Jun Hashimoto

[comedyzen]

I had the pleasure to meet Jun in his store/studio in Ebisu (very close to the JULIUS flagship). Very nice guy. I felt bad because he was personally showing me all the clothes because he was the only one there that could speak communicable English. I even apologized to him that for doing it....he was gracious and said he enjoys interacting with customers and getting their POV.

He has a solid resume. Worked under Maurizio Altieri during the Carpe Diem days. Jun said Maurizio was one of the nicest guys he's ever met. Then he founded WJK (which he left for personnel reasons) The good thing about Jun's line in Japan is that he is one of the few designers that will sell a size 5 (50) there. I was at a WJK store and nothing came close to fitting me. I was happy to fit in a JUN HASHIMOTO double layered shirt...and snatched it up quickly.

[random]

ive yet to purchase a piece from his new own label, but from interwebs pictures design-wise there doesnt seem to have a lot of things to talk about, or maybe I am just mistaken? same thing goes for the old wjk collections. very good quality, but hardly a desginer brand. just my 2cents thoughts and I am open to be proved wrong.

[croatoan]

Jun is a really great guy. He separated himself from wjk a while back and since then wjk has switched to much cheaper/lesser quality production facilities while Jun's new label uses the original, high quality one. A number of very high-quality brands are using the same factory.

He basically left wjk because he wanted to do more "design" in his clothing instead of just doing the same things every season. The current season is his first collection under his own name so you really can't judge variation or anything within it. As with a lot of similar brands, too, I don't think you can really can't base opinions off of photos because it tells you nothing of the construction and materials. That said, the next collection is definitely quite different from this one. Not all of it is quite my thing, but there are some beautiful pieces.

[comedyzen]

Jun did mention his factory and said that it didn't spare expense when it came to craftmanship and materials. You have to go into the studio and get hands on with his pieces. I very much wanted to buy a v-neck tee with drawstring sleeves. Too bad he didn't have that in my size. He also designed a very sharp cardigan he nicknamed "I don't like to wear cardigans, but if I had to, this would be it."

His raw jeans did not impress me as they look like any other selvedged jean. And like everyone else, he has his selection of 6500-12000 line of basics.

He is doing OK as ISETAN and LECLAIREUR and a couple of other major shops have picked him up. I'm glad to see he has moved away from the military look (he may have had 1-2 jackets that still had military influence) but the rest of the line felt fresh. I will be following his career.