?

Haruki: The theme is reminiscence, and this is also one of the promotional videos for our yet-unreleased new collection.

For the new collection, we're conscious of something like "innate beauty"—the aesthetic sense that humans possess. I believe there's something dormant at a DNA level, shaped by the environment we're born and raised in.

As a place, Hiroshima is significantly different from other locations in that it has a layer of memory of having once been flattened as a city. Contemporary dancer Chiaki Horita is also from Hiroshima and is now active worldwide. Shooting in Hiroshima held meaning for us, so we hoped to capture that layer of memory and expressed it through the theme of "reminiscence".

Above: Conceptual film 3 "追憶 (translation: "reminiscence")" produced by Yin Year in Hiroshima. Features contemporary dancer Chiaki Horita.

— Currently, your frames are made exclusively from celluloid material. Do you have plans to use other materials in the future?

Kiwamu: The pieces we've released in our main inline collections up until now have been primarily celluloid, but for the new models we're launching this winter, we've adopted acetate. We've also used acetate in some of our past limited-edition pieces and collaboration products.

Different materials allow for different forms of expression, so moving forward, we'd like to present work using acetate, metal, and potentially other materials—expressions that are uniquely Yin Year, things that only we can do.

— With acetate material, does black come in just one shade?

Kiwamu: Actually, there are many color variations available. While we're a brand that mainly focuses on black frames, there are various shades of black we envision, so I think it would be good to have color variations even within black in the future. The shade of black can differ quite a bit depending on the material's tone and texture, so I hope we can express that well through different materials.

— Where are the acetate frames manufactured?

Kiwamu: We're working with factories in Sabae for these as well. Additionally, we have a factory in Niigata Prefecture, so we also commission some of the production there.

— Please tell us about your future brand activities and vision.

Haruki: At the end of last year, we held our first overseas exhibition event in Taiwan, which was both energizing and a valuable experience for us. At the "Ramble" eyewear exhibition, there were many overseas buyers and shop representatives.

As Yin Year, we'd like to communicate our concept—"Your symbol, your memento, your legacy."—not just within Japan, but to people around the world.

In that context, when we conducted interviews in Taiwan, we focused primarily on the concept of "inheritance" within our brand philosophy. Through those interviews, it became clear once again that when it comes to people passing something down to others what's essential is "memory."

When we reconsidered what Yin Year could do as an approach to memory—what we could do as eyewear—we realized that when we design and deliver eyewear, the kind of new memory that becomes worthy of inheritance can't simply be passed along in that moment. So we asked ourselves: what can we do? We thought that if these eyewear pieces could serve as items that allow people to access certain memories when they look at them, that would be one way for Yin Year to approach people's memories. With that idea in mind, we created this Capsule Collection in limited quantities as Yin Year eyewear.

This connects to what I mentioned earlier about the new collection. When we talk about seeing something and finding it beautiful, or being reminded of something—for example, a sunset, though it may sound cliché, creates an emotional feeling. It can trigger memories: "who I saw it with," "where I saw it," whether painful or joyful memories. We tried that kind of approach this time, so we'd be delighted if everyone could see and experience it.

Above: Yin Year Capsule Collection model YY K1-25. Features acetate temples that evoke the imagery of a sunset. Limited-quantity model. Currently accepting orders, scheduled for release in November 2025.

Haruki: Also, as we've been running the brand for five years, we'd like to do after-care and maintenance for Yin Year frames—perhaps once a month or so—going forward. You can also experience the actual frames by coming to such events.

Yin Year develops activities across a wide range—from Tokyo, Aomori, Hiroshima, Nagano, to Taiwan, spanning domestic and overseas. They exhibited at the eyewear exhibition "Ramble" in both April and October this year, and at "Ramble 2025" held over three days from October 14th in Tokyo, they have announced a collaboration model with Japanese apparel brand "Name.". With their Capsule Collection project, new models, events, and more on the horizon, anticipation continues to build for Yin Year's future activities.

For Japanese article, click HERE

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Yin Year

Your symbol, your memento, your legacy.

Yin Year pursues the possibility of eyewear beyond an adornment.

We believe eyewear can illuminate our humanity

and provide a new identity by becoming an essential

component of you, not just an adornment.

Where does Yin Year come from?

Yin = "shadow", in year = "year by year"

We gave this name with the wish that we want to be

close to you like a shadow and walk with you over years.

Website: https://www.yinyear.com

Instagram: @yinyear

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CULTURE EYE Staff Afterword

We first met and spoke with Haruki Ikete and Kiwamu Hirasawa of Yin Year at the eyewear exhibition "Ramble" this spring. When we heard that they use celluloid as their material and black as their color, we were surprised and captivated by such a unique approach.

After viewing the brand images and videos on Yin Year's social media and website, we became intrigued by where their brand values, curiosity, and concepts originate from.

In August, we attended their pop-up event at the LIFE SOUVENIR STORE "MONDO" in Kiyosumi-Shirakawa, Tokyo. Seeing their frames in a space surrounded by Japanese-made apparel and jewelry, exposed concrete, and natural wood walls, deepened our experience of Yin Year's brand identity even further.

We are deeply grateful for the precious time they generously shared with us for this interview.

CULTURE EYE Designer Interview Series

This interview was conducted as part of the CULTURE EYE project, which introduces independent Japanese eyewear brands and their creators to the world.

Instagram: @cultureeyejapan