Many a designer will listen to music in the studio. Fumito Ganryu prefers to pull up videos about social issues all over the world. That said, he’s not one to plaster his beliefs on the back of a jacket or a message tee. Instead, they seep into his constructions and, sometimes, the material itself. To wit: for t-shirts, he borrowed a material called Spaore from the medical world for its well-being benefits, from improving bloodwork to posture (Ganryu and his team swear by it, he added).
“One of the things that inspires me is the people around me, wherever that is,” he said through a translator during a Zoom call from Tokyo. “In order to understand what the consumer wants, you have to have an understanding of social issues, and that will ultimately reflect to the consumers as well.”
This season, he tapped into his conviction that we live in a world where “fashion design is less focused on consumers than marketing.” So he put himself in consumers’ shoes and concentrated on cuts, removed extraneous details, and kept the colors to a discreet palette of earth tones. Drop-crotch trousers are a Ganryu signature, a bid for aligning comfort and fashion.
For fall, he revisited that shape in various materials, from soft pale pink sweatpants with an invisible zip fly, to denim and suiting. He also gave himself extra leeway by starting a new line; the Red line is the impulsive, “rebellious”—often asymmetrical, always inclusive—pendant to the main line’s “logical” approach to patternmaking. Finding a space to play was a big part of that decision, the designer said, adding that, with age, he’s noticed that he tends not to wear as many “out-there” clothes as he used to. Now, his base—whatever their age—has a choice.
While still traditional in shape, the main line’s tailored jackets and coats are stripped of traditionally masculine elements; though these aren’t presented as unisex, in Ganryu’s process they are. His accessories, too, have plenty of crossover appeal. A quilted down-filled scarf walks the fine line between functionality and fashion thanks to life jacket-style harness fasteners and two tiers of discreetly zippered compartments that can be either pockets to keep hands warm or a place to stow keys, phone, and wallet (it can also be folded into quarters and carried). A nylon bag made in collaboration with the Japanese bag brand Ramidus has a clever fold-over design that, with a change of strap fastenings, can expand to the size of an artist’s portfolio. A first collaboration with the Japanese footwear brand OAO resulted in water-resistant black leather sneakers with a fidlock fastener to tighten laces if needed. Those, like the t-shirts, speak to his process.
“I don’t want to just focus on designs that bring happiness to consumers,” the designer said. “I want to add another layer to that.”
