Paul Smith Red Ear

East meets West in the new Paul Smith Red Ear collection, which blends American military clothing with vintage Japanese kimono shapes.

For spring/summer ’20, Paul Smith Red Ear continues its practice of producing authentic, Japanese-made clothing with an advanced appreciation of fabric and detailing.

This season, Red Ear contains a fusion of references from both sides of the Pacific Ocean, as American military clothing and vintage thrift-store finds are blended with traditional Japanese kimono detailing to create garments that span both traditions.

For example, a recognisable US bomber jacket is updated with a flat kimono collar. Elsewhere, a blue and white spotted pattern has been adapted from a traditional Japanese chef’s uniform. This now features on classic shirts and a reversible military-inspired jacket liner.

Other pieces in the collection present traditional Western jacket shapes in new wide yet cropped silhouettes inspired by traditional kimonos and judo clothing. These are then worn with longer layers beneath, to create complex and textured outfits.

Adding another layer of intrigue, a unique collection of cotton T-shirts have been naturally dyed in small batches using foraged organic material. Embroidered motifs on each T-shirt give clues to the plant, berry or fruit that was used to create each colour.

Looking towards more traditional Japanese themes, The Edo-Tokyo Open Air Architectural Museum in the western suburbs of Tokyo was chosen as the location to showcase the new collection.

This unique museum preserves historic Japanese buildings by dismantling them and then painstakingly reassembling them, piece by piece, within the grounds of the museum. Most buildings date from the Meiji era of Japan’s history, which dated from 1868 to 1912. This level of attention to detail is a defining feature of Japanese culture that is similarly mirrored in the Red Ear collection.

Paul Smith
16, The Royal Arcade
W1S 4SR
Tel: 0203 205 1135
www.paulsmith.com

Photography by Lee Basford, Styling by Hideyuki Kanemitsu, Hair by Shota Kurushima, Model: Kai

Special thanks to Edo-Tokyo Open Air Architectural Museum