Reflecting on 25 Years of "Graniph": From a T-Shirt Brand to a Global Graphics Company

Known for its lineup focusing on graphic T-shirts, "Graniph" celebrates its 25th anniversary this year.

In 2021, the company rebranded from a "design T-shirt brand" to a "graphic lifestyle store brand," offering not just apparel but a diverse range of items like fashion accessories and home goods. The company evolves with changing times to propose "a rich life with graphics."

This piece explores the company's past and future in tandem with the changing landscape surrounding T-shirts.

The Unchanging Belief in the "Main T-shirt" Since Its Inception

The beginning of "Graniph" traces back to its first Shimokitazawa store that opened in 2000. Three art-major university students launched it to bring art to the public. They offered graphic-printed T-shirts with the idea that a plain white T-shirt could serve as a canvas.

To encourage customers to "judge a book by its cover" by buying a T-shirt like a record, the shop was designed with a record store interior. Priced at 2500 yen for one piece and 4000 yen for a set of two, it made graphic T-shirts more accessible when the norm was around 5000 yen per piece. With its unique concept, affordable price, and diverse graphics, "Graniph" expanded its stores steadily.

Discussing the strengths of "Graniph" T-shirts, Ryota Edamura, who serves as Product Department Executive Officer, mentioned, "The philosophy of creating 'T-shirts as the main star,' rather than layers underneath, has been consistent since our establishment."

The standard T-shirt design is quintessentially tailored to fit Japanese body types, with minor adjustments made to match trends and innovations of the time.

Much thought goes into the materials and methods as well. Different threads are used for the neckline and body to prevent stretch. Further, different management systems control the thickness of fabric when using colored or white threads to maintain visual appeal and comfort.

There's also a distinctive focus on T-shirt colors to highlight the graphics.

"Particularly with white and black shades, we have our standards. Pure white, if ordered as is from factories, may turn out excessively bright like fluorescent lights, so we make detailed adjustments to ensure it suits daily life. As for black, by producing a darker than average shade, the graphic stands out more vividly," Edamura explained.

Original Designs Born from Intricate Story Settings

What specific considerations go into the graphics? The graphics on "Graniph" T-shirts fall into two categories: in-house original designs and collaborations with artists or companies.

For original designs, the process typically begins with an idea from an in-house designer. The team then engages in extensive discussions, meticulously crafting each character's settings and storyline until finalizing them into cohesive content.

"For instance, when creating original characters, designers start with ideas they consider interesting. These ideas lead to detailed character personas, including backstories, hobbies, and height," Edamura explained.

"With collaborations with artists or companies, it was common to release T-shirts only in one style. But from around 2010, we shifted towards presenting multiple items as a collection," Edamura recalled.

"The shift to an entire collection began with a collaboration with a picture book author, transforming Eric Carle's works, including 'The Very Hungry Caterpillar,' into products. As a brand offering a wide array of products for both children and adults, collaborating with picture books cherished across generations resonated beautifully, receiving great acclaim."

"Since around 2018, we started collaborations with renowned illustrators such as Ayako Ishiguro, and from around 2021, with Yusuke Nakamura. Through these collaborations with various creators, we have once again realized the importance of creating products that bring out the allure of vibrant art to the fullest."

Unique Collaboration Items with Global Brands that Only "Graniph" Could Create

In collaborations with companies and content, they work with popular game content and restaurant chains known and loved by many. "Our collaborations have a strong energy, so we always keep in mind to create unique ideas that no other company can provide," says Edamura.

"For example, during a collaboration with a popular game content, we carefully analyzed various aspects, such as which series is memorable, which monsters are popular, which scenes linger in people's memories, and which spells fans love, to construct a detailed story and design to express the game's world through graphics.

"In any case, the crucial point is to distill these numerous ideas into products that can ultimately be worn. Prioritizing only what we want to do can result in mere collector's items."

Among the many collaborations so far, including those mentioned above, there are numerous "collaborations that could only be realized by Graniph." Edamura attributes this to the "overwhelming love for the works."

"While our licensing sales team approaches potential collaborators directly, things rarely progress smoothly from the start. Nonetheless, by continuously conveying our passion and love for their works and brands with persistence and over time, we have managed to realize collaborations unique to Graniph. Recently, we have been receiving more inquiries from potential collaborators who resonate with our enthusiasm."

The Era of Oversized Trends & Increasing Inbound Demand: How Have Times Changed Around T-shirts?

Graniph, having presented a wide variety of T-shirts from original to collaborative designs over 25 years, reflects on how they perceive changes in T-shirt trends:

"The trend in sizes has been changing year by year, and for about three years now, oversized styles, once unthinkable, have become mainstream. Alongside this, since last year, we have been offering XXL sizes, expanding the variety of sizes available. In terms of graphic design, vintage-style designs have been trending for about three years, and over the past year, one-point designs have gained popularity at 'Graniph.'"

Moreover, there seems to be a shift in T-shirt buyers.

"While 'Graniph' still has a predominantly female customer base, male customers are gradually increasing. Before the pandemic, inbound demand accounted for about 5% of the total, but it has now risen to about 10%, and in some stores, it reaches 50-60%. The purchasing tendencies of inbound customers have also changed; items with Japanese motifs like traditional patterns or food used to be popular, but now, items featuring original characters popular domestically and collaborations using anime or manga content motifs are especially favored."

Becoming the No.1 Graphic Company Broadcasting IPs Worldwide

Since its founding, "Graniph" has continually embraced changes in market trends, creating playful items centered around graphics. However, a major turning point came with the rebranding in 2021.

"We revisited what unique value 'Graniph' alone could offer. After extensive internal discussions and customer interviews, we realized that the demand was not so much for T-shirts alone, but rather for the kind of excitement, communication, and cultural cultivation spawned by graphics.

"Considering these aspects and the lack of brands focused solely on graphics, we decided to move beyond T-shirts and aim for the realization of a 'rich life with graphics.' After rebranding, our first action was to expand the item variations. We streamlined hundreds of original designs and characters to about 20 types, making it easier for users to resonate, and we advanced content creation by instilling story elements."

"After rebranding, we at 'Graniph' are now aiming for global expansion. This March, we opened our first overseas directly-managed store in Taiwan. Eventually, our goal is to become the No.1 graphic company that shares our IP (intellectual property, including ideas and creations of value as assets) worldwide. We aim to enrich people's daily lives with things they love through graphics and to achieve a more fulfilling lifestyle."

While inheriting the mindset of our existing manufacturing process, "Graniph" has expanded its concept from graphics × T-shirts to graphics × fashion. With Japanese pop culture gaining popularity overseas, will our directly-managed stores abroad be successful? We are closely watching the trends of our Taiwan store.