Japanese Fashion's Most Enigmatic Brand Continues Killing It
I like to think I know a thing or two about Japanese fashion. It's the reason I care at all about clothing and remains my primary focus, much more than whatever's happening on the runways of Paris. To this day, I really only use social media to keep up with Japanese fashion brands and stores — it's that deep.
So, safe to say that I'm a little jaded. I'm not often impressed by much new stuff, frankly, though there's plenty that I enjoy at face value.
Comoli, designed by Keijiro Komori, isn't an especially obscure brand and doesn't take a ton of Japanese fashion experience to uncover. It is, however, a willfully difficult label to investigate without some knowledge of Japanese and a great case study for what works within Japanese fashion,
Though Comoli's wares are sold online by a variety of retailers, including international stockists Neighbour and Rendezvous, the brand doesn't use social media.
Komori himself isn't online, either, emphasizing Comoli's need-to-know aesthetic.
This intentionally primitive presence places an emphasis on Comoli's product: the clothes need to speak for themselves, since the brand is purposely staying mum.
Comoli's clothing does that quite well.
As you can see from the no-nonsense lookbook imagery, Comoli doesn't do flashy statement pieces.
It focuses entirely on bespoke fabrication, comfort-minded silhouettes, and the same kind of toss-on minimalism epitomized by, say, Martin Margiela's run at Hermès.
Felted wools, crispy poplins, hairy knit cotton, neppy corduroy, undulating lamb leather.
Comoli approaches clothing the same way that a painter might approach a canvas. The idea is to physically manifest a personal expression.
The silhouettes are often the same — Comoli rarely deviates from its comfort zone of familiar shapes rooted in European and American menswear history — but the construction and textile selection are peerless.
This isn't clothing for the masses and thus Comoli doesn't use social media. It has no need to communicate anything that its garments aren't able to convey alone.
