BEAMS is so good at collaborations, it literally wrote the book on them. Twice. With Sofia Coppola. No hyperbole: BEAMS is the greatest collaborator in the world, consistently demonstrating great taste with great product created with great (and sometimes bizarre) partners. No one sees it coming. No one does it bigger. No one does it better.

And Keita "Gonzo" Kobayashi is behind it all. Well, most of it.

Since joining the venerable retailer in 2015, Kobayashi worked his way up the ranks to become a menswear buyer in 2019. Since, he's helped mastermind killer collaborations ranging from BEAMS' world-conquering Arc'teryx series to last year's On collection. If you want to how this one Japanese retailer earned its title as the world's greatest collaborator, Kobayashi's the man to talk to.

And that I did, because the timing is only too perfect. BEAMS is celebrating its 50th anniversary in 2026 with a handful of excellent collabs that reflect the breadth and beauty of its oeuvre. BEAMS' team doesn't often give interviews but this is the perfect moment to talk up one of its most famous aspects.

As Kobayashi made clear during our chat, good collaborations are an art and a science. No one planned for BEAMS' "patchwork" Arc'teryx jackets or Mephisto merch to stir global cravings back when they were initially ideated. But they succeeded on their sincerity, reflecting the teams' earnest fascination with the product at hand. A lot of what makes BEAMS' partnerships work lies in how they rethink familiar stuff as all-new essentials, rescuing classic shapes from ever feeling staid. Timberland 6" boots turned into slip-ons! Levi's jeans made super-wide!

BEAMS collabs are great because they's wildly new and yet grounded in the real. You've seen all this stuff before. You've just never seen it so cool, so weird, so different. This is how BEAMS flits from leather doodads to camouflage officewear to GORE-TEX skate shoes without it ever feeling "not BEAMS." Because it is all BEAMS. Once BEAMS has its way with it, at least.

This interview was edited and condensed.

Summing up 50 years of BEAMS in product is a huge undertaking. How'd that come to be?

Fortunately, BEAMS has many opportunities for collaboration every single year but this year, our 50th, was different. We started by having a meeting internally with the buying team to discuss which brands should we work with and make a rough schedule for the year. BEAMS' buyer team always brings ideas to the brands [to initiate collabs].

How did you land on the ones that feel worthy of the big anniversary?

Well, as we always say internally, every single year is our anniversary year. [laughs] However, as I said, this is a bit different. Luckily, all the brands are doing more for our anniversary than they would for a regular year. Some of the projects I’m working on are very BEAMS 50th anniversary. The Jansport x EASTPAK collab was one.

BEAMS' collabs are based on our [mantra] “basic & exciting.” They are not TOO MUCH. [They have to be] just right. Every single project has meaning. We try to focus on each project at a time. For instance, with Jansport x EASTPAK, two competitive backpack brands getting together is exciting, but we used their the most iconic style as a base model [to ground it].

What makes a collaboration a "BEAMS collaboration?" Like, what's the BEAMS difference?

Respect to the brand, while trying to break the brand philosophy. The most important thing is that we have a great and matured relationship so that we can ask something unexpected. It can be rude to ask, but collaboration is always like that: Understanding what’s basic to them, and what’s exciting to them.

We always think about how we're gonna sell this collab and who we're going to reach. And we have to enjoy the move!

BEAMS collaborations are huge overseas. When you see them making waves, how do you feel?

Happy. And excited.

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