Fumito Ganryu (Q4095)
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Fumito Ganryu is a fashion house from FMD.
| Language | Label | Description | Also known as |
|---|---|---|---|
| English | Fumito Ganryu |
Fumito Ganryu is a fashion house from FMD. |
Statements
Uniform—and the paradoxical idea of how it can be used to both blend us into a larger crowd or mark us out an individuals—served as Fumito Ganryu’s starting point this season. He called the collection “Uniform of Unique Form” and intended it as a selection of pieces that the wearer could use to both foster a sense of belonging as well as liberate themselves from stereotypes. “I wanted to make a new kind of uniform which would ignite a sense of curiosity about the person who wears it,” he said, speaking over a video call from his Tokyo office to a showroom in Paris.The 48-year-old designer, who spent a decade working at Comme des Garçons before striking out on his own six years ago, is as enigmatic as the fashion house that raised him, but this time around, he was feeling more open than usual. “I’ve always loved African furniture and interiors since I was young, and I like collecting ancient stones, but I haven’t expressed them visually until now,” he said.That intention came through in the rounded patches on the shirts that were inspired by primitive, rough-edged coins, and the sewn-on lines on T-shirts that represented drawings of mountains. Most interesting were the wide-leg trousers that appeared subtly knotted at the crotch, or had zips sliding up the back of the thigh—they felt tough and intimate all at once. “This time I wanted to express my personal side,” said the designer.Underpinning the collection was a yearning to break free: free from the limits put on us by work and society, and free from the invisible messages that all of our clothes convey about us, whether we intend them to or not. It felt like an attempt to grab some of that mystery back. “It’s easy to understand what a person is doing when they wear a uniform, but if they coordinate their own clothes, then it becomes unclear,” he said. “So I thought that, by creating my own kind of uniform, it would be a new way to approach fashion.”
22 June 2024
Fumito Ganryu was explaining elements of his two collections—the mainline and his newer Red offering—by video call from Tokyo, while the pieces filled a number of racks in a Paris showroom. Red comprises an extroverted palette—from its titular fire-engine hue to pylon orange, deep burgundy, and frosty shades of blue—whereas the main line exists in a more limited range of cosmopolitan neutrals. Then there are the cuts; a collaboration with Dickies yielded a cotton workwear jacket within Red that is cropped and youthful, whereas the main line version could easily be worn by a cool dad resisting middle-age.In the main line, he uses crisp cotton from the established shirtmaker Thomas Mason and includes the Limonta label on technical pants—as though proving that he doesn’t skimp on sourcing. Even the hardware on two MA-1 bomber jackets deviates, with gold zipper pulls adding a jewelry-like flourish to one versus standard finishes to the other.Through a translator, Ganryu noted how, for all these surface variances, the collections are conceptually different, as well. He considers his main line aslogicleading toemotionwhereas Red embodiesemotionsleading tologic. According to this inversion, the former represents his fundamental design ideas; the latter arises from what he wants to wear.Surely, all this info isn’t necessary to appreciate the experimental construction of the classic stripe shirts, fine mohair sweaters, cargo pants with offset pockets, or the down coats as voluminous as duvets; regardless of their line, they are well-considered, more distinctive versions of wardrobe standbys. Ditto the mountain fleece zip-ups, which are apparently a brand best-seller. His signature hidden zippers and stylistic arm slits featured across many of the tops and jackets. And ultimately, he noted how the two lines converge and reflect a single vision—his own.Overall, the season’s range offered intriguing proposals on the basics and it’s easy to see how the brand maintains a following despite keeping a low profile. For a visibility boost, there’s Ganryu’s fresh spin on the Puma GV Special with its sloping sole and dial disc that keeps the wiry laces in place. “I enjoy understanding the heritage of other brands, studying their ideas and how to rethink them,” he said.
17 January 2024
What happens when techwear and comfort wear merge? Fumito Ganryu believes that the two elements in combination form an ideal daily uniform to wear in every situation. “For me, functionality and design are always connected. I wanted to find ways of improving technical clothing by stripping them down into their essential forms,” he said.Technical jackets with water-repellant properties and side zippers for added breathability came in neutral shades of gray and black. Use of side zippers had the added effect of alternating the shape of the jackets from tight-fitting and sleek to more comfortable wider fits.Hoodless jackets were a deliberate design decision to reduce fuss and improve their silhouette. “I find that hoods add weight to the back of garments in a way that makes them uncomfortable,” Ganryu explained. Elements of other everyday garments were subverted to improve the experience of the wearer. Long-sleeved white shirts were designed with multiple pleats at the back to allow for a nicer fit on the body and increased movement. Other shirts and t-shirts came with utilitarian pockets and mesh inner lining.The Ganryu universe is split into two parts. The pragmatic mainline and the “red label” which he describes as wearable art, giving him an outlet to play with bolder colors and shapes. In this collection, he experimented with yarn colors to create optical illusions. One of the knitted jumpers used a mixture of a mint green yarn with a lighter shade of green to create the illusion of neon green.The intention to present the two collections side-by-side was a deliberate effort to contrast the playful with the practical. Models sporting the mainline collection stared intensely at others wearing the red label, mimicking how people look at artwork in a gallery.
21 June 2023
Many a designer will listen to music in the studio. Fumito Ganryu prefers to pull up videos about social issues all over the world. That said, he’s not one to plaster his beliefs on the back of a jacket or a message tee. Instead, they seep into his constructions and, sometimes, the material itself. To wit: for t-shirts, he borrowed a material called Spaore from the medical world for its well-being benefits, from improving bloodwork to posture (Ganryu and his team swear by it, he added).“One of the things that inspires me is the people around me, wherever that is,” he said through a translator during a Zoom call from Tokyo. “In order to understand what the consumer wants, you have to have an understanding of social issues, and that will ultimately reflect to the consumers as well.”This season, he tapped into his conviction that we live in a world where “fashion design is less focused on consumers than marketing.” So he put himself in consumers’ shoes and concentrated on cuts, removed extraneous details, and kept the colors to a discreet palette of earth tones. Drop-crotch trousers are a Ganryu signature, a bid for aligning comfort and fashion.For fall, he revisited that shape in various materials, from soft pale pink sweatpants with an invisible zip fly, to denim and suiting. He also gave himself extra leeway by starting a new line; the Red line is the impulsive, “rebellious”—often asymmetrical, always inclusive—pendant to the main line’s “logical” approach to patternmaking. Finding a space to play was a big part of that decision, the designer said, adding that, with age, he’s noticed that he tends not to wear as many “out-there” clothes as he used to. Now, his base—whatever their age—has a choice.While still traditional in shape, the main line’s tailored jackets and coats are stripped of traditionally masculine elements; though these aren’t presented as unisex, in Ganryu’s process they are. His accessories, too, have plenty of crossover appeal. A quilted down-filled scarf walks the fine line between functionality and fashion thanks to life jacket-style harness fasteners and two tiers of discreetly zippered compartments that can be either pockets to keep hands warm or a place to stow keys, phone, and wallet (it can also be folded into quarters and carried). A nylon bag made in collaboration with the Japanese bag brand Ramidus has a clever fold-over design that, with a change of strap fastenings, can expand to the size of an artist’s portfolio.
A first collaboration with the Japanese footwear brand OAO resulted in water-resistant black leather sneakers with a fidlock fastener to tighten laces if needed. Those, like the t-shirts, speak to his process.“I don’t want to just focus on designs that bring happiness to consumers,” the designer said. “I want to add another layer to that.”
18 January 2023
Fumito Ganryu said his primary objective through the design of this collection was to achieve balance. “I’m seeking to find that balance in the myriad of situations the wearer is faced with throughout their day… so they might be faced with instances where they have to be very stylish and then in the next moment be quite casual,” the designer explained through a translator over Zoom.This simplistic sounding rationale was perfectly appropriate for a collection that looked in many parts straightforward—if only through these lookbook pictures—because it was intricately designed to create exactly that impression. Suiting was deconstructed and darted in sleeve and leg to create a loose, sporty semi-formality. Ganryu applied powerfully artificial color combinations to usually more muted organic prints to inject impact to easily-worn separates in Solartex; a jacket whose hood was zippable into a full face-covering blindfold was perfect for urgent napping. Similar impact was achieved in two-toned knitwear playing lime green against blue in recycled material and indigo denim pieces overprinted with white in order to create a ‘fade’ that darkens, rather than lightens, with use.The prime pieces here however were the pleat-backed parka-shirt hybrids in plain materials or checks. These combined the menswear languages of the military and sartorialism to achieve garments that looked both interestingly unconventional and easily wearable. That’s a balance to be savored.
7 July 2022
Named “Homeostasis”—after the term referring to the maintenance by living things of the conditions best optimized for their continued living (at least that’s how I read it)—this collection was about finding balance in apparently imbalanced conditions. Hence, explained Ganryu via translator down a challenging internet connection, the positioning of his models at the point on a podium where two axes intersected. He said: “it is like a graph or a radar chart where you would see the x and y axis crossing; it’s looking right at the middle of that where you have that neutrality you know, it’s not too much in one direction.”But what were these axes measuring? Between which opposing forces was Ganryu seeking worn harmony? Two apparently oppositional—but maybe not—factors were digital life and real life. Ganryu said that a handsome piped diamond quilted jacket and waistcoat came in a color designed to stand out in avatar form but emanate a reassuring classicism in the physical. Other dichotomies included volume and texture (Ganryu is ace when it comes to monastic streetwear shapes) and form and function (see the MA1 parka whose pockets served as armholes).The collection featured odd little quirks of creative evolution, like the above the knee slicing and fold that only ever seemed to feature on the right leg. Materials included a rib knit in appealing purple blended from recycled polyester and virgin wool, and in a pair of handsomely volumised olive pants cut in a nylon Ganryu described as ‘normal’ given a technical treatment in order to conjure a shimmery reflective shine. As last season, some pieces were light-emitting. I especially enjoyed the oversized purple duffel coat worn over baselayer leggings: an athleisure meets Paddington Bear intersection that seemed weirdly reassuring in its appealing oddness.
19 January 2022
“Compatibility…a form of software that is free and not constrained by the times.” This snippet from Fumito Ganryu’s press notelet tellingly insinuated that the garments were a form of code to be uploaded from the closet and then run on the hardware of the bodies wearing them. At a moment when digital metaphors seem everywhere, but with luck will be escapable soon, Ganryu’s take on summer 2022 compatibility was, thankfully, physically pragmatic and practically ingenious.Examples of this included belted robe coats cut in the stretchy quick-dry synthetic more commonly used for surfers’ rashguards, designed to envelop the skin while being barely perceptible on it. Longer coats with reflective panels on the back were just as light, but cut in a water resistant fabric to allow for total compatibility between housebound slouching and midnight cycling. A formalized take on the French F2 combat jacket in olive cotton/satin was designed for multiple operational deployments, whether as outerwear or mid-layer: worn with a cropped and multi-pocket pant in the same fabric, it made for a refined survival suit. T-shirts featuring glow in the dark panels, shaped to resemble energy cells, made statements relating both to safety and self-confidence.Perhaps less self-confident but certainly self-knowing was a striped shirt cut with colored sleeves that resembled those of a 1990s track jacket: Ganryu gamely confessed on our Zoom that this garment was partly a personal strategy devised to allow him to wear elements of the gear he’d loved rocking way-back-when, but which he suspected were a little youthful for him to stick to in 2022. Compatible across multiple generations and multiple contexts, this was a precisely built and fastidiously programmed collection.
23 June 2021
“The direction of high fashion and streetwear is very different,” said Fumito Ganryu via translator. “High fashion can appear more simple but more elegant, while streetwear has a wild energy that comes from the young.” In this collection the Comme des Garçons alum worked to show that these differences of direction need not be oppositional—and should in fact be complementary. This is why the duffle coat modeled in the background by the designer’s colleague Yusuke was cut to appear highly classical (even when haphazardly buttoned) yet was produced in a bonded technical fabric. Against it Yusuke wore an enormous example of the collection’s faux-fur hats that evokedWillie Dynamite, Buffalo, and Jamiroquai to this old-timer and which looked extrovert-perfect, whatever the reference.Workwear jackets were combined with demonstratively colored detachable faux-fur collars. Oversized wool tailored jackets and kimono-sleeve knits signified classicism elsewhere to complement shirting with integrated fleece-front gilets and workwear aprons. Down zip-ups and lapeled jackets were presented in a modularly intended range of the three primary colors plus black and white, to support Ganryu’s thesis that through the unprejudiced combination of difference you create infinite possibilities. Almost every garment featured a QR-code patch, which once scanned would take the wearer, Ganryu promised, deeper into that happy utopia.
25 January 2021
For his lockdown look book Fumito Ganryu packed up his collection and sent it from Japan to Wiltshire, England. There it was styled, shot, and modeled by Tom Guinness (and his son Reuben) in and around their house in the countryside. Down the Zoom from beneath his mask, Ganryu said that he’d focused on creating garments that looked like they had the robustness of streetwear but when worn had the softness and comfort of loungewear: “garments that people need at the moment, a concept of outdoor-indoor.”Sadly unable to feel that softness for myself, I can only say that Guinness looks comfortable enough, and that Ganryu’s mix of oversized tailoring and denim workwear not actually made of denim (I think he said jersey) looks good. His colleague Yusuke who modeled a tracksuit and high-fishtail M-51 moved with rangy abandon. And certainly that silky oversized trench coat does appear something you’d happily not take off once in the door.Via email Guinness spoke of Ganryu’s “elevated minimal workwear spirit” and added “It felt very appropriate to show myself wearing these in my real domestic life around the house and studio.” That reality was then redesigned for the show video that Guinness shot to emphasize Ganryu’s “indoor/outdoor” seasonal thesis.
13 July 2020
Via a very careful translator, Fumito Ganryu said before this show: “In fashion, and with clothes, certain color combinations seem wrong. But if you look at nature, you will see all of these colors together, and they work very well.” That was the starting point of a collection that made a point of allowing nature to be the architect of much of the color palette. Ganryu said he’s a freak forNational Geographic’s Instagram feed, and with his assistants he assembled a huge shortlist of sky images, seascapes, star-scapes, and forest canopy images from which to create the prints for the opening section of garments.Unless outerwear, these looks placed the sky images above the waist and the earth-level imagery below. With the exception of the first of two hugely oversize duffle coats—whose construction was inspired by that of the kimono, but which also created a complete-with-cincture monk’s habit effect—these pieces were relatively orthodox backdrops for his prints. Then, after a striped intermission, Ganryu returned with a section that slightly reminded of old-school Benetton campaigns in their adjacency of intensely colored, apparently mundane garments (which close inspection revealed were made in beautifully finished cotton and nylons). Finally, via a great “trench coat robe” wonderfully slashed on the left side for insouciant swooshing, the sun slowly set via some gray-to-black suiting featuring super-volumized pants and attractive box-pleat jackets. These pieces looked dull in comparison to the opening natural panorama pieces, but even without the scenery, they were attractive menswear destinations.
18 June 2019
This was a really interesting collection, until it really wasn’t. That threshold between “yes, please” and “please, no more” was hit when a female model in a dark oversize—super-oversize—hooded tracksuit came out wearing the slingback sneakers that ran through the show. This look would have made a perfect full stop and pleasingly symmetrical return to the capitally good opening section: a full circle. Instead, Fumito Ganryu went on, repeating most of his ideas, but this time in black. Yes, mate: We understand it can also come in black.But back to the beginning. Ganryu’s first Paris show post-independence from Comme des Garçons started with that supersize tracksuit, but in gray. Then we got a kind of blanket-coat hybrid—janket2.0, post–Emporio Armani—that this time had sleeves, a double hem on the right side, and that was fastened, diaper-like, with an ostentatiously large safety pin. The pants below looked outrageously dropped crotch until the next look that teamed a multi-armed striped dark sweater above denim trousers whose crotch was so dropped, said crotch was practically rubbing up against the Pyrenees.Ganryu inhaled a little then, and then exhaled. We saw a series of gorgeously calibrated menswear standards that were designed to both affirm and undermine the tropes of testosterone-tilted apparel—especially a blue suit that really needed to be contemplated in profile to be appreciated in full, whose line flowed outward from the shoulder blade in a properly brilliant piece of garment engineering (let’s just ignore the two stupid straps that peeked from the lining down to the skirt). The four-tierpiuminosthat followed were volumized versions of this A-line jacket. The ultra-volumized duffle coats were fine in a fashion show context, but just imagine wearing them on the street. Unless you were jonesing for street style attention, just like so many in the crowd outside before this show, wearing these IRL would be WTF problematic.This show left you asking questions, such as: Why did only some models have pom-poms on their socks? Is that silhouette—most especially, that suit—really as unprecedentedly harmonious a hybrid of mid-century womenswear and 21st-century men’s as it appears? After that seen-it-before, second outing of the tracksuit, however, the most burning question of all was “Are we there yet?” Ganryu has some fascinating ideas. However, not unlike this review, they could do with some merciless editing.
15 January 2019
Following years of gestation in the Comme des Garçons family, Fumito Ganryu’s baptism as an eponymous label took place at an underground parking lot on the outskirts of Florence this morning. Not only should this have been way closer to the next thing on the schedule, but it really should have been outside. To bereallypicky—and ask for something beyond anyone’s control—it would have been best of all held in that tempest that so drenched Dior Resort recently.That’s because the central themes Ganryu navigated were a dialectic between the urban and the natural whose conductor was water. The idea, Ganryu explained, was to make a collection you’d feel free to get wet in. “I want to foster an interaction with nature,” he added.Many of the items were totally waterproof, such as the monkish “king-size” neoprene robes that opened the show and whose proportions were made to protect a full look within (so these were clothes-for-clothes). And many of them came with changes of clothing, slung from rubber belts or tied around the models: Shorts were worn with a pair of pants hanging unworn at the back; hoodies doubled as hip-held capes; and coats were both worn and hung on the models. This walking wardrobe featured a lot of streamlined and technical visibly bonded black or white performancewear, sandals attached to the foot via either opaque rubbery straps or cable ties, and some minimal matte satin–finish cotton jeans and trucker jackets with a narrow grid of rectangular folds at the buttons.There was a very attractive section of irregularly cut indigo jersey pieces, really fine, which is where the collection felt its most unabashedly wantable and less engaged with conceptual flourishes. One flourish worked well, though: A mise-en-scène featured two heavily perfumed models demonstrating that their hoodies zipped up to envelop their heads entirely, which would be a brilliant garment to have flying long-haul. At the end came a series of primary-colored neoprene ensembles both worn and attached to the models that swam very close to scuba-esque, and more king-size robes, this time in two beautifully finished and clearly porous fabrications. Although the articulation and styling felt at times overdone, these factors did not obscure how handsome many of the pieces in this collection were. Next season Ganryu relocates to Paris, where he will show going forward.
13 June 2018