Greetings from Yukio Akamine
About 80 years have passed since I was given life. About 60 years have passed since I started engaging with men’s clothing. Through such life, I have been pursuing the necessities of human life: food, clothing, and shelter. These three factors are all cultures cultivated by the climate and customs of the area we live in, and they cannot be considered separately.
In that case, what kind of clothes should people living in the present-day wear, and how should we wear them? What has been nurtured through my exploration, such as visiting numerous countries and learning their history, is my way of dressing. It is also what I consider to be the way of classic fashion.
I hope to share my way of living and the philosophy of the way I dress with those living overseas. Please feel free to pay a visit.
Who is Yukio Akamine?
Yukio Akamine is a leading designer in the field of classic fashion in Japan, a fashion supervisor, as well as a philosopher and a writer for clothing and lifestyle in general.
Yukio Akamine was born in 1944 in Meguro Ward, Tokyo. His uncle, Shimizu Ikutaro, was a representative sociologist in Japan. Akamine grew up in a typical Japanese-style house, communing with nature and art.
Although his dream for the future was to become a movie director, he changed directions to the world of fashion. He studied at Kuwasawa Design School, Japan’s first educational institution for designers, influenced by the Bauhaus philosophy.
After graduating, he founded an individual brand called “WAY-OUT but classic” through a men’s clothing manufacturer. It proposed an authentic traditional style, standing out from the Ivy Style, which dominated Japan at the time.
From the 1980s, Akamine aimed to set up a unique style of classic fashion by interpreting the traditional Western style from a Japanese way of thinking. “GLENOVER,” the brand created around this time, gained high popularity and even got picked up by a famous specialty store in New York. By the late 1980s, Akamine supervised the first traditional Italian cuisine restaurant in Japan, “IL BOCCALONE.”
Douglas Cordeaux
Antonio LIverano
In the 1990s, he extended the scope of his activities, placing the self-established planning company INCONTRO at the foundation. Supervising “GOTAIRIKU,” a major apparel company that ONWARD established, supervising a traditional Italian cuisine restaurant “LA BISBOCCIA,” writing for magazines, giving lectures, and consulting for major specialty stores are some of the examples. Unlike any other brand in Japan, every product of “Y. Akamine” was produced in Italy, and the brand became popular, developing specialty stores nationwide. Akamine spent a long time moving back and forth between Italy and Japan.
In 2008, the tailoring brand “Akamine Royal Line” started. In 2014, INCONTRO was moved to the suburbs of Kanagawa Prefecture, a land rich in nature. It became the new place to continuously strive for innovation and dissemination. The astounding amount of archived materials Akamine gathered over the years are kept in the office building named “MEDAKASO,” and famous people in the fashion industry visit from all over the world, making it a place of intellectual exchange.
What is INCONTRO?
INCONTRO is a planning company that Yukio Akamine built in 1990. It is in charge of administering the tailoring brand “Akamine Royal Line,” offering consultations about the brand, planning events, and managing Yukio Akamine’s lectures, interviews, media appearances, and writing work. Please feel free to reach out with any inquiries.
What is Akamine Royal Line?
Akamine Royal Line is a tailor-made clothing brand founded by Yukio Akamine in 2008. It is a culmination of Yukio Akamine, paying particular attention to MADE IN JAPAN. A wide variety of products are sorted out, centering around clothing such as suits and jackets, as well as leather wear or ready-made clothing accessories. The clothes Yukio Akamine wears today are mostly of this brand. Customers from overseas are most certainly welcome. Please contact us if you are interested.
What is MEDAKASO?
MEDAKASO is an office building of INCONTRO and the hub of innovation and dissemination for Yukio Akamine. It is also known for attracting many prominent figures in the fashion industry who visit to attend meetings with Yukio Akamine and seek the valuable archived materials that he has gathered over the years. Orders for “Akamine Royal Line” also take place at MEDAKASO. Please schedule an appointment in advance and make your way to the office building.
