Kozaburo Akasaka was in a preppy kind of mood. “The basis of Kozaburo is bridging the West and the East, to try to bring a Zen aesthetic, spirituality, and also the craftsmanship based on this philosophy, to American style,” he explained. He mixed that with that most American vision of masculinity and defiance—Johnny Cash’s “Man in Black.” A hooded sweatshirt bore a tongue-in-cheek collegiate logo that spelled out “Zenn State” in Penn State-inspired lettering, with a seal underneath it that read “Post Model Minority.”
“Since living in New York, I’ve found that a lot of people around me have a very good high education, oftentimes they are second-generation and they are following this idea of success, working hard for a good degree, working for a good company, but then realizing they’re missing the passion and looking for something new to inspire them,” he said. “‘Model’ is such a fashion word, but then ‘model minority’ can have this controversial meaning depending on who is saying it, and it can be a good or a bad stereotype as well, so I wanted to bring this message that this moment has passed and we’re creating a new value and vision.”
At Kozaburo, denim reigns supreme, and this season, his tonal jacquard denim with a calligraphy print hand-written by a Buddhist monk was the starting point in the collection, used to rework Cash’s all-black uniform into a chore jacket and matching flared jeans. Though the designer also showed variations on a wide leg trouser, the flares delivered the strongest message. Akasaka also worked with pre-washed corduroy that brought a more textural, worn-in feel to the clothes; especially a blouson-like zip-up jacket with that classic Western curved yoke. The jacket is cut with wide armholes and oversized sleeves which add an interesting volume.
As part of a new label, PRM, Akasaka is experimenting with making clothes inspired by the Japanese philosophy of Kintsugi where broken pottery is mended—usually with gold or silver powder— in a way that highlights the rupture and thus showcases the beauty of imperfections. Baseball caps sliced in half and then re-assembled with mismatched sections using an industrial staple gun have become a runaway hit for the designer; but the real treasures are his leather jackets which are deconstructed and reconstructed with vintage plaid flannel shirts in truly novel ways. Witness a delicate leather cap sleeve “layered” over a flannel sleeve on one jacket, while on another a curved Western yoke had been cut out of leather and haphazardly stapled on a flannel bodice. On yet another style, a ’90s-ish minimal jacket revealed a myriad of staples in the back that brought to mind the way stylists clip and pin the back of garments during photoshoots to adjust the fit. “It’s a kind of wabi-sabi process,” he explained. “It shows that there’s value in simplicity, that not making things overly-complicated can be impactful.”
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