We've picked out seven newcomer brands that have really captured the hearts of our editorial team. Our fifth instalment is SIRLOIN, currently based in Shanghai. The brand's creative directors are Japanese designer Mao Usami and Swedish designer Alve Lagercrantz, both of whom graduated at the top of their class from Central Saint Martins.

SIRLOIN

SHANGHAI FASHION WEEK RUNWAY / 2019 Spring/Summer Collection

When I first saw Sirloin's 2019 Spring/Summer collection looks, I was instantly drawn in by its sharp, energetic worldview. The colors, shapes, outfits, the models' expressions, etc....all of these combined to create a powerful, striking image that burned into my mind. I still vividly remember the impact.




After graduating from CSM, Usami Mao gained experience at LOUIS VUITTON, and Arve Lagercrantz, who worked as an assistant designer at DRIES VAN NOTEN, secured capital from a Shanghai company and started Sirloin in 2016.

Their debut collection for Fall/Winter 2017 featured wardrobe staples such as shirts, T-shirts, and wide-leg pants, with asymmetrical cutting and draping, creating styling that exuded a somewhat relaxed feel. Even now, the brand's original philosophy, the core that is the source of its philosophical expression, remains unchanged, but for Spring/Summer 2018, Fall/Winter 2018 and Spring/Summer 2019, the brand has made its collections more artistic, more fashionable and significantly updated to the level of its overall collection.



SHANGHAI FASHION WEEK RUNWAY / Spring/Summer 2019 Collection

The Spring/Summer 2019 collection currently on sale was inspired by the "emptiness" that the duo felt towards the luxury products on the market. The runway show was held in a secluded, spiritually charged multi-story parking garage on Shanghai's riverbank. The show was held in complete silence, with no lights or sound, with the intention that guests would not simply gaze intently at the collection, but rather experience Sirloin's unique worldview with their own hearts.

In today's world, where first impressions and opinions spread dramatically and with incredible speed, wellness and health are being touted as the new luxury trend. But what exactly is the substance behind these trends? Sadly, I interpret this as meaning that luxury goods are always born from human desire.

These words from the two designers prompted a collection that made us ponder, "What is the state of fashion in the modern world?"

Sirloin uses fashion as a medium to humorously question the importance of philosophy in human activities.

It's no exaggeration to say that rather than simply making cool clothes or presenting edgy visuals, the two designers convey the latest messages they feel at the moment to the hearts of those who see them through their shocking, attention-grabbing collections.


Everything in our daily lives is a series of choices. Even the clothes we wear today are choices we ourselves make.

In today's world, where information is saturated and various values intersect, this brand gives you the opportunity to reexamine your own important principles and think about what fashion is.