ASATO

Through his extraordinary eponymous label ASATO, award-winning Japanese artist Asato Kitamura explores the depths of the inner self, the lingering impact of past trauma and creates luxury designs that provide tactile and visual pathways to transcendence, healing and growth.

ASATO’s inaugural New York Collection combines luxurious materials with inspired artistry and meticulous craftsmanship to produce silhouettes that flow freely, yet maintain a bold, purposeful architectural power and confidence. The hallmarks of the ASATO aesthetic include Japanese flat-cutting-inspired draping, kimono-based wrap designs that softly embrace the body and soul, and ASATO’s signature “Eight Stitch” pattern.

Japanese culture, New York’s high-speed, high-stakes lifestyle, and timeless high-fashion design principles are all at the heart of the ASATO ethos. Geisha Boots, for example, blend a modern take on Geta, the wooden platform shoes women wore during Japan’s Edo period, with a refined luxurious leather upper to embody New York’s ultra-luxe, cosmopolitan stylistic sensibility.

ASATO’s wrap function, inspired by the traditional Japanese kimonos created by Asato’s mother and grandmother, holds deep significance. In addition to paying homage to Japanese cultural heritage, it symbolizes the designer’s philosophy: fashion is an artistic medium capable of enveloping and embracing the human experience.

Super Black Wool serves a central role in the collection; a choice that is deeply personal to the designer. Asato’s traumatic relationship with his father, who dressed exclusively in black suiting, had a profound impact on him as a person and an artist. His use of wool – particularly the uniquely deep super black variety -- represents the journey of confronting and transcending life’s trauma.

For ASATO, black is far more than a color—it is a canvas that amplifies the beauty of surrounding hues, much like the human body serves as a vessel for emotions. The darker and deeper the black, the more vivid and delicate other colors appear—black represents the body, while colors symbolize emotions. To Asato, black is essential to celebrating the profound complexity and depth of human sentiment.

Regardless of the tragedy or pain underlying the creative narrative behind each piece, absolute elegance is the ultimate aesthetic goal.

“We do not follow or design to fashion trends, as there are countless other brands fulfilling that purpose,” says Asato, “Instead, we strive to convey a timeless and singular vision, uplifting and empowering the wearer with healing energy, confidence and self-love.”

Celebrate the transformative power and fashionality of luxuriously wearable, transformational art with ASATO.