Kuro

Garments made through heritage practices and intensive production techniques can lead to new methods of expression and, subsequently, become cultural objects. This is the personal philosophy of self-taught designer Yusuke Yatsuhashi, who launched his premium denim label Kuro at Pitti Uomo in 2010. Nearly a decade later, Yatsuhashi continues to uphold the cross-cultural and design-centered values upon which he founded the menswear label. Kuro draws its moniker from the Japanese word for ‘black,’ a gesture indicative of Yatsuhashi’s distinctively minimalist approach to design. Across the label’s selection of men’s denim and wardrobe staples, Yatsuhashi’s distinctively modernist perspective is counterbalanced with a keen sense of classicism and appreciation for historicity. Button-up shirts, jeans, and pullovers demonstrate a specificity to structure and durability, and draw as much from the singular sensibilities of Japan’s high-design culture as from traditions of American workwear. Crafted exclusively in Japan using in-house developed fabrics and traditional sewing techniques, Kuro’s t-shirts, hoodies, and pullovers uphold a millennial-spanning legacy of Japanese artisanship and design.