The hottest commodity in fashion at the moment? Trust. Especially at a time when luxury markups are being called into question, not just on quality but morality, what else is more important than feeling confident that the brand you’re buying into isn’t taking you for a ride?
Koki Enomoto had been thinking about that sense of trust this season, and intended this spring collection for Attachment as an expression of the promise a fashion designer makes to his customers. He called the collection ‘swear.’ “We have a rule not to design excessively, and that is our promise to Attachment fans,” he said during an appointment at his showroom in Tokyo. “We promise to make very simple things with high-quality materials, and we will continue to do so, no matter the circumstances.”
This time that meant loose-looking suits (many without lapels), sophisticated sweats and some beautiful buttonless shirts. Some of the jackets and shirts were closed with silver chains and fastenings as a physical manifestation of that promise (silver hardware is a common thread in Attachment, and adds welcome flourishes to the brand’s otherwise hyper-minimal clothing).
Enomoto also spoke about paying more attention to his choice of fabrics this season. “The first priority is that they feel good on the skin, and that they can be worn for a long time and are convenient and practical,” he said. A good example this season was a subtly fluffy T-shirt made from a short-pile jersey that had been shaved down. “Normal pile fabrics tend to lose their shape, but by making the ground out of polyester, they have a bit of firmness, so they can keep the same shape even after they’ve been washed,” Enomoto said.
A pinky promise is serious business in Japan. When making one in the playground, school kids will chant the equivalent of “if you’re lying, you have to swallow a thousand needles.” Brutal, sure, but it fosters a commitment to being honest. In today’s fashion landscape, that counts for something.
