Multi-hyphenate Japanese designer Hiroshi Fujiwara, the founder of cross-discipline label Fragment Design, is famed as the godfather of streetwear, and is more readily associated with the fashion scene of Tokyo’s vibrantly illuminated Ura-Harajuku district than the opulent façades of Milan’s Via Monte Napoleone. So he seems an unlikely choice as a brand collaborator for luxury Italian fabric house Loro Piana. But, says Loro Piana CEO Fabio d’Angelantonio, ‘The two universes have more in common than expected. Fujiwara reinterpets and reimagines our products, street style evolves and becomes more sophisticated, combining Loro Piana’s excellences and Hiroshi’s creative mind.’
Loro Piana is renowned for its ultra-luxurious approach to materiality. In spring 2021 the Italian label launched a range of sorbet-shade sweaters crafted using Vicuña, one of the scarcest and most luxurious materials in the world, and a fibre that the label has committed to cultivating and protecting since the 1950s. Its finest merino wool is aptly titled The Gift of Kings, a rare fibre which is softer than cashmere, measures only 12 microns and is produced only in tiny quantities of 3,000 kilos each year.
Hiroshi Fujiwara has many creative strings to his bow: designer, musician, streetwear pioneer, the king of collaboration. He has also teamed up with a host of luxury labels and artists in the past, including Takashi Murakami, Stüssy, and Supreme, and has a long-term partnership with Nike.
Loro Piana and Hiroshi Fujiwara: a Japanese-Italian style alliance
Jumper, £1,115, by Loro Piana x Hiroshi Fujiwara
D’Angelantonio sums up the brand’s collaboration in one word: ‘iki’. The Japanese term, which denotes minimalism as an evidence of extraordinary sophistication, exemplifies the ‘essential elegance’ and purity of the men’s and women’s capsule collection, which blends relaxed urban and loungewear-focused shapes, from bomber jackets and jumper dresses to hoodies and knee-length skirts. An oversized jumper features a striking intarsia chain motif, a sportswear-inflected jacket boasts a buttonable inner layer, and beanie hats are emblazoned with a ‘Loro P’ logo.
INFORMATION
A version of this article appears in the November 2021 issue of Wallpaper* (W*271), on newsstands and available to subscribers
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