This past Men’s Fashion Week in Paris, nestled in the 11th Arrondissement of the fashion capital, Tokyo-based magazine Sabukaru hosted their inaugural multi-brand showroom that featured independent brands from around the world. Though much attention during Fashion Week is given to the extravagant productions from massive luxury brands, events like these are essential for developing the next wave of designers. “It was always my dream to do a showroom,” said Sabukaru founder Adrian Bianco. “I always felt like having an impact in the fashion world behind the scenes was always something I dreamed about.” As Sabukaru has grown into a multi-faceted platform, originating from a blog he started almost eight years ago, Bianco feels like there is an opportunity to promote smaller designers that are moving the needle from the ground level. “Through our magazine work, I found so many designers and brands where I was like, ‘wait a second, why is no one taking care of them?’ So we put together a list of our favorite brands and put them in a showroom.”The brands all share a common thread distinguished by a devotion to unadulterated expression. While many smaller labels lean on commercial growth with pieces that are easily understood, the items at the showroom demonstrated thoughtfulness; garments that require effort and challenge both creator and consumer. “It shows the direction of our showroom. We showcase creativity, extraordinary creativity, because we have to; this is what makes fashion interesting." ARCHIVE.pdf was fortunate enough to attend the event and get a firsthand look at the work. As background music played, ranging from Japanese city pop to Aphex Twin, there was a certain openness and warmth in the air that truly thrives in these intimate settings. The event almost felt like old friends getting back together after years apart, excited to show each other what they’d been working on. Meaningful clothing depends on the cultivation of these independent networks, else the tangible, human element is swept under the rug. As Adrian mused towards the end of our conversation, “With these young designers, you’re buying a cultural universe, you’re buying a story, you’re buying a potential legacy. I feel like you’re buying what fashion is meant for.” Marked by their independence and innovation, the following designers and brands represent the next-generation of creatives that are shaping the future of fashion.
Heightened-Sense
From GT cars to gun design, Metal Gear Solid to the evolution of snakes into dragons as a journey of self-mastery, designer S is guided by mechanical complexity. Working out of his studio in LA, the force behind Heightened-Sense consistently pushes the limits of his designs with new shapes and materials. “Everything is done at a small-scale manufacturing level. We produce special assembly, hand finished products that are meant to last and age with time, not against it.” He’s spent the last two years working with a team in Japan to develop a new fabric textile known as “soft metal,” a three-layered fabric that places aluminum foil between cotton, maintaining a heavier silhouette while molding to the wearer’s body over time. “Wearable armor”, he calls it. “This was a big accomplishment to better translate the metal and armored silhouettes I drew inspiration from into wearable products, which birthed the product line ‘wearable armor’. I had to develop completely new pattern systems and construction around the attributes of this textile.” Each piece takes anywhere between 6-12 hours to produce.
Heightened Sense 2022 'A Snake Cannot Eat a Dragon'. Photographed by Yudo Kurita, Modelled by Emilio Ventura Velasquez
One of his latest experiments involved the use of a translucent leather that removes all pigmentation, leaving only the skin and veins visible. “I stumbled across a small piece of this leather and tested it with a tattoo machine I have in my studio. Once I confirmed that this process worked I had to figure out a way to get more of this leather,” explained S. After constructing the jacket, he worked with a local tattoo artist to develop the wildly intricate Irezumi imagery. “This particular piece inspired by the work of Fukushi Masaichi was aimed to feel as though it was the removed skin of a Yakuza member reworked into a contemporary blazer (Yakuza Skin Bla7er). The tattoo work alone took over 40 hours to complete.”Bianco referred to S as a mad scientist; there’s certainly a level of alchemy involved when one fuses such design-forward components with the playful spirit of Hideo Kojima.
Luca Hamers
Luca Hamers is always looking forward. Before fashion, the Dutch designer worked in sales and marketing, though he was always fascinated with visions of the future. “My biggest inspiration is my relationship with my grandfather who was a futurist for the city of Amsterdam, contracted to draft visions and theories of what the city might look like hundreds of years in the future and how we might prepare for that. Because of this at a very young age I was introduced to many dystopian science fiction theories… This futurist way of looking at clothes is something that I wanted to encapsulate within my own work. I owe my grandfather a lot and loved him deeply.”Hamers decided to enroll in Central Saint Martins, graduating in 2021. While most students at CSM are encouraged to explore the outer reaches of their creativity, occasionally to the point of frivolity, Hamers took a different approach. In his placement year, he worked for Aitor Throup, a formative period in the young designer’s career. “When I was at Central Saint Martins I developed this method of working where I would cut clothes and design them the same way that the sculptor might make a sculpture. We reserve a lot of judgment for clothes and kind of judge them on real world things; on functionality, image and a lot of other factors, whereas sculpture simply evokes emotion. When you see a sculpture there is no use for it- there's just a visceral reaction of “I connect to this” or “I do not”. My methodology for this is to create creatures in my sketchbook and allow the anatomy of these shadowy creatures to become the details and shapes of the garments.”
Lucas Hamers New Items, Photographed by Paul Bellon, Styled by Mo A.
In his placement year, Hamers worked for Aitor Throup, a designer with a shared appreciation of futurism. Hamer’s thesis collection was based on dark creatures that he encountered throughout his creative process. Their exaggerated forms, with oblong headpieces and padded shapes layered over one another, demonstrated a firm grasp of both conceptual and technical ability. Each piece from the studio engenders a rigorous process of testing and reworking until the prototype is almost perfect. This obsessive nature, while sometimes tedious, has earned Hamers a dedicated following from fans who appreciate his use of cutting-edge fabrics and techniques.The “Recluse Jacket,” released in collaboration with Sabukaru, is made with a waterproof mil-spec fabric and features a magnetic zip closure with external pockets. Don’t be surprised if some day Hamers is the costume designer of a great sci-fi epic.
Avalone
Designer Susumu Miura takes independence very seriously. AVALONE only sells their clothes online and in their Tokyo storefront, fully embracing the direct-to-consumer model. The inside of the store is split in half: one side functions as a retail and event space, where the brand occasionally hosts hardcore parties; the other side is the brand’s atelier, where everything is made by an older Japanese artisan with over 50 years of experience. It’s quite intimate.
Since the brand’s inception in 2013, Miura has focused on a core of well-made, functional clothing formed from the concept of “Futuristic Street Sportswear.” AVALONE furthers this approach with the use of new technology throughout the production process. “I think of AVALONE's 3D model as an analog 3D model. The 3d patterning of the framework, the mechanical arms, the cyborg feel of Japanese sci-fi anime from the late 80s. And I think it is somewhat challenging,” said Miura. Almost everything is done in black and monochromatic tones, lending the garments to everyday use along with their premium fabrics. “First of all, I take care of my own sensibility. I think it is important that the smell of my backbone is naturally expressed in the clothes; my backbone is the subculture that I have been exposed to since I was a boy,” explained Miura. There are traces of these hardcore and punk influences in the clothes, evident in each seam and stitched through the brand’s DIY ethos.
The Sugar Punch
“There may have been a time of prejudice, but now people around the world are beginning to realize the artistry and excellence of anime and manga.” Referencing the satirical cartoon magazine “THE JAPAN PUNCH” by British artist Charles Wagman in 1862, THE SUGAR PUNCH elevates the art from their favorite anime and manga with a focus on high quality construction. “We first and foremost respect the cartoonists who created the original works, and that is why we felt that the products we made should be as good as their works.”THE SUGAR PUNCH recently released a collection for “GANTZ,” A cult manga centered on the never-ending struggle to fight alien forces for humanity's survival. The brand also has created garments for the beloved “Ghost in the Shell” as well as the manga “Usogui.” “First, we examine the materials and select the best quality. Then we modify the patterns, find the right balance, and discuss with our craftsmen the mood we want to express and which technique to use for printing. We believe that through these processes, everyone's passion brings the clothes to life… everything is done by hand, including the dyeing and distressing of our products, allowing us to express the creativity and imagination of anime and manga goods, even though we are a fashion brand.”
Bagjack
Born amidst the cultural euphoria of Berlin in the 90s, Bagjack makes high-quality handmade bags and accessories, ranging from backpacks to their staple messenger bags. When bike couriers from New York arrived in Germany with messenger bags, they brought something completely new to the country. Founder Peter Brunsberg was inspired by the new form, punctuated by a crossbody strap and easy accessibility. The brand’s first production facility opened in 1997, and after years of experimentation with various materials the bags have evolved to include intricate detailing with hardware. Along the way, Bagjack has collaborated with some of the most innovative tech-brands: they with Acronym to create their ‘3RD ARM’ bags, notably the 3A-6TS, one of the brand’s most intricate messenger bags; they’ve also collaborated with Stone Island Shadow Project on a bag that morphs between a messenger bag, backpack, and suitcase.
Jian Ye
Bianco is convinced that Jian Ye will be the next generation’s Undercover; he may not be far off. From the beginning, the brand has incorporated an eclectic array of references: an early season used the Triads from Grand Theft Auto as inspiration, another built a “pig special forces,” with models wearing pig masks and special patches with pig snouts. Jian Ye’s most recent collection looked to Shaolin kung fu for inspiration, the lookbook featuring models in fighting stance with looser, more technical fabrics offering a sense of mobility.
Despite wildly disconnected references from season to season, Jian Ye is steadily building a cohesive creative universe. Behind the louder imagery of some collections, the clothes are clearly well-made and thoughtful. This season’s jackets use high-quality cotton fabrics with intricate pattern making and paneling, perforated with grommets and cinched by elastic ties. Noob, the designer of Jian Ye, understands the balance between the visual and tactile elements of fashion in an acute way, developing a unique aesthetic that proposes intelligent, wearable clothing.
ALIVEFORM
“Grown, not made,” reads the bio of the ALIVEFORM Instagram page. Ping, the designer behind the footwear brand, focuses on the intersection between nature and technology to push our relationship with fashion into the future. Inspired by organic forms and the evolution of natural lifeforms, Ping blends these references with the architectural process of 3-D modeling. “My production process is similar to that of typical footwear creation from ideation to sketches and building 3D models… Followed by the development stage where I would print and test out samples, in my case what is unique is that the 3D file would completely determine the end result. There is a very direct translation from 3D model to end product; there are no molds, no patterns or fabrics involved in the process.”The fashion industry is usually slow to embrace new technology, and the use of 3D modeling is still making its way into the production process. As the industry wrestles with the ecological implications of its practices, from unworn clothes piled into mountainous heaps of trash, to excess usage of water in making textiles, 3D modeling offers a new solution. “I do hope that we can take advantage of the technology in providing solutions for the potential problems that currently exist in fashion or in design, whether it be allowing us brands to take a more eco-conscious approach in production, to providing better wearing experience for customers.”
AGNES KRUEL
Agnes Kruel isn’t the first American expat to move to Tokyo and find renewed inspiration. Yet he’s managed to offer a new flavor of Americana, blending his roots in Atlanta with the vibrancy of Japanese youth and Otaku culture.“I don’t really take so much inspiration from fashion as much as I more so look to develop a stranger interpretation of a heritage brand. And typically a heritage brand, also, is a distillation of the cultures and values that inform it.” Since World War II, Japanese and American fashion have exchanged interpretations of the original Ivy League and prep aesthetic that Japan adopted from America. “I find Americana has always been a bit myopic in what it defines as Americana. I believe ‘Americana’ within visual arts should embrace its history and roots from an angle of historical materialism rather than merely via military garments and blue jeans. The history is much more colorful and robust and deserves much more.”
Agnes Kruel 'Diners in Domrémy', Photographed by Francisco Narciso, Assistant Art Director Nascarstarr
Agnes straddles both past and present; he’s well equipped with myriad historical references to literature, art movements, and movies, generating an intellectualism that evades much of contemporary fashion. His clothes offer vague allusions to these ideas, yet they embrace a disruptive pop-art sensibility. “I am far more interested in literature than I can say that I am into fashion. Of course, fashion is pertinent to the project but the modus operandi is to integrate the various literary references into visual language in a non hamfisted way.”
