A Break Down on READYMADE

The search for sustainable fashion has reached its peak amongst consumers and designers in recent years, but for Yuta Hosokawa, the designer behind Readymade, using recycled garments has been entrenched in the brand’s ethos since its inception. Hosokawa began Readymade in 2013 with the intention to carve out an eco-friendly niche amidst the ubiquitous fast-fashion environment at the time. Initially an experiment, Hosokawa began hand-crafting streetwear staples by reinterpreting vintage military material, making use of the military-wear surplus in the U.S. The contemporary use of army green is also deliberate, symbolizing the need to leave wars in the past and giving military gear a new meaning.

Upcycling old military tents, original lettering is preserved but custom colourful patchworks are added to create entirely new pieces. This artisanal approach means pieces take months to create often resulting in low supply, yet the slow process is what establishes the brand’s high quality. “Creating Readymade products is extremely difficult. Because every single product is crafted from different source garments, the condition of the garment can greatly affect the outcome. At the same time, every finished product is one-of-a-kind.”

By 2016, prominent figures like Poggy, Virgil Abloh and Don C took a strong liking to the deconstructed past-meets-present style of Readymade which initiated a series of collabs. From a backpack with Off-White, to a capsule with Just Don and eventually a collab with BAPE, one of the most notable pieces to come out of Readymade was the reinterpreted TNF Nupste, that was spotted on Travis Scott during the Astroworld tour.

Although it seems the deconstructed aesthetic has come and gone, Readymade’s recent collab with Nike appears to be a promising shift for the brand. The new Readymade Nike Blazer released this February with the outersole made of 15% recycled materials. What seemed to overshadow the sneaker though, was the prop linked to the collab the Readymade Nike chair. Replicating the silhouette of the Futura Lab x Readymade chair, the swoosh-for-an-armrest chair drew inspiration from the Blazer sneaker design and went instantly viral.