It Is Just So Good
A.PRESSE is just so good. Don't just take our word for it: pictures of the Japanese brand's clothes really are worth a thousand words.
If you aren't sold on A.PRESSE from imagery alone, however, read on.
Highsnobiety recently profiled A.PRESSE's designer, Kazuma Shigematsu, which ought to satisfy any questions as to the label's history. As for its present, though, look to stores selling its stupidly cool clothing.
Only a handful of retailers offer A.PRESSE outside of Japan, mind you, though that number ought to grow quite handily in the coming seasons. Clothes this good won't stay quiet for too long.
The genius of A.PRESSE is tangibly manifested by its absurdly exquisite Americana, classic clothing recontextualized by deep-dive craft.
We're talking about period-accurate stitching and belt loops exactly as thick as A.PRESSE's vintage inspirations. These are sort of ultra-nerdy details most fashion types couldn't care to consider, instead the domain of Japanese repro-style menswear brands. After all, what Okayama denim house isn't granular about thread thickness or rivet positioning?
But no one packages this sort of purposefulness anywhere near as suavely as A.PRESSE, because all that effort would be for naught if the clothes weren't good — and, the thing is, they really are.
Sweaters cut short and loose, jackets fitted for comfort, trousers full but abbreviated. This is the "wear" in workwear.. Witness the innately approachable cropped field trousers, fine-gauge knitwear, and washed-out chore coats that comprise its mid-summer delivery.
This stuff is taken from tasteful to transcendent at a material level, with precise, fine fabrics — Italian Supima cotton woven with scent-wicking wool, cotton-silk threads blended with a dense duck canvas — shaped into familiar silhouettes made new (or old, perhaps) through artful hand-treatment. A.PRESSE's artisans individually paint hues and texture onto the garments, giving each a richly bespoke finish.
The end result is familiar-looking clothing made wonderfully fresh by an intentionally aged handfeel. It's all as elegant as it is grounded, nothing that can't be worn instantly. Just glimpse A.PRESSE's beautifully lived-in cotton-silk take on the classic Carhartt Active Jacket and pretend that the OG isn't surpassed.
In Japan, A.PRESSE is priced so fairly that its clothes typically sell as quickly as they arrive in-store. And, like genuine vintage, it's gone when it's gone. Unlike genuine vintage, though, everything A.PRESSE is just so good.
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