WORDS BY STEPHEN YU
Nowadays, there’s a slew of brands that can create collaborations that form queues which snake around corners, and up the block. Some of our favourites: z-list celebrity meet & greets, burger franchise pop-ups, books about wizards, movies about vampires, etc.
But there’s probably only one brand that can collaborate effortlessly to create a product from all annals of culture, partnering with brands like Starbucks, to Sacai; Beats to A-Cold-Wall; Pokemon to Range Rover.
◀ Shop the Look: Nike Hyperchase SP/Fragment Sneakers
You’ll find their iconic dual lightning bolt symbol emblazoned on the ultimate renditions of your favourite brand’s archetypal product, like the much lusted after black toe Nike Jordan I’s. Their name? Fragment Design.
So what exactly is Fragment Design? An imprint? A brand? A cult label? Defining Fragment is like trying to define the undefinable. What we do know is that it’s helmed by the man at the centre of Japanese streetwear - Hiroshi Fujiwara.
After scaling his cult graphics-driven streetwear label GOODENOUGH (or GDEH) into a mini-empire of diffusion labels and subdivisions, Hiroshi was done. GDEH was never supposed to get this big. Managing a big company had never been one of Hiroshi’s goals, he’d always felt he worked better solo.
And so this is how Fragment came into fruition - the multidisciplinary design consultancy that would allow Hiroshi to work in a manner he felt best, alone. In fact, Fragment is at most a collective of three people - Hiroshi and two other employees.
Their list of collaborations reads like a whos-who of the world’s greatest brands. Most designers would cut off their right arm to be able to work with the likes of Off-White, Moncler or Converse. But hidden behind the big names is proof of Hiroshi’s far-reaching influence and a much more considered approach - Hiroshi likes to collaborate with people he has a personal connection with as opposed to brands.
Nowhere else is this more evident, than in Hiroshi’s relationship with Kim Jones. Jones first met HF as an intern at Gimme5 (the London-based label and distributors founded by OG Stussy Tribe member Michael Koppelman). It would be the start of a longstanding relationship that culminated in the Fragment x Louis Vuitton collaboration in 2016 when Kim was head designer at the French luxury house. But more than this, it’s clear that Fujiwara’s collaborative approach has inspired that of Jones. The following year Louis Vuitton would announce a move that would signal streetwear’s ultimate acceptance at the top of the luxury fashion world - a collaboration with Supreme (note that Fragment had already created products for the skate label’s 10 year anniversary). And Jones’ tenure thus far at Dior Homme has been marked by a string of collaborations with streetwear darlings - with buckles by ALYX, jewellery by AMBUSH, and sculptures and graphics by KAWS.
Sadly, Fragment collaborations are extremely limited and usually marked up in price, so expect to join the back of a very long queue or go home disappointed.
▼ Shop the Look:
NEIGHBORHOOD X FRAGMENT DESIGN SLUMBERS / CE-HOODED LS // NEIGHBORHOOD X FRAGMENT DESIGN SLUMBERS / C-TEE SS
NEIGHBORHOOD X FRAGMENT DESIGN SLUMBERS / AW-CAP // NEIGHBORHOOD X FRAGMENT DESIGN SLUMBERS / C-TEE LS
Luckily for you, Farfetch has partnered with Hiroshi to support his ‘slumbers S/S 2019 LIVE TOUR’ which sees his first live musical performance in Hong Kong. Not only can you see the man himself perform songs from his urban-pop album ‘slumbers’, but Fragment has partnered with Japanese motorcycle enthusiasts and streetwear stalwarts NEIGHBOURHOOD to create the world’s best tour merch. The small selection of tees, hoodies, beanies, bandanas and stickers will be available exclusively at the gig or online at Farfetch.
This might be your easiest avenue to owning something Fragment.
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