Shinichiro Ishibashi created KUON in 2016 with the mission to address social issues through his design. The namesake, meaning eternity, finds meaning in Ishibashi’s use of sustainable Boro patchwork and Sashiko stitching. Having appeared more than 150 years ago, Boro was predominant among the peasant classes who repaired their clothing with spare scraps of fabric out of economic necessity, passing them down each generation to eventually become a patchwork over decades of use. This work allows Ishibashi to explore and learn about his culture’s past, while still moving forward.
Ishibashi learned to design at Bunka Fashion College in Tokyo, where he went on to work under as master tailor in the Marunouchi district. KUON is the coalescence of his knowledge of menswear construction and the inspiration of traditional Japanese techniques and fabric.
