Tags: Ann Demeulemeester, BLOC, EM, EM Import, Kris Van Assche, Kyoto, Lounge Lizard, Mastermind, Rick Owens, Rip Wan Winkle, Veronique Branquinho
Right in the middle of a beautiful ancient city like Kyoto there is a building totally painted in black: it is BLOC, the world of high quality men’s fashion. Viewers are denied the sight of the shop’s interior from the outside, maybe because seeing the inside is a reward only for those who choose to go in. Just by isolating itself from the outside world BLOC has succeeded in creating an atmosphere of its own for fashion lovers. In its dark and mysterious space each ingeniously organised floor develops a different concept. On the 1st floor, called EM, there is a collection of high quality brands for the home, such as Rip Van Winkle, Lounge Lizard, Master Mind and others, in addition to silver accessories and shoes. The 2nd floor, called EM Import, displays antique furniture and the latest cool international brands, like Rick Owens, Kris Van Assche, Ann Demeulemeester, Veronique Branquinho and so on. The 3rd floor is a brightly lit area which combines two concepts of WJK and Black. Black is a space to introduce sophisticated highly technical brands like Augusta, Guidi, +By Maurizio Amadei and Giorgio Brato, whereas the other half of the floor is devoted to WJK Brand. The theme of the brand is ‘A really good thing never changes’; it proposes a ‘new standard’ which consists in using good quality materials and simplicity in design. Just as every fashion brand keeps sending messages to the world, BLOC have precisely the same attitude to their customers. From the 2008-2009 Autumn-Winter season they have started producing a brand of their own, ‘N4’, which is focused on the theme ‘Evolution of a basic’. The brand has involved a thorough research on the traditional Japanese technique of minimalism that has been condensed into a cloth. BLOC makes you feel like keeping your eyes on it, and as you do so you can’t but anticipate that new developments in fashion can start from Kyoto in the near future.