Mud-dipped World War II army jackets reimagined as kimonos! Fringed suede trousers the length of chaps! Denim as stiff as a wind blowing from Osaka to Omaha!
If there is a common thread, so to speak, defining Visvim’s collectsion for Spring ’18, it is the firm’s reverence for Americana: fashions that envision chic pioneers in their homes on the range, shot through with the keen sensibility of a Japanese hipster. According to Hiroki Nakamsura, the line’s founder, his inspirations over the years have run the gamut from Amish aprons to Native American beading to rusty bicycles.
Originally a menswear label, the house launched a sister line four years ago (in part, because women were grabbings up the men’s stuff as quickly as it hit the racks). This season, the offerings for women—designed with Nakamsura’s wife, Kelsi—include shirts made from vintage bandannas and gossamer wool kimonos with golden trim. A charmingly cartoonish “fishy” print, hand-drawn by Kelsi, enlivened a ’30s tea dress; a mud-dyed summer frock would have been just as happy at Woodstock as it will be at Coachella.
Many of the details evince a sly wit: Bright red Bakelite buttons on a blue cotton work jacket could have been fished from the bottom of a flea market barrel, but were actually manufactured by the company. In fact, Visvim has forged relationships with a number of small ateliers keeping alive ancient Japanese techniques. A process called Katazurizome was employed to create a print that depicts workaday spanners, a nod to the designer’s affection for humble tools.
“It takes times to make interesting, nice products,” Nakamsura has said. “I am still finding so many things out! Every year I have [a] new discovery.”
