“The number of things I find beautiful continues to grow,” says ssstein founder and designer Kiichiro Asakawa. It’s equal parts personal philosophy and design brief. It’s also perhaps the most low-key aspirational way for an influential creative force to move through the world.

Asakawa is not a designer who arrived at fashion through conventional channels. Born in Yamanashi prefecture, he learned the craft hands-on at Naichichi, a now-defunct Harajuku store that dealt in repurposed vintage. There, he absorbed the language of clothing by handling it, deconstructing it, studying it, asking why certain garments were beautiful, and chasing that question as far as it would go. He moved into buying, eventually opening his own store — Carol, in Shibuya — in 2016, a space he still oversees today. The first official ssstein collection came one year later in FW17, followed shortly thereafter by showroom representation for the brand’s SS18 offering.

In 2024, the label quietly rebranded from Stein to ssstein, a small typographic gesture that carries real weight. The name itself tells you something. The extra letters crowded at the front, the Germanic weight of “stein” at the back — it’s a word that feels unfinished on purpose, like something still being worked out. Asakawa wanted it that way.

The clothes reflect that thinking. Fashion writer Ashley Ogawa Clarke, who has covered ssstein for Vogue over the past six or so seasons, notes: “At a glance ssstein’s clothes might look simple, but when you try them on you can tell a lot of thought has gone into them.” Still, the designs are hard to pin down in the best way. Silhouettes read oversized, but on the body feel exactly right. They’re both never restrictive and never shapeless. The materials shift in mood depending on the light, the wear, and the fabric choice. Take Fall 2025, which Jonah Weiner of beloved newsletter Blackbird Spyplane calls their best collection yet: the standout piece to him was a leather-collared work jacket, cut “not from the expected heavy duck canvas” but rather a lightweight cotton that was sulfur-dyed a bluish shade of green. It also had exaggerated balloon sleeves. The effect, as Weiner puts it, “verged on looking avant-garde while still plausibly reading as baggy workwear.”

It’s a perfect encapsulation of what Asakawa means when he says the label “is about clothing that can be worn in daily life” — and within that framework, elements drawn from workwear, military, and sport reappear season after season, often filtered through something subtler, stranger, and more deliberate. Clarke describes it simply: he knows how to “take what’s already there and twist it enough to make it feel fresh, but still very easy to style. That’s his superpower.”

Weiner adds another layer: there’s a certain kind of person, he writes, who seeks out “an elevated version of a familiar garment” — one whose style has already proven its durability, “to the point that it reads as highly familiar, if not classic outright,” and who now wants something more rarefied. “The ssstein pieces that I’ve gravitated towards tend to push this logic to their own extreme,” he says. “They aren’t alone among contemporary Japanese brands who approach familiar styles in this kind of way, but right now they’re among the best at it.”

In a fashion landscape defined by relentless visibility, that kind of elevation is both rare and impossible to fake. It’s what helped build the brand’s worldwide footprint with over 100 global stockists. It’s also what helped earn it the coveted Fashion Prize of Tokyo 2025. That ethos brought ssstein to Paris, too. After two off-schedule shows, FW26 marked the brand’s first appearance on the official men’s calendar. Asakawa describes the reception as overwhelmingly positive, but characteristically declines to single out any one element as the driving force. It was everything together, he says — the venue, the mood, the staff, the years of slow and careful work that injected the room with a hint of magic.

That modesty is perhaps the most defining thing about him. In an era when designers are expected to be prophets, provocateurs, or personalities, Asakawa describes himself simply as “a cautious designer.” He’s someone who talks things through with his team, analyzes what sold and what didn’t, even studies “the trees lining the streets I walk every day.” An ordinary weekend with his family gets the same attention he brings to a new fabric sample. The scope of what he finds beautiful keeps expanding — and so, quietly, does ssstein.

As the brand nears its tenth anniversary, and steps further into the international spotlight it never chased, Asakawa sat down with Hypebeast to unpack it all. We dive into his “multidimensional relationship” with time, silhouettes that feel unrestrictive without losing their elegance, and materials whose character shifts depending on how you handle them — the small, deliberate stuff that makes ssstein ssstein.

As ssstein approaches its 10th anniversary, how has your relationship to time changed as a designer? Do you think more in terms of seasons, or longer arcs now?

Kiichiro Asakawa: Compared to ten years ago, I feel I now approach time from a much more multidimensional perspective. I think in terms of several years, individual seasons, weeks, and sometimes even on a day-to-day basis. I try to maintain a clear long-term vision primarily and then confront the short-term steps and milestones necessary to achieve it.

Having a show in Paris also creates a very real deadline. Each season becomes extremely busy with the show, but that time limit is precisely what allows things to be completed and decisions to be made. Without it, I think there is a risk of endlessly chasing something better and ultimately never finalizing or presenting a collection.

You’ve said the brand’s core desire (“minimal, static beauty”) has remained unchanged. What has shifted internally over the years, even if the output appears consistent?

In terms of internal change, I feel that my overall perspective has softened over time. When I look back to the early days of the brand, the work felt somewhat rigid, almost industrial, and the expressive range of ssstein was comparatively narrow.
Through creating many different pieces and encountering new people and ideas, my sense of what ssstein considers beautiful has gradually expanded. I feel the scope of expression has grown much wider as a result.

Having moved from buyer to designer to running a global brand, what perspectives from your earlier career still shape your decisions today?

Having spent years working as a buyer — selecting pieces and considering how to communicate their intended image to customers — I feel that perspective continues to be a significant advantage. It has shaped the way I approach the brand.
I am always conscious not only of creating the work itself, but also of how the collection is presented, how it is received by buyers, and how it ultimately reaches customers on the shop floor. At the same time, I often ask myself what details I would notice if I were in the buyer’s position, and how those nuances convey the brand’s world and mood.

Is there anything about how people wear ssstein now that surprises you compared to how you originally imagined the clothes living?

ssstein began as a menswear brand, and we have consistently focused on creating collections that we consider beautiful as menswear. For that reason, I am genuinely surprised — in a positive way — that the work has been embraced so widely by women as well, even though that was never our original intention.

Your early practice involved close study of existing garments. How has your way of “learning” evolved as your design language has become more defined?

My way of learning hasn’t changed very much even now. I continue to study clothes by asking why I find certain garments beautiful, and by pursuing that question as deeply as possible. At the same time, having expressed a wide range of ideas through ssstein, I feel my knowledge of clothing has grown significantly deeper. When I encounter new garments or fabrics today, the amount and quality of information I can draw from them is far greater than before.

There are also things that I couldn’t fully understand at the beginning of the brand — why they were valued or appreciated — that now feel much clearer to me. It’s as if my ability to recognize and articulate those qualities has gradually developed over time.

How do you balance instinct with analysis when evaluating whether a garment belongs in a collection?

I consider myself as a cautious designer. Of course, there are moments when I rely on intuition, but more often I discuss various matters with our internal team and the staff at Carol, and make decisions after hearing their perspectives. That process sometimes reveals viewpoints I would have otherwise overlooked.

At the same time, there are cases where, after understanding those different perspectives, I ultimately reaffirm my original instinct. Being able to make a decision with that awareness is an important part of my process.

When working within a restrained design language, what signals tell you a piece is truly finished?

When a new sample is finished and I see it hanging on the rack and try it on myself, any sense of discomfort usually indicates that the piece is still incomplete. In those moments, I move into a process of analyzing the source of that feeling.

I examine it from multiple angles — whether the issue lies in the details, the silhouette, or even the combination between the fabric and the style — and work through each possibility until I understand what needs to be resolved.

How do you keep silhouettes and garments from feeling static when the brand’s visual language is intentionally consistent?

ssstein is not a brand that builds each collection around a fixed seasonal theme. At its core, it is about clothing that can be worn in daily life. Within that framework, I focus on introducing new materials, silhouettes, and colors in order to create a fresh sense of balance without stepping outside what feels true to the brand.

At the same time, elements drawn from workwear, military, and sports are reinterpreted through new perspectives and techniques, and proposed in a way that maintains ssstein’s distinctive balance while suggesting something new.

You’ve described color as something filtered through the wearer rather than defined as a theme. How do you approach color development when it’s meant to feel atmospheric? What role does material choice play in shaping how color is perceived?

The atmosphere and perception of a color change dramatically depending on the material — for example, the red of nylon conveys something entirely different from the red of a cashmere knit. Because of that, I constantly study how different fabrics and finishes express color, and I approach the pairing of color and material each season with great care.

Even when we call it the same red, it only becomes part of the brand’s mood because it is filtered through a specific material and treatment. If the fabric changes, the atmosphere subtly shifts as well. I design with that in mind, almost as if I am carefully adding and multiplying small elements to achieve the right balance.

When developing textiles, how do you decide which imperfections or irregularities are worth preserving?

The expression changes depending on the material we use and the direction we want to pursue. With something like cashmere, for example, we aim for a material that feels complete and beautiful in every aspect — appearance, touch, comfort and lightness. On the other hand, when working on pieces inspired by vintage imagery, we may intentionally develop rougher fabrics or apply treatments that look dirty and worn, pursuing a material where a certain imperfection feels compelling.

I see it as one of the strengths of the brand that we can propose both ends of that spectrum: an elegant cashmere coat made from a refined, perfect fabric, and a casual jacket designed to look intentionally worn in. Being able to hold those contrasts within the same brand identity is something I value.

How would you describe ssstein’s approach to silhouettes? And, broadly speaking, is there such a thing as an ideal silhouette?

Our collections are often described as oversized, but we study what feels like the ideal silhouette for each item — like coats, jackets, trousers — and express that through a balance of form, drape, and the character of the material.

The definition of an ideal silhouette changes depending on the garment and the situation, but I think it ultimately comes down to something that feels unrestrictive and natural, while still carrying a sense of elegance.

Ultimately, I believe what people seek in ssstein is the tactile quality of the materials, the silhouette, and the distinctive mood that emerges from the combination of the two.

How much does physical comfort inform your design process?

We pay close attention to subtle aspects of comfort — details such as collars designed to be worn up in cold weather, or the precise placement of pockets. These may seem minor, but they have a real impact on how a garment feels in everyday wear. Personally, I find myself moving away from restrictive clothing increasingly, so comfort has become an essential element in my approach to design.

When you look outside of fashion for inspiration, what are you drawn to?

I often draw inspiration from individual creators. Beyond their work itself, I try to understand the person behind it — their character, the process through which the work was made, why they chose to create it, and even where their own sources of inspiration come from. I try to learn as much as I can about the background and the story surrounding a piece. For me, understanding that narrative deepens the way I connect with the work and influences how I approach my own practice.

Have you found that studying other fields changes how you design, rather than what you design?

I feel I’ve become able to draw inspiration from a much wider range of perspectives. Not only from furniture, objects, art, or photography books, but also from the trees lining the streets I walk every day, or an ordinary weekend moment with family. The number of things I find beautiful continues to grow. I gradually gather those impressions and connect them to the different stages of creation — from fabric development and color direction to styling and coordination. It feels like an ongoing process of collecting small fragments and translating them into the structure of a collection.

How do you measure growth without letting it dictate design direction?

Since the very beginning of the brand, I’ve been focusing on the project in front of me and approaching each step carefully, without rushing. It’s through that steady accumulation that we were able to reach the stage of presenting a show in Paris. Going forward, that attitude will not change. Without becoming complacent, I simply intend to keep concentrating on what is in front of me and doing my best, one project at a time.

Was there ever a temptation to adjust ssstein for an international audience — or did the response affirm your existing approach?

I haven’t felt much temptation in that regard. We’ve always worked by digging deeper into what we genuinely find cool and beautiful, and presenting it to customers. As a result, we’ve received offers from internationally recognized retailers and begun new partnerships, along with a great deal of positive feedback. That response reassures me that trusting our own instincts and continuing forward in that way was the right decision.

As demand for womenswear grows, how do you approach femininity within ssstein’s existing language?

As demand for women’s wear grows, I don’t see femininity as something separate from ssstein’s existing language. Rather than introducing a new aesthetic, I explore femininity through the same values that define the brand — quiet strength, subtle tension, and elegance that feels natural and unforced.

When you imagine ssstein five years from now, what do you hope feels unmistakably the same — and what do you hope evolves?

We want to continue creating better products, developing stronger visuals, and reaching more customers. There are many areas where the brand must continue to evolve. In order to make it happen, it is important to us that our way of working remains consistent. We intend to preserve the attitude of approaching each project with care and attention, and to protect that as a core value moving forward.