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 this 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.”
Denim reigns supreme at Kozaburo, and this season, his tonal jacquard denim with a calligraphy print handwritten 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 prewashed 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 showcases the beauty of imperfections. Baseball caps sliced in half and then reassembled 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. A delicate leather cap sleeve was “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.”
