New Brand "MARK.S" -Clothing that begins with sensation, not words-
Hello!!
Since returning from last month's buying trip, we’ve received a massive influx of both vintage and curated items, and I haven't been able to keep up with the work of introducing them all. Our store has a different vibe this season, so I truly hope you’ll come by and take a look in person.
We have a solid selection ranging from staple pieces to items that offer something truly special. Also, starting this month, we have extended our business hours until 9:00 PM.
The nights have become much cooler, making for a very pleasant walk to the shop. I hope you’ll consider dropping by even after work. We have Lakewood Pils available, so please enjoy a glass during these autumn evenings.
Now, a new brand, "MARK.S," has arrived at Lakewood Clothing.
Garments defy translation.
For what the heart truly loves, no logic, no ledger is needed.
MARK.S aims to make clothes that evoke a feeling, rather than requiring understanding.
The challenge of perceiving aesthetics purely through language;
Without seeing the real thing, tracing back solely through text or theory can obscure the aesthetic and essence those words aim to convey.
Daily life feels overwhelmed with information, and increasingly, clothes come with excessive descriptions.
There’s an inherent beauty and essence in historic fabrics, ‘boro,’ and loved vintage clothing that words alone can’t convey. MARK.S began with a desire to truly specialize these deeply personal connections to clothing; to create a brand that is felt on the most intimate level.
This philosophy extends to MARK.S’ creative process.
The designer’s profile is undisclosed; it is felt their name and background are irrelevant until the product is experienced.
MARK.S completely reflects the designer’s aesthetic, with a strong focus on natural materials.
The designer personally sources hand-woven, hand-spun, and unused antique fabrics globally, resulting in limited-edition special items.
Colors emerge from the earth itself — through Oshima Tsumugi’s ancient mud-dyeing craft, each hue unique to its native soil. Special fabrics are slow-woven on machines close to handlooms. All these capture the designer’s sense of beauty — a dedication to avoiding wasteful mass production and crafting continuous designs that endure for the future.
Moving toward the future, MARK.S is committed to proposing value creation that goes beyond just ‘making.’
MARK.S (read “Mark-S”) combines “MARK” (mark, record, trace or sign/symbol) with “S” (for special, supreme), creating the meaning of “designer’s Record/Archive.”
Below is the Japanese translation.
About MARK.S
"Garments defy translation."
For what the heart truly loves, no logic, no explanation is necessarily needed. MARK.S aims to make clothes that touch the wearer’s emotions and evoke a feeling, rather than requiring understanding.
Modern life is overflowing with information. Clothes are accompanied by excessive descriptions, leading us to try to understand their value through text and theory before even seeing the real thing.
However, by tracing only the words, the original beauty and essence can sometimes become harder to see.
There is an inherent beauty in historic fabrics, 'boro' textiles, and long-loved vintage garments that words cannot fully express. Fading, scars, repairs, and the texture created by years of use. MARK.S began in order to give form to the extremely personal and intimate connection that exists between such clothing and the people who wear it.
This philosophy is also reflected in the brand's identity.
MARK.S does not disclose the designer's profile. We believe that information such as a name or career is unnecessary until you actually see, touch, and experience the product. We want you to feel the clothes themselves before any preconceptions about who made them. That stance is the reason behind our anonymity.
MARK.S’ collection strongly reflects the designer's own aesthetic.
Focusing on natural materials, the designer personally searches the world for hand-woven fabrics, hand-spun yarns, and antique fabrics that have remained unused, creating limited-edition special products using them.
Colors, too, are born from nature.
In traditional mud-dyeing inherited from Oshima Tsumugi on Amami Oshima, the mud and plants of the land are used, so the same color cannot be completely replicated. The fabric bears a hue unique to its native soil.
For the original fabrics, low-speed looms that operate at speeds close to hand-weaving are used. This is to ensure that the natural expressions of each material remain, without erasing the unevenness or the fullness of the thread.
These materials and techniques not only give form to the designer's aesthetic, but are also a choice to avoid wasteful mass production and to create clothing that will last for the future.
What MARK.S aims for is not simply to "make" new products.
It is to create new value through clothing while connecting materials, techniques, and the work of craftspeople to the next generation. We propose clothing that blends into the wearer's life over time and becomes their own unique record.
The brand name is read "Mark-S."
"MARK" carries meanings of a mark, record, trace, or symbol, while "S" includes meanings like Special and Supreme.
The name MARK.S represents the designer's record, and archive.
Each garment is not only a record of the designer's aesthetic, but also something to engrave the wearer's own time and memories.
“Garments defy translation.”
(Garments cannot be translated into words.)
This is the phrase that left an impression on me when I first looked through the brand's documents.
I myself introduce clothes to customers every day and convey the appeal of products through text in our online shop.
Materials, construction, era, and the background of how they were made—that information is certainly important to understanding clothes.
On the other hand, when you encounter a piece of clothing that moves your heart, can you explain all the reasons why in words? The answer is no.
Somehow, I’m intrigued.
I want to touch it.
It feels comforting to wear.
Before I knew it, it had been in my possession for years.
I think many things actually start from those kinds of feelings. Perhaps this is especially true when encountering a new type of vintage clothing.
MARK.S is a brand that aims for you to feel something first, rather than just having you understand the clothes; it deals in things that cannot be fully conveyed through words alone.
We live in an age where any information can be easily obtained.
Even for clothing, a wealth of explanations is now provided, from the origin of the fabric and thread count to the sewing specifications and design inspiration.
While there is a joy in knowing these things, if we try too hard to understand clothes through words and theory, the beauty and essence the clothing originally possessed can sometimes become harder to see.
Historic fabrics, 'boro', and vintage items that have been loved and worn for a long time.
The unevenness in color, scars, traces of handiwork, and textures born from years of wear—these possess a charm that cannot be fully explained by text alone.
MARK.S begins by expressing those personal, sensory connections to clothing as modern garments.
Instead of replicating old things, we inherit that feeling.
At Lakewood Clothing, we display vintage and modern brands in the same space.
What we value there is not simply whether something is old or new, but creating a space that mixes various sensibilities to create our own uniqueness (originality).
While there is a persuasiveness that only clothes with a long history possess, there are also clothes that can only be made in the present.
MARK.S’ clothes do not merely replicate the shapes of vintage clothing.
By carefully reading the unevenness felt from historic fabrics and handiwork, and the natural expressions inherent in worn-in clothing, they are reconfigured into pieces for modern life.
Even if they look nostalgic, they don’t fit into a clear era or category.
They feel natural when placed next to vintage items, yet they never look like mere reproductions of the past.
That is one of the reasons I was drawn to MARK.S.
Fukugi dyeing, techigi dyeing, and mud-dyeing from Amami Oshima.
Original fabrics created on low-speed looms in an Iwate Prefecture factory, based on hand-woven samples.
Knits made using "te-yoko," manual flat-knitting machines that are rarely used for mass production in Japan anymore.
Fabrics developed in Ichinomiya City, Aichi Prefecture—a region famous for wool textiles—designed to retain the natural fluffiness and wrinkles of wool.
At MARK.S, it is considered important not to erase the expressions inherent in the materials themselves.
While highly advanced technology is involved, it is not used merely to showcase the rarity of the technique.
Furthermore, these techniques are chosen not to create something uniform and perfect, but to retain the fullness of the yarn, the fluctuations of the dye, and the natural characteristics the fabric originally possessed within the garments.
Natural dyeing results in unique shades for every piece, and fabrics woven on low-speed looms have a depth created by overlapping variations in thread thickness and color.
Some garments are given subtle wrinkles and softness from the start through natural finishes like sun-drying or product washing.
It feels as if they are not meant to reach their peak the moment they are completed, but rather are designed to leave room for the wearer’s life to be added to them.
While some pieces use imported vintage or deadstock fabrics and hand-woven textiles, the core of the craftsmanship—the sewing—is done entirely within Japan.
It’s not just about brandishing the label "Made in Japan"; it’s about understanding the characteristics of the fabric and tailoring it into a shape appropriate for each material.
Delicate high-density broadcloth, fulled wool, silk with neps, stiff hemp, thick hand-spun-style wool.
Beyond simply sewing together materials with different properties,
where will it shrink after washing?
Where will the wrinkles form through wear?
How will it change shape over time?
The clothes are made with consideration for what lies beyond the finished product.
In short... though I’ve written at length,
I invite you to come to the shop, touch the fabric, and try it on.
If you feel something before the words kick in, I believe that will be your first step in knowing the brand MARK.S.
By the way, we do not disclose the designer's profile, as we prioritize having you experience the brand's aesthetic through the products themselves first.
The lineup is already posted on our online store, so if you are nearby, please do come by the shop.
https://lakewood-clothing.live/collections/mark-s
By the way, we are adding three new brands this season.
I will continue to propose things that I want myself with a high degree of freedom, and I hope you can resonate with them.
Thank you for your continued support this season.
Miyaji
Lakewood Clothing
101 Norikura Bldg., 1-1-11 Taishido, Setagaya-ku, Tokyo 154-0004
TEL : 03-5932-5668
Mail : info@lakewood-clothing.live
Open : 14:00 – 19:00 / Close: Wednesday, Thursday (Operating by appointment only)
Online Store : https://lakewood-clothing.live/
Instagram : @lakewood_clothing