The Passion of Simplicity
It's around 10:55 am on a Thursday or a Friday and you’re nodding off in yet another morning Zoom meeting. A few minutes of people talking over each other pass when, suddenly, a notification shows up on the top right of your screen:
SS1 DROP IS NOW LIVE
This notification is followed by another. Then, one hour later, while you're deciding what to get for lunch, a few more appear. It's a weekly ritual: your favorite brands screaming at you once a week that you have to check out their new drop now or you'll miss out.
One brand you won't see in your inbox is Evan Kinori. From its beginnings in 2015, Kinori has embraced “just enough” not only in design, but in operations. The one-man team opens its studio by appointment. The studio where the clothes are sold is not far from where they're manufactured. Pieces come and go quietly, never to return to store shelves or be seen on sale racks.
“It’s not a drop,” he says of the deliveries he announces on Instagram that sell out almost at once. “There’s a reason for it,” he added. “It’s everything I made.”
If two qualities set Evan Kinori apart, they are texture and fit. The brand is opinionated — boxy and short. Jackets rarely, if ever, cross the 30-inch length bar. It might seem that Kinori is telling us that this is a brand you wear in full uniform — requiring the budget for it. While a full Kinori outfit would be the best way to go, the styling isn't different enough to require a full commitment. You might just have to select some layers more carefully.
The texture is a much more accessible aspect of the brand. Kinori sources from traditional Irish tweed brands, Belgian linen manufacturers, and Japanese cotton mills. The craftsman that he is (a word he prefers to describe himself over "designer"), Kinori sews and cuts these fabrics himself, resulting in a personal finish that nonetheless feels right at home in an average wardrobe.
Kinori's collections change only slightly every season, but they’re not monotonous. This past Fall/Winter season includes a vibrant, solid red that clashes beautifully with the tweed and grey typical of the brand. Hoodies, striped sweaters, and other unexpected items will come and go. You know what to expect, but there's always something new to look forward to.
Over the years, Evan Kinori has consistently been one of my favorite brands, even if until recently I didn’t own a single piece. Kinori's penchant for the understated and muted ironically stands out in a world full of marketing and hyped. Granted, Kinori's pieces sell out as quickly as other brands, but he doesn't make a fuss about it.
Too many fashion brands are either disposable are inauthentically sustainable — how many "responsible" brands produce vast quantities that go on sale every season? Evan Kinori is one of the few that sticks to their word when they claim their ethos is geared towards purchasing fewer pieces. Not only that, its marketing is painfully honest and without embellishment. While expensive due to its limited quantity, Evan Kinori is the brand most worthy of the "less is more" mantra.