visvim FW26 Dissertation on In Harmony We Trust

“In Harmony We Trust,” as stated by Hiroki Nakamura and Visvim. This “Future Vintage” ethos that the brand brings to the table offers a refreshing twist to the fashion and design industry that I rarely see in the space today, and its most recent collection further solidifies the brand’s ideas and themes.

Starting with its purpose, Hiroki Nakamura uses Visvim to try to find the answer to a question: “Why do certain old objects possess an undeniable soul, and how can we replicate that warmth today?” It is such a unique approach and goal that isn’t often heard of among fashion houses today, which is what initially caught my attention with this project that started back in 2000.

With the phrase “In Harmony We Trust,” Visvim goes all out in trying to create harmony within this idea of “Future Vintage.” In its yarn work, for example, the brand intentionally makes the yarn in its garments “uneven,” which is quite clever. Standard modern machines spin perfectly uniform threads, which tend to age flatly. Hiroki and Visvim instead essentially reverse-engineered pre-industrial spinning techniques to create uneven yarn. When woven into their garments, such as the famous Social Sculpture Denim, the fabric breaks down with high- and low-contrast points that mimic vintage 1930s workwear. With techniques like these adding a modern twist to old methods, we can really start to see the vision behind the “Future Vintage” idea that Visvim brings to the table.

In addition to the sewing and yarn, they even implement something similar with the coloring. Visvim rejects many of the synthetic dyes widely used in the fashion space and instead explores traditional dyeing methods dating as far back as 1,300 years ago. Using raw materials like cochineal, natural indigo, and Dorozome, they are able to build a personalized “look” into their denim and other garments because of the organic properties of these materials, which react dynamically to sunlight, air, and even the wearer’s skin oils. Instead of the garment remaining static, these methods allow it to develop alongside the person wearing it.

Now, with the design itself, Hiroki quite obviously takes inspiration from numerous past aesthetics and pieces of vintage clothing and implements them into the design language of Visvim. As a recent example, Hiroki takes a lot of inspiration from vintage automobiles and machinery, and if you look at Visvim’s social media, you can see Hiroki driving vintage cars, with the brand even having its own Motors Club. Additionally, Visvim takes inspiration from Native American folk clothing, which essentially helped give birth to Visvim’s iconic FBT shoe, along with hints of winter and outdoor wear, possibly stemming from Hiroki’s past as a designer for Burton Snowboards.

With the combination of reverse-engineering traditional manufacturing methods and taking heavy inspiration from past aesthetics and garments that incorporate hand-stitching and workwear, Visvim is able to stand out in the fashion space as a whole with a unique ethos that it incorporates throughout its collections, and this is obvious with the new FW26 collection.

And honestly, the methods Visvim uses to replicate this “Future Vintage” feeling in its pieces are working. With the cuts and fits of the pieces, that overall vintage look is pretty resonant throughout this collection. Some of the fits that the models were styled in really give off an ’80s atmosphere. With the denim, you can see the organic materials and manufacturing methods doing their work, giving the wearer a vintage workwear aesthetic as well. Additionally, you can see the Native American influence in one of the tan vests in the recent collection, as well as the influence of vintage workwear through some of the denim jackets and trousers we see throughout it. The color palette is also very nice to look at, especially when you understand the dyeing methods Visvim uses in its clothing, and you can even sense that warmth that Visvim is trying to replicate in its pieces. Overall, I am quite happy with what Visvim has produced with the new collection.

Knowing its background, its ethos, its manufacturing methods, and its design ideologies really propels my appreciation for what Visvim is trying to achieve with its collections. With the most recent collection, you can see that its roadmap and ideas are working pretty well. And honestly, maybe I will buy something from them.

Now, this may be a little off-topic from the review of Visvim itself, but it does highlight something that I think needs to be said, and something I have reiterated in past essays and articles written here: the importance of understanding the artistic ethos and design behind a brand, along with the messages and ideas that the clothes are trying to show us.

Visvim is a very good example of this, but it isn’t just Visvim. Brands like Yohji Yamamoto, Rick Owens, and A-COLD-WALL*, among various others, have established their own place in fashion through a distinct identity and perspective. Artistic vision and the ability to tell your story through clothes is, in my opinion, a very important skill to have in fashion, and Visvim does a very good job of that here, both through its manufacturing methods and through the design of the clothing itself.

To see the collection visit here