STAFF: Haru
instagram:haru_02018
Hello! It’s Haru, the clothing geek!!
As I declared yesterday,
today I'm going to talk about "kolor".
Some of you might be surprised
that sign has suddenly started carrying kolor,
but there were big changes
starting from the 26SS season,
and that led to this opportunity
for us to carry the brand.
Before I talk about that,
let me give you a quick overview of the brand.
kolor is a brand established in 2004
by designer Mr. Abe,
and it is active worldwide as a brand
with an appealing creation process that
utilizes his high-level design sensibility—which
is unmatched by any other brand—
and his deep knowledge and techniques
that earned him the title of
"magician of materials."
Mr. Abe, who had been active at the
forefront of the global scene,
stepped down as designer, retiring
with the 2025 Autumn/Winter collection.
Although he will continue to support kolor
even after his retirement,
many were shocked by that announcement
at the time,
but I was even more surprised when I found out
that "that person" was the one
succeeding him.
The person who was entrusted with the baton is
Mr. Taro Horiuchi
of th (th products),
which we also carry at sign.
Knowing that Mr. Horiuchi, who possesses
both a diverse career and high ability,
would be taking over,
I was excited to see how the brand
would change in the future!
In the midst of that,
thanks to carrying th and various other connections,
guess what?!
Starting this season, we have officially
begun carrying kolor at sign as well!!
Because I know the history of sign, I never
in my wildest dreams thought we would
even be carrying kolor.
It's already been so well received in-store
that some items have already sold out.
With the overview out of the way,
let me introduce some items.
kolor
-26SCM-C02102
col.Navy
col.Beige
This season writes a new page by
following the kolor-esque material usage
and designs built up over many years,
in addition to Mr. Horiuchi's
outstanding technique and sense.
With the change in designer,
we can see a side of the brand
that didn't exist before,
and there are both good and bad points to that.
However,
that is the perspective of those who have been
watching kolor for a long time or stores
that have carried them for years,
and precisely because we at sign are
carrying it starting this season,
I think our strength is that you can
get to know the world of kolor from here.
According to Mr. Horiuchi,
it was produced with an approach different
from the kolor of the past; while they
conventionally do not use a design process
based on design sketches,
this time he adopted a process starting
from design sketches to determine
his own direction within,
and the combination of that with kolor's
accumulated pattern technology and textiles
resulted in a positive multiplication.
As a side note,
it seems even a professional like Mr. Horiuchi
had a hard time producing kolor items,
with designs that make even those who
understand clothing manufacture scratch
their heads, wondering, "How is this made?!"
He even lamented,
"I felt that Mr. Abe's manufacturing
is crazy haha" haha
Among this delivery, the item that stands out the
most and feels most "kolor" is this coat.
It's a piece that docks a polyester blouson
onto a coat made from a blend of polyester and wool.
This isn't just some simple thing
where a blouson is just attached to a coat.
This is the true essence of kolor:
an exquisite balance born from calculating everything
from the balance of the docked items to the
texture and color tones.
Personally, I get really excited thinking that
by using poly-wool for the coat and 100% polyester
for the blouson, they created depth by
clearly bringing out the difference in texture haha.
The color scheme also doesn't just end with you
thinking "that's flashy,"
but chooses colors that enhance each other
to create contrast.
Usually, that alone is enough to make you feel
the high level of the designer's skill,
but adding the "difference in texture" creates
a synergistic effect.
An item that makes you feel that the baton
was truly passed from the "magician of materials."
Also, until now, kolor has often combined
tailoring and sportswear,
and as a new approach for this collection,
the impression is that there are many items
that incorporate outdoor elements,
making them easier to wear and more accessible.
Personally, I think this is the best opening act
for a debut collection of the new kolor, which
can also be enjoyed by existing kolor fans!
Regarding these kolor items,
as I mentioned at the beginning,
some items are already sold out!
I can confidently recommend this as an item that
scores 120 points as a candidate for your
first shopping trip of the end of the year.
Please come and see them,
maybe even to say Happy New Year!!
My Fashion Obsession Diary EP. 71
