5 Japanese Designers in Their 20s That Are Going to Be the Next Big Three
Text Kaijiro Masuda（Fashion Journalist）
Kaijiro Masuda is a fashion journalist who covered more than 250 fashion shows a year and has been watching thousands of exhibitions over the years. For this irregular series of columns, he picks out the Japanese brands that you should know now. In this five-part series, he looks at Japanese brands in their twenties that are going to be the next big three. This time we'll be looking at SUGARHILL.
Genderless and sensual American casual wear by a designer in his twenties
When I saw SUGARHILL' s clothes for the first time three and a half years ago, I thought, "It's finally here!”. It was clothes designed by a generation that has experienced Shibukaji (Shibuya casual) and American casual wear culture. At the time, I was surprised at how authentic the clothes were for 22 years old designer, but I later realised that it was no surprise that he had grown up to see his parents' wardrobe.
Designer Rikuya Hayashi was born in Tokyo, Japan, but spent his years of puberty in Vancouver, Canada. I heard his high school days were filled with a mixture of cultures, and he was quite naughty. And in 2016, while attending the Fashion Institute of Technology (FIT) in New York, he wore a self-made jumpsuit inspired by vintage Levi's 506XX to a party, and rapper Kid Fresino liked it, then he ended up wearing it in his music video for "Love". Many others wanted one, and Hayashi's brother, who was also impressed, encouraged him to start a brand. He was also encouraged by Ryohei Kawanishi, former creative director of LANDLORD (now creative director of LES SIX) when he was doing an internship at the time.
The brand was named after the place in upstate New York where he was living at the time and was also a nod to The Sugarhill Gang, the world's first commercially successful hip hop group. At the age of 21, Hayashi his brand.
His American casual wear is beyond the standards in terms of materials and attention to detail, but is often seen as over detailed (lots of design elements) for older generations. I don't see it as a negative aspect either, but I feel that every piece of clothing has one or two excess design elements. And what's different from traditional American casual wear is that there's a genderless vibe hidden within the masculinity. For example, the striped and denim look from S/S 2019 gives somewhat a sense of JEAN PAUL GAULTIER, and the mohair knitwear of A/W 2020 is styled with a floor-length scarf of the same pattern. There's something mysterious and sensual about this brand but hard to describe.
The last three seasons have seen a strong hippie taste of the late 60s and early 70s, with more American casual feel. There is also more handmade pieces, with the A/W 2021 collaboration between Schott and multi-lable store LHP featuring a biker jacket with stunning hand-fringed and metal detailing, reminiscent of North Beach Leather's costumes for musicians in the 70s. The 2022SS collection, with its title "ciguatera", is also very American influenced, except for the tailored pieces, but still has a gender neutral atmosphere that is not too masculine.
This coexistence of superficial masculinity, inner sensitivity and mysterious sexiness is probably what makes SUGARHILL so attractive and unique. It's very modern, and it' no wonder that the younger generation, who have never gone through American casual wear culture, have naturally accepted the brand. Hayashi is set to make his first runway (or presentation) debut at the Tokyo Collections in March. Most people would think that runway is not a good match for the brand. But I don't think that's true.
Designer Profile
Rikuya Hayashi was born in Tokyo, Japan in 1995.After graduating from FIT in New York, he then transferred to the spatial design course at Musashino Art University to graduate with honors in 2019.
He started his own brand, SUGARHILL, in 2016 while still at FIT, and won the Tokyo Fashion Award in 2021. He is a motorbike freak owning three bikes.
