Welcome to our Fall Winter 17 Buyers Trip Part Two.
We always look forward to chatting with Daiki Suzuki and the team from Engineered Garments at their Shibuya showroom.
Prior to starting Engineered Garments, Daiki used to design for Woolrich Woollen Mills. The two companies continue to work closely together and this is no more apparent than in the Fall Winter 17 collection, which focuses heavily on woollen fabrics milled by Woolrich. This Benson Jacket in the Animal Jacquard print is a great example of the partnership in work.
The range on offer is extensive and it is easy to get lost in all the fabrics, materials and variations that the many styles on offer come in. The possibilities to match and create outfits is endless.
The founder of Nepenthes and designer of Needles, Keizo Shimizu is always at the showings. Quietly observing everything like a zen master.
In between meetings we had a quick refuel at Blue Bottle Coffee in Aoyama. This popular California company has several locations in Tokyo and is well worth a visit.
Next, stop is Post Overall's Storefront located at Shibuya which doubles as their Tokyo showroom.
Takeshi Ohfuchi's Post Overalls has been making rugged work wear based clothes from New York since 1993. Everything is designed with the function and utility that you would expect from their work and military influences. Coupled with the amazing fabrics they use plus their attention to detail. It is easy to see how they create unique and interesting pieces.
Next was a quick visit to the Glen Clyde showroom which is the company behind Chup Socks. We saw the new range and had a great chat about how the engineering aspect of the socks affect the overall design.
This machine is used to hand link the toes of each Chup Sock. It uses a single thread that closes up the heel and toe and gives it a flat finish. It's a very slow and time-consuming process and a large part of the reason why it's only possible to produce around twenty-five pairs a day.
Last but not least on our list we were off to Naka-Meguro to check out the range of Yuketen footwear on offer from Meg Company.
Yuki Matsuda has been making footwear under the name of Yuketen since 1989. They create a unique range of leather crafted footwear which encompasses everything from boots to boat shoes and moccasins.
This was the first time we had seen the whole collection all together. After trying on a few pairs we were very impressed with both the comfort and quality of the shoes. Expect to see the Yuketen FW17 collection coming to the store in the second part of the year.
Hope you enjoyed our buyer's log.