The Tamesis
CFCL is slowly making inroads into the men’s market. “We have been focusing on CFCL customers and trying to make things more mature,” Yusuke Takahashi commented during a video call in Tokyo. “Women’s wear is more dramatic and men’s wear is more practical, so we tried to give him a stronger attitude and stay authentic while also connecting with younger consumers.”
For early fall, that means leaning toward loose, relaxed silhouettes with minimal seams, like the double-breasted jacket, which designers describe as the perfect piece to instantly elevate a look to office-appropriate. Although recycled polyester is CFCL’s signature material, he notes that he worked to develop a material that more closely resembles the look and feel of natural materials. Here are two examples: a mottled gray funnel-neck coat and a caramel-colored cardigan with layers of ribbing on the sleeves. A sophisticated ribbed hoodie looks like it might resonate with that younger customer.
While polyester is trending toward bright colors, next season the brand is sticking to muted tones—beige, brown, olive, navy, black—with the occasional terracotta or teal peeking out from the inverted pleats. “We wanted to make sure everything worked together,” said the designer.
CFCL last week unveiled a new version of the V-90, the second chapter in its collaboration with Veja, the brand’s tech-oriented retro running shoe inspired by the clean architectural lines of Shinjuku. Takahashi also explained that the idea was to take casual favorites and elevate them to “almost like leather” to work well in the concrete jungle.
Speaking of urban environments, CFCL is packing up and moving into a new factory in Saitama Prefecture this month. The additional floor space (nearly 11,000 square feet) will provide the designer and his team with the flexibility to grow exponentially almost overnight. The existing three machines in the company’s knitting laboratory will be increased to 42, with a capacity of nearly 240 pieces per day. Crucially, this gives CFCL plenty of room to experiment until it launches a menswear equivalent to its best-selling “Pottery” dress. “It was challenging, but also exciting,” admits the designer. stay tuned.
