Because my parents work in garment manufacturing, clothing was always a very familiar presence to me from an early age.
\nI felt that clothes were not merely something to wear, but something that reflects a person\u2019s inner world and the atmosphere surrounding them.
\n\nNot only in fashion, but also in music and art, I have always been drawn to things that possess elegance yet carry a subtle sensuality\u2014a quiet sense of tension beneath the surface.\nWanting to give form to that sensibility through clothing\u2014something I had experienced so closely with my own hands\u2014became the clear motivation for me to pursue a career as a fashion designer.
\n\nThe path to launching the brand
\n\nBoth designers had long worked closely with skilled artisans we had known and trusted for years, directly handling projects alongside them.
\nThrough this, we came to deeply appreciate the excellence of their craftsmanship, while also witnessing firsthand the challenges currently faced by manufacturing sites.
\n\nAs we considered what we could do in response, we arrived at an answer shaped by our own background in OEM and other production work.
\nThe starting point of ANTHEM A was the idea of creating a brand that produces during factories\u2019 off-peak seasons\u2014supporting craftsmanship while building something of our own.<\/p>\n
\u2500\u2500 What is the brand\u2019s concept? What do you want to communicate through fashion designing?<\/strong><\/p>\t\n ANTHEM A is built on the idea of Mixture Style\u2014the coexistence of opposing elements. \u2500\u2500 What is your source of inspiration in creating fashion? What is your process of developing a design concept?<\/strong><\/p>\t\n The inspiration comes from the duality and subtle nuances within the human psyche\u2014\nstrength and fragility, reason and impulse, refinement and eroticism. \u2500\u2500 Who are your current stockists (areas, retail formats, etc.)? Describe the typical followers of your brand.<\/strong><\/p>\t\n Both menswear and womenswear collections are available primarily through select shops in Tokyo, as well as across the Kansai, Kinki, Hokuriku, Tohoku, Shikoku, and Kyushu regions, in addition to a number of overseas retailers. \u2500\u2500 Which brands, designers, styles and cultures have had the most impact on your fashion designing, and why?<\/strong><\/p>\t\n My influences span a wide range of genres. \u2500\u2500 Why have you chosen Tokyo (Rakuten Fashion Week TOKYO) as the venue for presenting your collection?<\/strong><\/p>\t\n To expand the number of menswear and womenswear stockists, and to further increase brand awareness\u2014both domestically and internationally. \u2500\u2500 What is the concept \/ image for your brand’s 2026 AW season?<\/strong><\/p>\t\n This collection is the prelude to a journey inward. \u2500\u2500 What is your vision for your show \/ installation?<\/strong><\/p>\t\n The 26AW collection is conceived as a complete journey of self-reflection. \u2500\u2500 What are your brand\u2019s future outlook and goal?<\/strong><\/p>\t\n \u2022 We aim to carefully and steadily expand our sales channels both domestically and internationally, growing a community of supporters and kindred spirits around the brand. \u2500\u2500 What does Tokyo represent for you?<\/strong><\/p>\t\n While undergoing constant redevelopment and defined by modern architecture, it is also a city where, once you step into the backstreets, human warmth and personal connections remain\u2014alongside pockets of humidity, shadow, and depth. \u2500\u2500 Which parts \/ sites of Tokyo do you like most? Why?<\/strong><\/p>\t\n I am drawn to places where culturally significant architecture from periods of rapid modernization has been preserved. \u2500\u2500 What are your favorite \/ recommended shops (of any genres, e.g. fashion stores, homeware stores, food services), facilities and sites?<\/strong><\/p>\t\n Atelier Macri is a place we are close to both personally and professionally, and it is a truly wonderful space.
\n\nStrength and fragility.
\nMasculinity and femininity.
\nRoughness and elegance.
\nStillness and movement, light and shadow.
\n\nBy layering these contrasts within a single garment, we aim to create an ANTHEM\u2014a tribute that celebrates the wearer\u2019s individuality, mood, and way of life.<\/p>\n
\n\nWe also draw from art, architecture, music, history, and culture,\ncrossing eras and genres while focusing on structure, negative space, and a sense of tension.\n
\nAnother key source is the inherent character of materials themselves\u2014their history and relationship with nature:
\nraw textures, the beauty of aging, expressions born from chance, and the colors and forms found in natural elements.
\n\nThe contrast between the city and nature is equally important\u2014
\nthe coexistence of inorganic structures and organic forms and hues.
\n\nWhile each season has its own theme, the core of the brand always lies in opposing elements and a sense of subtle \u201cin-between\u201d beauty.
\nBy layering psychological shifts and narrative depth, we approach the process of making clothes.<\/p>\n
\n\nOur brand\u2019s audience is largely made up of people in their 30s and 40s.
\nThey tend to have a strong sense of personal style and aesthetics, and enjoy fashion freely, wearing our pieces in ways that reflect their own individuality.<\/p>\n
\nI\u2019m particularly drawn to the fashion scenes of Paris and London in the 1980s and 1990s, which I believe have had a strong impact on me.
\nBeyond fashion, my interests extend to music, art, architecture, history, vintage clothing, philosophy, mythology, and religion\u2014right through to subcultures and anime. I think my curiosity is simply quite broad. (laughs)
\n\nWhat consistently draws me in is a sense of beauty that embraces contradiction and leaves space unfinished.
\nA quiet sensuality born from tension, softened by moments of openness and subtle nuance.<\/p>\n\n\n\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/rakutenfashionweektokyo.com\/jp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/anthem-a_01.jpg\")
<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<\/a><\/figure>\n<\/figure>\n\n\n\nAbout 2026 AW collection<\/h3>\t\n
\n\nWe also aim to express and communicate the brand\u2019s world and its Mixture Style more fully in a physical space, allowing people to truly experience and feel it firsthand.<\/p>\n
\nANTHEM A 26AW explores the light and shadow, contradictions, and chaos that reside within the human interior, framing them as a vertical world and quietly descending toward the core of the self.
\nUnseen emotions, concealed inconsistencies, the awakening of the subconscious,
\nand opposing elements such as light and darkness, front and back,
\nare not denied, but accepted as they are.
\nAn encounter with the unseen self,
\nwith the inner presence once avoided.
\nRather than rejecting these aspects, the collection embraces coexistence.
\nThis is not a journey toward answers,
\nbut a season that traces the prelude to awakening \u2014 a subtle sign before meeting a new self.
\nDetail:
\nSoft materials are contrasted with deliberately hard treatments,
\nwhile light-absorbing fabrics reveal shifting expressions through movement and angle. Stripes developed through knit techniques move between plane and volume,
\nforming silhouettes that resist clear definition \u2014 a quiet, indeterminate otherness.
\nSculptural forms and fluid, draped lines form the foundation of the collection.
\nWithin a minimal and composed atmosphere, decisive colors and materials are interwoven, containing a sense of tension and release, and a quiet mysticism throughout.<\/p>\n
\nWe plan to incorporate narrative-driven direction and styling to express this story throughout the collection.<\/p>\nFuture<\/h3>\t\n
\n\n\u2022 Through sincere craftsmanship, we will continue to devote ourselves to proposing new forms of fashion that make use of Japan\u2019s exceptional and evolving technologies.
\n\n\u2022 As we work to grow the brand and ensure the long-term continuation of Japan\u2019s traditions and technical expertise, we aspire to directly employ aging factories and artisans within our own company.\nBy passing these skills on to younger generations and preventing the industry from fading away, we seek to build an environment in which artisans, factories, and the brand can support one another\u2014\nand together achieve meaningful, sustainable growth.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<\/a><\/figure>\n<\/figure>\n\n\n\nAbout TOKYO<\/h3>\t\n
\nAt the same time, it feels like a place where culture is constantly being born.
\n\nIt is a strange and compelling city in which inorganicity and emotion, tension and openness, coexist simultaneously.<\/p>\n
\nThe location we chose for this shoot was also a registered tangible cultural property, built in the early Showa era, and it was a truly beautiful setting.<\/p>\n
\nThe staff\u2019s knowledge and refined sense of aesthetics, combined with the comforting, welcoming atmosphere, make it a place where you can relax and lose track of time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n