Welcome to the house of Khoki. The Tokyo-based collective of anonymous designers always puts a huge fabric door on the entrance to its showroom installations, but this year crafted an entire fabric house in the center of the room. It was representative of what the brand values: craft, familiarity, whimsy, and—most importantly of all—teamwork. The group doubled its staff from three to six people in the past year, yielding some fresh ideas (the Khoki collective is a democracy, where every suggestion gets equal consideration).
A couple of the most interesting ideas came from a new member: a set of metal cutlery—a knife, fork and spoon—shrink-wrapped into the sides of leather bags, and a tiny sewing kit sealed into leather card cases. A potential nightmare at airport security, but cool to look at. “I think that an item like this can only be created by working as a team, because it wouldn’t come from my own brain,” said Koki Abe, the collective’s figurehead. “I feel like it’s a good way to do things, I want to continue to push forward in this way.”
While last season was more rooted in a solid narrative, this collection took a freer approach, explained Abe. “It’s a season that incorporates updates to previous products and new concepts,” he said. Shibori, a historic Japanese tie-dyeing technique, was central to the collection, creating colorful circular patterns that were printed across tailored trousers, faded T-shirts, and sleek leather jackets, so that they resembled mandalas. Bleu de travail jackets were reimagined into soft button-up sweaters; oversized tailoring, military jackets, and cargo pants were artfully faded or spliced together; while delicate white lace and broderie anglaise patched up the torn knees of blue denim jeans.
The designers had also been exploring how to bring vintage references and casual styles into a high-fashion, luxury context. “Whether that’s dressy fabrics, or fabrics that feel right for the moment, we’re looking for combinations and processing methods that can be worn in slightly more formal settings,” said Abe. “One of our missions is to make clothing fun by using our pattern-making skills and combining new things together.”
Indeed, Khoki’s sense of fun is ever-present. The team’s gallimaufry of references at times risks verging on a class project with too many kiddie cooks, but Abe is always able to guide his crew to a place that feels cohesive and comfortable. Not a house after all, but a home.