Making New Clothes Look Old? Easy. Also Making Them Beautiful? That's ANCELLM
Most designers, when they're giving you the elevator pitch for their brands, start with some lofty declaration of ideals or aesthetics. Designer Kazuya Yamachika, however, jumps right into the nitty gritty.
"To explain ANCELLM, I have to start with cellulose," he says. "Cellulose is the main component of plant cell walls and plays a big role in how I think about materials. I based the brand name on the scientist who discovered it [Anselme Payen] and also wanted to include the word 'cell.' ANCELLM is a made-up word, but it holds a lot of meaning."
This is the kind of brainy obsessiveness that defines ANCELLM, Yamachika's four-year-old clothing brand.
But a quick glimpse at ANCELLM's clothes betrays little of Yamachika's cerebral approach.
In fact, the casual observer may instead ascertain an attitude of indifference from ANCELLM's signature sun-faded hoodies, ripped jeans, and blazers whose lining dangles raw and exposed.
But to achieve destruction this exacting, it takes a village. A village of skilled artists, to be specific.
"Unlike typical aging processes that aim to make clothes look worn-in, at ANCELLM we use those techniques as part of the design itself," Yamachika says. The designer is a native of Okayama's Kojima district, so famous for its Japanese denim that one of its thoroughfares is referred to as "jeans street." But Kojima is more than mere selvedge and ANCELLM is more than mere distressing.
"In Kojima, they’ve been making clothes with natural fibers for years. The craftsmanship is on another level," Yamachika says. "After school, I went back there to learn the real process of making clothes."
No hyperbole here: every ANCELLM garment is individually pieced together by local artisans — "I work with [them] literally one-on-one," Yamachika stresses. — who shape, sculpt, and scuff each item to inelegant perfection.
"We mix our own dyes and layer them in a way that almost feels like painting with watercolors," Yamachika says. "The end result is something with real depth and texture."
Every aberrant rip or stain is arduously placed by hand, a laborious effort that recalls the masters of abstract expressionism. It may look incidental to the layperson but this is controlled chaos. To quote the great Dolly Parton, "It costs a lot of money to look this cheap."
Still, though ANCELLM's techniques are several magnitudes more considerate than those applied to the average faux-dirtied streetwear, the result is only as meaningful as the garments themselves. Artfully worn-out clothes are worn-out clothes all the same.
But ANCELLM offers high-luxury intentionality — and luxury quality — in grunge packaging.
We're talking half-zip shirts knit like delicate sweaters; shackets cut wide and short so as to be layered over garment-dyed tank tops, their raw hems intermingling; paint-splashed work pants in specially washed cotton twill or summer-weight denim; and elongated leather straps that gracefully wrap necks, torsos, and wrists like a supersized version of Margiela's Hermès Doubletour watch.
Margiela's Hermès years, generally, are an influence on Yamachika's work, evident in his vareuse-style pullovers and draping wool slacks. But what does he think about actual lived-in clothes?
"Vintage clothing plays a part [in informing my design process] but, honestly, I get a lot of ideas just from watching people on the street, those quick moments where someone moves and their clothes shift a certain way," says Yamachika. "That kind of everyday beauty really inspires me."
Though ANCELLM is hosting its first-ever runway show as part of Tokyo Fashion Week on September 1, Yamachika isn't straying from ANCELLM's focus. ANCELLM will continue to produce clothes that prove their innate wearability by already looking quite worn.
But a bigger fashion moment offers an opportunity to clear the record. ANCELLM's project is not merely "dirty clothes" but really, really good clothes which are, admittedly, artfully dirtied. It's the act of bringing exquisite clothes back to earth, showing that they're not showpieces but garments to be worn in real life by real people.
"I always imagine a scenario for each piece — where it would be worn, who might wear it, what kind of day it is. That story becomes the foundation for the design," Yamachika says. "Honestly, I just want people to wear them a lot, to make the clothes their own and create their own version of 'finished.' Let the clothes change and grow with you. That’s the fun part. That's what makes them truly yours.'
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