“KNITWEAR FOR SPACE TRAVEL.”

This is the proposition behind AYA, a Japanese fashion brand that has unveiled its latest collection, episode 6 “TRAINING.”

Founded in 2021 by Creative Director Aya Yamaguchi, AYA centers its practice on an original knit jersey developed over more than five years, translating comfort and sculptural silhouettes into everyday clothing.

Courtesy of AYA
But material alone does not define AYA. At the heart of the brand is a story about a couple traveling through space. Rather than presenting its collections simply as seasons, AYA calls each one an “episode,” with every collection continuing their journey.

The latest chapter is “TRAINING.” Space travel, training, and knitwear may seem like disparate ideas, but what connects them is the body—the starting point from which AYA approaches clothing.

A Space Journey That Began with a Single T-Shirt

AYA’s story began with episode 0 “ONESIZE,” and a single T-shirt. From there came episode 1 “HONEYMOON,” in which a couple sets off on their honeymoon in space. Their journey continued through “HOTEL,” “PICNIC,” “DISCO,” and “RELAX,” arriving in 2027 at episode 6 “TRAINING.”

Rather than introducing an unrelated theme each season, AYA uses each collection to tell the next chapter of a single ongoing story. “KNITWEAR FOR SPACE TRAVEL” is therefore more than a futuristic motif; it is the idea that runs through the brand’s evolving universe.

Courtesy of AYA
The clothes themselves, however, are distinctly physical. While imagining the unreality of traveling through space, AYA remains focused on the human body here and now. Bridging these two realms is the brand’s original knit jersey.

Thinking About Clothing from the Yarn Up

AYA’s process begins with selecting yarn and designing the knitted structure itself.

To the touch, the yarn used to create its original knit jersey is remarkably soft and fluffy. Yet the finished material gives a very different impression. Once knitted, it develops substantial thickness and density while retaining an elasticity that responds to the body’s movement. A soft strand of yarn is transformed into clothing that envelops the body and creates a sculptural outline.

Courtesy of AYA
For episode 6, AYA uses recycled polyester yarn for its original knit jersey. The material’s thickness, elasticity, and feel against the skin are considered as part of the process of developing silhouettes for everyday wear.

From material to silhouette.

As this phrase suggests, AYA does not treat material and design as separate considerations. Yarn becomes knitted structure; the knitted structure meets the body; and the body informs the silhouette. It is within this continuous process that AYA develops each garment.

episode 6 “TRAINING”: Dressing the Body, Not for Competition

The setting for the new chapter, “TRAINING,” is a gym. In the collection’s looks, models dressed predominantly in white, red, and black appear among exercise machines. Yet “TRAINING,” as AYA imagines it, carries a different meaning from conventional athletic training.

Courtesy of AYA
Rather than clothing designed for competition, AYA describes “TRAINING” as an episode about preparing and conditioning the body for everyday life. Through the supple elasticity of its original knit jersey and silhouettes that envelop the body, the collection brings comfort together with a sense of playfulness.

Courtesy of AYA
The collection comprises five styles across 23 SKUs: TANK TOP, BONTAN PANTS, SHORT PANTS, CORSET BELT, and HEADWRAP, all made in Japan.

Rather than simply translating training wear into everyday clothing, AYA draws the very act of conditioning the body into the language of fashion. Against the expansive fiction of space travel, episode 6 turns its gaze toward something much closer: the body inside the clothes.

Knitting the “Bontan” Silhouette

One of the defining pieces of episode 6 is the BONTAN PANTS.

The distinctive silhouette expands generously from the waist before narrowing toward the hem, its contours shaped by AYA’s original knit jersey.

Courtesy of AYA
AYA describes BONTAN PANTS as a signature silhouette born from accumulated material development and production processes. Rather than relying on a rigid fabric to hold the form in place, the volume and elasticity inherent to the knit create its naturally rounded shape.

Courtesy of AYA
Another characteristic piece, the CORSET BELT, wraps around the body to alter the silhouette and can be worn not only as a belt, but also as a bandeau top or neck warmer.

Instead of constraining the body into a predetermined shape, these pieces use the inherent properties of knit—its ability to stretch, contract, and envelop—to shift the relationship between body and garment. It is also what makes AYA’s clothes look so different from conventional notions of “knitwear” centered around pieces such as sweaters.

Real Craftsmanship Behind the Fiction

Space travel, a honeymoon, a hotel, a picnic, a disco, relaxation, and now training. Following AYA’s journey, it is easy to be drawn into the originality of its narrative. Yet encountering the clothes themselves reveals the tangible making that supports this fiction.

Courtesy of AYA
Selecting the yarn, designing the knitted structure, considering its thickness, elasticity, and touch, and translating those qualities into a silhouette around the body: the imaginative world of “knitwear for space travel” and the physical process of building clothing from its material are brought together within each garment.

For everyday wear. / Knitwear for space travel.

Clothes made for everyday life, while allowing the imagination to travel as far as space. With episode 6 “TRAINING,” AYA’s journey continues.