ssstein

ssstein is a Tokyo-based independent label founded by Kiichiro Asakawa in July 2016, originally under the name stein. The brand grew from carol, the multi-brand store Asakawa opened in Shibuya three months earlier after six years working in Harajuku retail. Its first products were three trouser models developed through the dismantling and reconstruction of more than 300 pairs of vintage Levi’s 501 jeans, turning shop-floor observations about fit into a systematic study of pattern, balance and movement.

Autumn/Winter 2017 expanded that experiment into a complete wardrobe, followed by formal wholesale exhibitions from Spring/Summer 2018. The mainline remains unified and unisex, spanning tailoring, outerwear, shirting, knitwear, denim and leather. Long vertical drape, dropped shoulders, layered coat structures and precise fabric behaviour give the clothing its character; scale is controlled through pattern and weight, not simple enlargement.

The label entered the Rakuten Fashion Week Tokyo runway in 2023 and adopted the ssstein spelling from Autumn/Winter 2024 as it prepared for wider international distribution. Winning the Fashion Prize of Tokyo 2025 supported its official Paris Fashion Week Men’s debut with Resonance in January 2025. Operated by encens Co., Ltd., ssstein has since expanded its overseas wholesale network while maintaining carol as a retail, showroom and testing ground for the collections.

Asakawa designs through the relationship between stillness and motion. A garment may appear restrained on the hanger, then reveal its logic through the way a coat falls, a shoulder drops or a trouser line shifts around the body. Classic menswear categories provide the framework, but their internal balance is repeatedly adjusted through hidden panels, reduced interlining, layered construction and carefully placed weight.

Textile development carries equal importance. Fine wool can be treated for smoothness and resistance to creasing; cotton-rayon blends are woven for slight iridescence; sulphur-dyed cloth receives hand-rubbed pigment; denim is altered through washing, airbrushing and blotting; leather is drum-dyed or rubbed with oil to produce an uneven surface. These processes give familiar garments a controlled instability and allow colour, texture and wear to register gradually.

The design process remains tied to retail observation. carol staff test samples and respond to proportion, drape and practicality before final production, extending the feedback loop that produced the first trousers. Photography by figures including Corinne Day, Mark Borthwick and Anders Edström informs atmosphere and colour, while the final clothes remain intended for repeated daily use. The result is a wardrobe shaped by technical precision, emotional restraint and the visible passage of time.