Although he was born and raised in Japan, Satoshi Kuwata considers himself a thoroughly international citizen. When he was just 21, the fashion designer packed one suitcase and left his home country for the first time, en route to London. “My family thought I would return in a week,” he tells W over the phone. “They thought it was a holiday, but I never went back.” Since then, the Kyoto native has lived in New York City, Milan, and Paris, treating each city as a source of artistic inspiration. These experiences have shaped the now 39-year-old, and helped to define the East-meets-West aesthetic and ethos of his clothing brand, Setchu. Still exceptionally small—as of now it’s still basically a one man operation—Setchu was just nominated as a finalist for the 2023 LVMH prize, one of the highest honors that can be bestowed upon a young brand, proving an interest in Kuwata’s globalized take on clothing.
“I wanted to insert my DNA into my collections, but not in a false way,” Kuwata explains. “I don’t design kimono, I design Western clothes, but there’s going to be a Japanese feeling in there because I’m Japanese. Otherwise, what’s the point?” In Kuwata’s creations, pleated pants fold in ways that evoke the origami art form; a cargo jacket features a tie across the front that mimics a man’s kimono. His upbringing’s influence is clear, yet the pieces move into a modern realm, seamlessly existing across geographical and cultural borders. If you called it a compromise, you’d be spot on.
In fact, the name Setchu comes from the Japanese phrase, “wayo setchu,” with “wayo” meaning West and “setchu” meaning compromise. The saying points to the historical mixing of Japanese and Western cultures, which began in the 19th century, when America first started importing to Japan. To drive the point home even further, on the Setchu website, there’s an image of Seibien, a structure located in Hirakawa whose traditional,…
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