Kozaburo Akasaka has an independent streak, which is embedded in his namesake label’s DNA. It’s why he chose not to present this season, despite the success of September’s Chilean rock show, and why he found himself revisiting two lifelong inspirations: Bruce Lee and Michael Jackson. “It’s an homage to my heroes,” he said during an appointment at his Bed-Stuy studio. Akasaka pointed to the collection’s focal piece, a green silk sukajan with Ancient Greek sock and buskin masks subtly twisted to recall each icon’s face. “They had their own vision and took it through their artwork and also their life. That encourages me,” he said.
This handsome shade of blueish green flitted throughout the lineup and was a new hue for Akasaka, picked for its resemblance to the natural tone of oxidized copper on his signature shirt closures. It looked great on a collarless wool kimono jacket and flannel-ed wool shirt, bringing a new texture and tone to the story. Akasaka’s favorite addition was a stretchy knit stocking cap, whose extra-long tail could be wound around the neck like a little bandana. Great fun with crowd-pleasing potential.
Salable items included those hats and a cool tracksuit with emotive calligraphic swirls running down their stripes. Akasaka also partnered this season with Kurabo, a Japanese manufacturer that is able to take the sustainability practices at core of his work and evolve them. Specifically, Kurabo takes the scraps of denim that are cut away in production and respins them into cotton fibers to be used again. Until now, Akasaka had done so by hand, creating his stunning sakiori woven jeans as a conceptual project. Kurabo’s result: very fine black denim bootcut pants and many saved hours, which means they can be brought to scale.
“Mottainai is a Japanese mentality to convey a sense of respect over wasted material and labor,” read the tag. Here is a designer who puts sustainability into quiet practice, rather than wave it about blindly to promote his brand. Perhaps a little too quietly, in fact. Design like his deserves to be shouted about.
