Gola, the classic British trainer with an illustrious football heritage, is touted to make something of an imminent comeback. Time will tell.

“Gola, the original British sports brand has launched a collection of colourful trainers. Create your own individual style with a variety of exciting colour options designed to complement your fashion wardrobe.

‘Kiss’ & ‘Key’ are low profile options, incorporating a football inspired outsole, with a leather upper and a nubuck wingflash. Both trainers feature an innovative ‘1905’ branded heel plug and come with a choice of two colour co-ordinated laces.

‘Kiss’, a leather style incorporates suede trims and is available in white/black, white/teal/lime, white/lime/damson and white/orange/teal. ‘Key’ a suede option is available in beige/pink, powder blue/red/pale blue, red/pink & brown/powder blue. “

“Team Airwalk’s Pro-Surfer Josh Mohr will compete in the 42nd Annual Easter Festival April 13-16 in Cocoa Beach, FL. Josh will be exhibiting his style and quality of surfing in front of huge crowds of spectators. Josh, show the East Coast how it’s done!

The Evolution of Boardsport Culture - Airwalk’s Fall 2006 Brand Campaign-Collective Licensing International (Collective) announces the launch of Airwalk’s Fall 2006 ad campaign, “Escape from New York.” Airwalk, founded in 1986, has always led the evolution of boardsport culture and fashion. Now the brand is once again headed into new territory by mashing together boardsport culture with the urban cool, youth style and international flair of New York City (NYC).  The hectic, concrete urban settings in and around NYC create a visually stunning contrast to the laid-back, casual, West-coast vibe of the Airwalk brand.  

In an effort to create a new standard of visual excellence, Collective partnered with Los Angeles-based photographer Michael Muller. Muller has worked extensively with some of the best known actors and musicians, in addition to shooting campaigns for brands like Dita, Nike and MTV and most recently the Academy Award® winning “Walk The Line” and the soon to be released “X3.” Airwalk’s professional athletes were used throughout the shoot to demonstrate the merging of youth culture and action sports with the intense heartbeat of a major metropolis.  The campaign was shot in several locations over three days.  Backdrops included the famed Autumn Bowl in Brooklyn, skateboarders hitching rides from taxi cabs in Times Square, surfers searching for waves on the Hudson River in a snowstorm and snowboarders trying to escape the concrete jungle of Manhattan on their way to nearby mountains. 

“Airwalk has always had brand equity, but the opportunity to illustrate the brand’s spirit through these evolving visual stories each season creates a powerful community and propels our consumers to wonder what’s next,” explained Jeffrey Buice, creative director for Collective Licensing International. “‘Escape from New York’ gives us the opportunity to showcase the boardsport culture in a more mature and fashionable manner, bringing the brand to new heights and propelling our global brand presence.”

The “Escape from New York” Airwalk campaign will hit stands in multiple action sport, lifestyle, music and fashion titles in support of the Fall 2006 season, beginning in June 2006.”

So when’s the greatly anticipated Billionaire Boys Club clothing range going to finally hit the high street in meaningful quantities. There’s been so much hype-and-burn surrounding Billionaire Boys Club for so long, fans are now starting to suffer from fatigue. Billionaire Boys Club has all the credentials to be an amazing success with Nigo, Mr Bape, and Pharrell Williams, Mr Cool, the guiding lights. That said, if mere mortals can’t buy the clothing it’ll remain nothing more than a mere fashion mirage.

Acne Jeans is a brand at the vanguard of the Viking fashion revolution. Acne Jeans has Pan-European respect for their uncompromising approach to innovation and individuality:

“Acne Jeans unites innovative jeans styles with a versatile wardrobe for men and women, ranging from basic cotton T-shirts, to tailored jackets to luxurious accessories and shoes. While every collection forms a concept, each piece can be worn separately and effortlessly be mixed with other brands. By designing simple, functional clothes Acne Jeans aims to create a modern framework for individuality.

As a part of the creative collective ACNE, the label started in 1997 when the company designed 100 pairs of jeans distributed to friends, family and clients. Soon, several stores and boutiques wanted to carry the line, much to do with the characteristic bright-red stitching on raw denim. From these humble beginnings Acne Jeans has developed into a renowned jeans.

The first ‘real’ collection was launched in 1998. Since then Acne Jeans’ Creative Director Jonny Johansson has worked with a strong design team to create a strong identity for the brand.

In 2003 the company opened their first Acne Jeans shop in PK.huset in central Stockholm. A second store opened in central Copenhagen in December 2004. The label is also represented through more than 200 retailers in Scandinavia, Germany, the Benelux countries, Italy, UK, US, Canada, Japan and Hong Kong. Among the well known stores that carry the collections are Colette in Paris, Harrods in London, Louis in Antwerp, Andreas Murkudis in Berlin, Jeffrey in New York, IT in Hong Kong and NK in Stockholm.”

Denimbirds, the ladieswear brand from Sweden, is making the same Viking splash as their male counterpart, Nudie Jeans. The Denimbirds philosophy is to empower women with a sense of independence and self-love. A laudable philosophy for sure!

“The Denimbirds collection doesn’t follow any specific trends, nor has it anything to do with fashion or effects. Far from the half naked models in glossy magazines there is an ambition to create clothes for individuals rather than objects. Denimbirds is made for all females who like and accept their own bodies and prefer to dress like individuals, rather than following the skinny preference beauty.

For John Lennon, Yoko Ono was a real bird - independent, strong and with a free spirit. This was also the original meaning of the word when mentioned in the 60’s pop songs. It’s all about having a true bird’s attitude.

Clothes should be fun and creative, a way to feel free in body and soul. Denimbirds is made for all of us who love pure denim.”

Pepe Jeans London is pleased to officially announce British actress Sienna Miller as the face of the brand for the next two years.

“We wanted a strong, positive, female British figure to head the advertising campaign as the brand enters its thirty third year and strongly believe that the choice of Sienna Miller was the right one, and ties in with our heritage as one of the only true British jeans brands in existence” (Carlos Ortega - Managing Director)

The campaign images have been beautifully captured by photographer Mikael Jansson, shot on location at Paradise Cove, Malibu, California.

The concept behind the images is inspired by ‘And God Created Woman’ starring Bridget Bardot and Curd Jurgens directed by Roger Vadim. Male model featured is J.R. Gallison.We are looking forward to a successful working relationship.

British Denim giant Lee Cooper launches the debut collection from its first ever premium range: Platinum.

Drawing on all the experience and heritage of the oldest denim brand in Europe, Lee Cooper Platinum showcases a high fashion men’s and ladies’ capsule collection focusing heavily on washes, fits and materials appealing to younger consumers of directional casualwear.

World-renowned denim guru, Tim Browne has been brought in to oversea the brand. Available exclusively to a strictly limited and handpicked number of retail stores.

From Taxi Driver to BIG STAR

Spirit, creativity and an unbeatable idea – that’s what real big stars are made of.

Case in point: the Faeh brothers, founders of the BIG STAR brand and stars of a classic rags-to-riches story. Flashback to Basle, 1971, where we find them struggling as part-time taxi drivers. A stroke of luck: a customer needed to go to Paris. Once there, one of the Faeh brothers visited the flea market and promptly invested the fare n some patchwork jeans. Back in Basle, these jeans soon became a hit, turning BIG STAR into Switzerland’s first-ever home-grown jeans brand. The focus was already on out-of-the-ordinary jeans for the true individualist – in those days they were bleached in the brothers own bathroom. Today, more than thirty years later, this one-time cottage industry has grown into one of Europe’s largest jeans and casual wear companies, with a presence in 33 countries around the world.  

For years Prada Shoes where considered by many as the unrivalled elitist off-the-self footwear. Today, however, Prada Shoes has a serious rival - introducing DiSanto Shoes. DiSanto shoes are made in the same Montegranero region in Italy as Prada and have quietly established themselves as the luxury shoe brand of the rich and famous.

DiSanto shoes are so comfortable they are reputedly worn by a long list of professional footballers who demand not just unrivalled comfort by style too. The DiSanto collection includes a radical Main line, innovative Sportiff line and revolutionary Driving Shoe line. All in all, DiSanto shoes are forecast to surpass their illustrious rival in the coming seasons. Watch this space, as they say.

Style, Comfort and Kudos, that’s what you get when you buy a pair of Lacoste Trainers. The Lacoste footwear collection has increased exponentially over the past few seasons. The three current footwear lines include: Club, Sportswear and Sport. All three lines exude Lacoste style and of course carry the Croc.

Club is the more formal of the three lines, or as “formal” as Lacoste can possibly be. The Sport is a casual and utilitarian line and the Sportswear is a more dynamic and athletic line. Despite these nuances, all three lines have the common denominator of Lacoste’s world-renowned style, comfort and kudos.

Many fashionistas attribute the term Transatlantic Maharishi to the Da-Nang label and it’s not difficult to see where they’re coming from if it wasn’t for the fact that Da-Nang is a West Coast label based in California. That aside, the comparison between Da-Nang and Maharishi is inevitable; both labels produce High-Fashion casual-chic garments with an Eastern edge and of course the loose fitting pants adorned with incredible embroidery are another area of common ground between the two upscale labels.

Although the obvious comparisons between Da-Nang and Maharishi are valid, to attempt to diffuse the uniqueness of each label is misleading. Each label has it’s own strong and unique identity. The following is Da-Nang’s:

A sojourn of style that had its origins in French colonial Vietnamese art and civilisation found its way to California, thanks to a collective dream to create a fashion statement based more on culture than cliche. The vision, inspired by colour, sights and artistry centred in the city of Danang, Southeast Asia’s cultural hub, soon spranf to life in the form ofan eclectic clothing collection.

Da-Nang, which emerged in January 2003, initially took flight through some witty pieces with military fits and eye-catching embroidery details. However, the design team recognized the line had a greater life of its own beyond the trend that launched it into prominence with celebrities and Fashionistas. What Da-Nang is all about now and in the future is body-flattering silhouettes, enlivened with a wide spectrum of vibrant colors and a mixture of fabrics. With the California-bred notion of dressed down elegance fusing with both European and Asian-inspired charm, the subsequent collections for men and women surface as Bohemian, comfortable and vintage in the best possible ways - as if you owned these pieces your entire life!

HISTORY

In 1949, Kihachiro Onitsuka established Onitsuka Co. Ltd., the forerunner of ASICS, with the goal of promoting a sound and healthy Japanese youth through sports. At that time, Onitsuka was known as the first specialized maker of gym shoes in Japan. He regularly spoke directly to sportspeople and their coaches in order to develop the best products possible. The shoes have played a part in just about every marathon and Olympic Games since 1951 and have been worn by victorious athletes such as Lasse Virén and Toru Terasawa. The famous Tiger ‘stripes’ are synonymous with sporting triumph.
 
COLLECTION

Today, Onitsuka Tiger is known as a legendary and innovative Japanese sports brand. Based on original sports shoes from many disciplines, the footwear collection brings together traditional methods with contemporary designs. Twenty-five years of experience in designing sportswear have also resulted in an apparel collection where elements of Japanese tradition have been fused to create apparel products that exude individuality. To add that finishing touch there is a collection of accessories complementing Onitsuka Tiger footwear and apparel with designs that reflect the innovative spirit of this legendary sports brand.
 
HIGHLIGHTS

The Autumn-Winter 2006 Collection of Onitsuka Tiger sees the reintroduction of iconic shoes that spearheaded Japan’s own jogging revolution. The art and design of Faile also adds some striking iconography and a unique style to the shoes, whilst the Sekka-Monyou snow crystal theme gives the collection a touch of traditional Japanese beauty.

More and more exclusive designer fashion stores are clocking onto one of Italy’s best kept denim secrets. Take-Two are a low-profile premium denim brand with all the innate style you’d expect from a thoroughbred Italian label. Although firmly entrenched in it’s Italian roots, Take-Two, paradocially, has a global spirit which is reflected in it’s recent Mexican-inspired collection. If you’re looking for a good alternative to your Diesels, Take-Two jeans could be the answer.

FLY WHO?

Targeted at the global fashion market, FLY London footwear is uncompromising in its styling and design. Born in 1994, from the very beginning FLY’s design philosophy has been to create original fashion shoes using traditional construction techniques in an unexpected way. The sole designs, constructions and uppers, help keep FLY at the forefront of fashion. Their continuing aim is to create a global fashion brand available in leading fashion outlets worldwide.
 
LINES

Elegant but funky lines bordering on the eccentric! Their Fickle and Blunt Lines, as a nod to the victorian (FLY version) styling they have used formal antiqued leathers and a wallpaper print lining. These shoes are about as dainty as FLY will ever get. A sixties feel at Delight Line. The wedge heel makes them stable and comfortable but they have a graphic modern flavour which is far from the mundane!
 
VISION

Tramp, Radar and Elixir new lines introduces a mens more formal look to FLY London. Styles that take inspiration from architectural shapes but with a contemporany design twist.

The jeans with the “Jack” are back - and back in a BIG way!!! After something of a sabbatical the innovative denim brand is building up to a fresh grand entrance onto the premium denim stage and every denim lover from London to Los Angeles is waiting with bated breath.

Hudson Fine Tailored Jeans may hail from sunny California but they have all the grit and character of a true Brit and this is validated by the use of the Union Jack as the Hudson Logo. Hudson’s heavy stitching and signature back flap pocket make Hudson Jeans some of the most sought after jeans on the market.

Hudson is definitely one to watch.

By Katharine Hamnett

In the heady world of fashion, cotton is the most commonly used fabric and in agricultural terms accounts for 10% of world agriculture. So far so good - until you take on board that to turn these natural fibers into items of must-have clothing conventional cotton farmers use pesticides, herbicides and chemical fertilizers (approximately 25% of world pesticides) to make clothing. These pesticides are directly derived from World War 2 nerve gases, if you didn’t know. The situation of cotton agriculture in the developing world, involving 400 million farmers, is without exaggeration, catastrophic.

Pesticides cause 20,000 deaths per year from accidental poisoning. 1 million long-term acute poisonings per year, 200,000 suicides per year (due to debt for pesticides). PAN estimates the real figures are much higher: upwards of a million deaths and three million long term poisonings. Most deaths occur in the developing world where there are few to no doctors, let alone hospitals.

Conventional cotton agriculture is additionally responsible for colossal greenhouse gas emissions due to chemical fertilizers, desertification and long-term contamination of the water supply.

Cotton is a very important export crop for many African and developing countries. In Mali, for instance, it is the second largest export by value after gold. In theory it is an excellent cash crop bringing in lots of foreign currency and providing a livelihood for the 10 to 11 million farmers across Africa involved, giving them enough money to feed themselves, school their children, and afford healthcare. This is totally possible but unfortunately it is not the case right now.

To grow cotton, before planting, farmers need a contract with the brokers to buy their cotton when it’s harvested. As part of the contract they have to agree to buy the seeds and the pesticides from the broker. If they don’t have the money the brokers have set up banks that will lend them the money to buy the pesticides, at 10% interest. The loan must be repaid within a year: if they can’t repay the loan because their crop fails due to lack of rain, the banks foreclose and take their tools and bicycles, leaving them to continue farming. They leave their land for the cities, sending a little money home, and on their occasional returns to their villages often bringing HIV with them as well.

Developing world farmers are given virtually no information on the dangers of the pesticides - often banned in Europe and the US - which they are sold, including the need to wear protective clothing. The pesticides are often changed without notice. For example, in four West African countries the pesticides being used were recently changed from a parathyroid to an organochlorine (endosulfan) because of the problems with pest resistance, without any warnings to the farmers of the increased toxicity of the new chemicals. Nearly 100 people are known to have died in just one region in the last two seasons as a result of this, with over 220 serious poisonings.

Cotton prices are at a low not seen since the depression of the 1930s due to US, EU and Chinese cotton subsidies. Unless developing world farmers can farm cotton organically they can’t make a living from it and will be forced to abandon cotton farming altogether.

If farmers grow cotton organically they increase their revenue 50% because of a 40% drop in the cost of inputs (fertilizers and pesticides), and a 20% premium for organic cotton.

The fashion industry as a whole is too lazy, too ignorant and too disinterested in fair trade and the environmental issues surrounding its sourcing of raw materials and manufacturing. It makes too much money from the low cost of outsourced cheap labour to be interested in making a change. Only pressure from the consumer in the form of boycott of unacceptable materials and manufacturing processes can make it change.

The industry is unwilling to change the way it works. People say that organic cotton will be too expensive, but the truth is that the value to the farmer of the cotton in a t-shirt is 4-5% of the retail value, so if he gets 20% more it puts 1% on the price of a t-shirt. This is hardly a prohibitive in cost, and it can make the difference between survival and the extinction of eleven million farmers in Africa and a further 90 million farmers in the rest of the developing world.

People ask, “Can ethical and environmental clothing become as popular as organic food?” - Why not? 75% of Marks & Spencer´s 15 million customers have ethical and environmental concerns when purchasing [source: M&S]. It may be a lot easier to care about people you love than have concern for people of a different culture who live 3,000 miles away, but it needs to be even more popular and firmly entrenched in the mainstream, as the issues it deals with, affect our global environment and economies, the health of 100 million farmers, our rivers, eco systems, seas, climate change, and the lives of a sixth of the world´s population.

By insisting on organic cotton and fair pay for garment workers and by paying 1% more for a t-shirt, you can change the world and make it a better and safer place.

http://www.katharinehamnett.com/

The Fall/Winter 2006 “Converse by John Varvatos” women’s collection is grounded in Converse’s 98 year old American heritage of first in sports and first in rock n’ roll. In keeping with the true spirit of the Converse brand, John Varvatos takes multi-generational influences, mixing sport, rock n’ roll and street, to create a unique personality that is as individual as the Converse sneaker itself.

The lifestyle collection merges authentic American sportswear and sexy tomboy styles with subtle punk influences. The use of menswear fabrics and detailing are cleverly mixed with feminine silhouettes. Varvatos playfully creates head to toe looks that are both authentic to Converse’s rich heritage but also push the boundaries of women’s sportswear. Marked military and punk influences accented with key athletic inspirations define shapes and silhouettes in the “Converse by John Varvatos” women’s collection. Sporty low v-neck tops with silk paneling layered under short-sleeve over-dyed fleeces are creatively put together with distressed leather sleeveless biker vests and Chuck’s skinny leg jeans in an innovative oil finish. Luxury wool tops in oversized proportions draped beautifully to optimize layering potential while cotton jeans are cut to a lean silhouette to create new proportions. An eclectic mix of cotton camisoles and underlay crews are mixed with cotton and rayon tanks that feature an iconic picture of Chuck Taylor.

Are Gucci and Prada under a Chav attack? Is it possible that these two pre-eminent brands could suffer the same fate as Burberry? In a head-to-head, who would succumb to the Chavs first?

As the Chav hordes look for new brands to pillage and plunder, all the major brands are looking over their shoulders nervously wondering whether their brand is destined to be the next victim. Both Prada and Gucci are prime targets as counterfeits of both brands are widely available and fakes are the main weapon in the Chav armory. The other major factor to consider is how the brands themselves market their image, or even, how the Chavs perceive that marketing, whether rightly or wrongly. Of these two major brands, Prada is perhaps the more like to come under a direct Chav attack. The exclusive urban sportswear image is irresistible to all Chavs and Prada’s collection falls fatally into that web. Whether Prada can repel the Chav attack only time will tell, but in a head-to-head with Gucci you would have to say Prada look a more likely victim.

Watch out for the LA Air Line collection. Kitmeout is pleased to publish the following release: 

1) the creative/directional team - this is the team of ku usa. ku is widely recognized in japan ad being the very first asian brand. we have seven free standing stores there, including a 4 storyflagship store in daikanyama.

ku usa team is also the creator/originator of the ed hardy brand. we have sinced licensed that out.

2) the factory itself - la air line. this was started by dennis maroney in 1971 when he was indivudally airbrushing shirts on the venice boardwalk. evolved into the large factory it is today. all pieces are works of art which are totally done by hand…..right down the the indivudally airbrushed hang tags. no two are ever the same. la air line produced the first shirts for the space shuttle program.

3) the world wide team of designers - after we select the seasonal “destinations” for la air line, we have a worldwide team of designers who give their own personal style to the theme. we present all desings in the line for inclusion. this enables us to offer a huge range of designs very quickly, and from many different aspects. the democracy of art. all designers have an even chance to be seen and heard. the market decides the winners.

these elements all come together to create a perfect collaborative team. each piece is then made by hand with care.

Antik Denim may have a vintage quality but it certainly does not need any restoration. Antik Denim is a premium denim brand in the true sense of the phrase. The craftsmanship is of the very highest standard and the amazing hand-finished decorations are truly exquisite. Top that with exclusive Japanese and Italian denims and you have a brand with every right to call itself Antik!

Antik Denim Jeans is a favorite among style-conscious men and woman. The brand offers a complete wardrobe in addition to jeans, including vintage-styled T-shirts, boots, and belts. Red Carpet celebrities who don the threads include: Johnny Dep, Kate Hudson, Cameron Diaz, Teri Hatcher, Julia Roberts, Hilary Duff, Lindsay Lohan, Ashlee Simpson, Nicole Richie, Paris Hilton, Eva Longoria, Jennifer Lopes, and Vince Vaughn.

Watch out for the forth-coming Antik collections which include an Elvis Presley-inspired collection, and two new lines: Antik Kargo and Antik Vintage.

Kim Jones is a British menswear designer, who graduated from Central St Martins and quickly developed a cult following for his fresh and innovative designs.

Alongside his own collections, Kim Jones designs a range of innovative casual clothing and trainers for the high profile sportswear brand, Umbro. The Umbro and Kim Jones collaboration is widely hailed as a major success by retailers and customers alike. The Umbro Kim Jones trainers and casual footwear have a unique quality that is both aesthetically and practically appealing… And the World Cup collection, which includes shirts, hoodies, casual pants, tees and sweats has a clean and attractive nostalgic feel.

Has Dior Homme gone all Millennium MOD and transformed itself into a rich man’s Henri Lloyd? Some fashionistas might argue the present designer route of Dior Homme would make their illustrious founder hit the roof if he was still on planet earth!

Christian Dior (January 21, 1905 – October 24, 1957), was an influential French fashion designer, born in Granville, Normandy, France. Dior attended the Catholic school College Stanislaus, and then the Paris Institute of Political Studies (better known as Sciences Po), after which he established his main house of couture in Paris in 1946 with the backing of textile magnate Marcel Boussac. He expanded his business to 15 countries and employed over 2,000 people. Christian Dior became known as the father of couture, his elegant and innovative designs setting new standards in excellence and his vision leading the way forward and never succumbing to temporal trends. It’s a shame the same cannot be said for the current Dior Homme collection and design momentum. It looks like Dior needs a new Yves Saint Laurent style epiphany!

Just pulling on an Adidas T-shirt transports you to the past and future at the same time! As paradoxical as that sounds it has a ring of truth to it; wearing Adidas clothing has a reminiscent quality to it but at the same time the company has taken sportswear production and material compounds to an almost futuristic level.

Everyone gets a warm feeling pulling on the three stripes whether it be an Adidas t-shirt, a jacket, a tracksuit, a hoody or a plain old sweat shirt. Adidas is a part of the very fabric of the global consciousness. Adidas is like George Orwell’s BIG BROTHER - but we all get a comforting feeling from that all-seeing eye; it helps us remember that life can go backwards and not just inexorably forward towards the grave. Retro fashion can help us forget our finite nature!

Is the tasty Ice Cream Sneaker brand starting to melt? Everyone loves ice cream, whether the stuff you eat or the stuff you put on your feet. Pharrell and Nigo hit on a great concept a few years back and the complications between the guys and Reebok were a real pity for everyone concerned including the eager customer. That said, once you expose ice cream to that kind of heat it will inevitably start to melt and that’s manifest today by the dwindling excitement surrounding Ice Cream sneakers.

Hats off to Pharrell Williams and Nigo though for trying to rescue the brand from a sticky end. The guys have not let their dream die and the official website tells us:

“Ice Cream Footwear is a morph between the skate and urban world. This exclusive collection is available in limited distribution at high-end boutiques worldwide. Ice Cream’s uniqueness and creativity are set forth from the outset, with each pair encased in packaging that resembles an actual ice cream carton.

The Ice Cream sneakers collection is a result of a collaboration between Pharrell Williams of “The Neptunes” and one of today’s hottest global designers, Nigo. Nigo is best known for his “A Bathing Ape” Clothing Line.”

That’s not such a far cry from what Reebok told us back in 2004:

“Ice Cream’s uniqueness and creativity are set forth from the outset, with each pair encased in packaging that resembles an actual ice cream carton. The first shoe in the line is a skate-influenced silhouette with a low-profile design that features sparkling images of diamonds and dollar bills. Additional images to be featured in the footwear collection include radios and dice and pagers and money rolls. Ice Cream is available for a suggested retail price of $200 and will debut in three colorways: black/red/blue, yellow/navy/blue and white/black/red.

So maybe the Ice Cream sneaker brand has started to melt - So what! Some of us like it messy.

Kitmeout is privileged to receive the following KU Biography and Philosophy:

The first KU collection was shown in the fall of 1991. At that time, workwear, urban street rap was all the rage. A very “f you” attitude.

There were NO Asian brands or motiffs being used. At the time, Japanese buyers were always looking to USA and Europe to bring fashion into Japan. Japanese society was still trying to “catch up  with the west” after world war 2. It never occured to them that their own style of fashion could be cool.

We exhibited our first collection in fall 1991, and the Japanese buyers were stunned. Then they went to the USA, and an American company put the “cool stamp of approval” on Asian sensibilities. While there were Aisan deisgners (Issey Miyake etc) at the time, these desigers were styling more western fashion.

KU WAS THE VERY FIRST ASIAN BRAND WORLWIDE. Everyone in Japan knows KU. We were also the first to use dragons. When KU came out, the only place to find dragons was at a karate studio.

Tokyo was the fashion capital at the time, and all three fashion houses were carrying KU at the same time (beams, ships and united arrows). This is unheard of, to this day. THERE SIMPLY WAS NO CHOICE, KU HAD THIS MARKET TO ITSELF.

When the fashion capital moved to london in about 1993 - 1994 KU was picked up by Duffer of St George and Jones in Covent Garden. This was followed by the new Urban Outfitters store on Kensington High Street.

KU is sold in usa by Fred Segal, M. Fredric, Planet Blue, Atrium, Rolo, Nordstrom, Saks, Macy’s and 200 other fine boutiques.

We took the brand name from a Zen Buddhist saying “shiki zoku ze ku, ku shoku ze shike.”. in english this translates as “form is void, void is from”  void being the spiritual world KU. This saying is found in the book “Way of the Samurai”.

This is the design consideration of all KU garments:

We believe the process (essence) of each design is what gives the garment lasting value. We do not chase trends, nor do we turn away from them. KU naturally expresses it’s ideas in garment form. We never stray from our design philosophy:

KU DESIGN PHILOSOPHY

Enlightenment is the core of our theme. Humans are the core reason of what we do. Materialism is not.

Clothing as a tribute to the perfected human, with a mind of his own.

This is the KU Style:

There is a meaning to every single fabric and design in KU Style. These meanings reach the mind of those who wear KU. Helping them to become sublime!

KU contemplates against materialism. Clothing with no meaning is just a material item. Fashion is simply an element which compliments Human’s beauty. A meaning is needed in the process, for practical clothing to become independent fashion.

Contemplate the MEANING to create…….is what KU does.