45rpm Spring

01

02

Images

—01. Double blues.
—02. A hat I could never wear.

Words

Looking through the recent update of 45rpm's summer look book, there are a number of beautiful shots, nothing surprising. But this round I actually found that I liked more of the womens looks. The blues, patterns and simplicity were nice, and the garments aren't overly feminine, so I felt they were definitely worth a look.

—45rpm

Comments

[Sorrybut]

It's lost a bit of its artisan appeal recently due to too many stores and increasing made in china production but still a few nice simple clothes to enjoy

[marc]

The women's line is really nice, but the men's has totally gone south. Not sure what they were thinking. I saw only one piece that had the style and integrity of the previous lines, the navy blue linen sport coat. Hopefully, this isn't the new direction and is just a hiccup.

[Cooly P]

^ That's sad to hear

[Headless Hawk]

"A hat I could never wear", lol. I know the feeling.

[hi mom]

Given how expensive it is to manufacture in China now I'm surprised they didn't try to market it as an upgrade.

[Sorrybut]

It's still much cheaper than MIJ when you have the right quantities. 45r is an average size brand in JP. They have stores in every major cities hence the probable interest in producing in low cost countries.

[Wayne Pate]

A few things to mention in regards to this post and some of the comments made. 45rpm production is always and always will be "made in Japan". This is a very important part of the brands identity, the importance of a specific quality and procedures to the way the product is made. While I will agree that the men's line has suffered a bit as of late which is partially due to the downsizing of the men's collection as a whole. At the moment 45rpm's sales for it's men's collection are stronger overseas then they are in Japan. This is obviously a direct reaction to the current trends in the men's market in Japan. Having been around for more than twenty years I'm sure this is not the first storm that 45rpm has weathered. 45rpm is a lifestyle brand that has stayed true to that outlook and the quality of those products. While some customers may stray away from the brand it's only a matter of time before they come knocking again once fashion has moved on. 45rpm has a natural ebb and flow with trendy shoppers that is the doing of them and not 45rpm so I find it hard to criticize them for not catering design wise to one's specific tastes as they are not in the business of making trendy of the moment collections. I would like to add that their organic cotton collection "Dash" is shaping up to be a fresh and exciting looking collection that seems to be the new way forward. A new
Dash store has recently opened in Paris which is the first of it's kind and is selling exclusive items made specifically for that store. I recently visited the store who's impressive interior is made entirely of wood. A few stand out items included the cleanest of lines chambray blazer and a thin striped hickory stripped blazer just to name a few.

[SorryBut]

You should double check the tags bro. I even had a little chat about that with the aoyama store Manager. Not everything is made in Japan anymore. She told me they were using good chinese factories though.

[Liber]

wow wayne- are you there local PR rep? no seriously, are you?

[wayne pate]

SorryBut- Sorry but...no. As far as I know and the know I know would be the know to know tells me that is not acurate. All my tags,
which are quiet a few , all say MIJ and that includes some of the most recent releases.

Liber- I just happen to be the unofficial PR rep.

[wayne pate]

SorryBut- I'm always willing to fess up when I'm wrong and this is one of those times. So after further investigating it turns out you are right about Made In China. The pieces that are produce in China are a very small and specific group. These items pertain to some knits such as hats and women's sweater dresses. These are items are produced in factories that 45rpm work closely with. I would like to finish by saying "Made In China" is not entirely a bad thing. It's too easy to paint China with the biggest brush you can find which isn't always fair. JCrew, RRL etc

[Sorrybut]

Hey Wayne,

No problem. Some chinese factories can make good quality (garbstore, Nanamica etc) but producing abroad is less of a "hands on" way to do, which bothers me a bit concerning 45r. I liked their local, deeply japanese way of crafting products, from the yarn to the garment.

When it comes to authenticity, I think the country of production is a key factor. Local Old factories have a history and a feeling about the product that is impossible to emulate 1000s of miles away imo.