Sacai's Chitose Abe Gets Profiled Twice

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Complex Original

Image via Complex Original

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For some reason, both The Washington Post and WWD profiled Sacai designer Chitose Abe. Sacai is a dope brand that is having a bit of a moment in the fashion sun lately, highlighted by a recent Nike collaboration that channeled Abe's designs into a female hypebeat's wet dream. Apparently, now is the time to turn the spotlight towards Abe and Sacai, not that we're complaining—we've been big fans of her menswear work for a minute. Abe's designs often blend two or three different pieces into one, making the garment look totally different from the front than from the back.

While the profiles mainly focus on Abe's womenswear, she herself admits that a lot of her inspiration comes from menswear, which she splices together into elegant pieces of clothing. The Washington Post's Robin Givhan places emphasis on the eclectic designs and rise of Japanese designers like Rei Kawakubo and Junya Watanabe under Comme Des Garcons, where Abe spent almost a decade working before starting her own label. She's shunned investment and partnerships since it started in 1999 in order to keep the brand organic and to not have to answer for something that wasn't good for sales.

WWD put a little more emphasis on how the brand has grown while staying lean. Abe is still the brand's only designer and does both the women's and men's collections totaling around 500 pieces a season, alongside other projects and her team is still just around 20 people. Abe wants to keep it small for the time being and is wary of growing too quickly. She also mentions that there will be a new Nike x Sacai collection this fall (probably still just for women, but we can hope). Abe's 17 years in the business has seen Sacai land in 175 stores around the world with hopefully many more to come. Keep it locked it you haven't already.

[Photo via The Washington Post]

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