Brand: MEANSWHILE

Season: Spring/Summer 2022

Buy: MEANSWHILE, Meridian Vision, Nakamuraya, Koko, PURVEYORS

Editor's Notes: Japanese label MEANSWHILE has been one to watch for a while. Its Spring/Summer 2022 collection, revealed during London Fashion Week (for some reason), is as good an entry into the brand's oeuvre as anything.

"Form Follows Function, Function Follows Form." Simple enough mantra but it's fueled all of MEANSWHILE's output over the years, epitomizing the hybrid of style and substance that MEANSWHILE aims to achieve every season.

Recent years, especially, have seen the technical label loosen up, relaxing its silhouettes to ensure maximum comfort. At the same time, though, MEANSWHILE has doubled down on textile experimentation, infusing its bespoke summer wools and inorganic blends with licensed tech like Cordura and Solotex.

Unlike its high-spec peers, though, MEANSWHILE serves up an ample offering of classic menswear pieces, like knit cardigans, collared shirts, and work shorts, along its more technical fare. And when it does lean into function by way of rain jackets and cargo shorts, MEANSWHILE will sometimes realize its designs in unexpected fabrications like tussah and typewriter cotton.

SS22 gets even more tech-y. Field jackets are rendered in crispy nylons, asymmetric blazers boast both button and zip closure, and militaristic multi-pocketed vests and shorts sport velcro closure.

Even the more athleisure pieces, including waffle-weave short sets and slit-hem slacks, are fitted with adaptable tech. Still, MEANSWHILE doesn't just make techwear for the hardcore heads; it's looking for that middle ground, remember?

One outfit, comprising a layered waffle shirt and matching technical jacket and pant, really hit home in that regard, perfectly straddling the realms that MEANSWHILE simultaneously occupies. Lots going on under the hood but, on the surface, as simple as it gets.