SeaGreen at Pitti Uomo 85

SeaGreen is all about California. It’s surf and skate inspired, and in this case it’s the fabrics that make the product. Light, soft, unstructured; lots of paper blends and fabrics that are heavy on the texture add - if you’ll allow me to go full-on Mr. Porter - a casual vibe of luxurious, west-coast laziness to wear on your off-duty lifestyle days. Is that enough buzzwords?

It’s a Japanese brand, made in Japan, designed by Masanako Sakao, the same guy who designs Tatras - and that’s really all I know. Unfortunately, my thirty second “interview” with the brand rep is really just a recording of the horrible music in the pavilion and my own, overly chipper voice. The brand’s web presence is minimal and it was only started in 2012, and despite the emphasis on Californicana (if that’s a word) there don’t appear to be any American stockists.

Everything is cut to be relaxed and easy-lookin’ and slouchy, slouchy, slouchy. It’s a firmly streetwear brand - and the Tatras influence is evident - and the clothes probably look better if you own several surfboards. The focus is on knit and loungewear, like the soft cardigans, hoodies, and easy drawstring pants. There are also washed denim shirts with subtle prints, as well as light outerwear, like an unlined peacoat and a collection of slim down vests done in nice wool fabrics.

I’m picturing the pants paired with Vans and maybe a tee under one of the loose-gauge knits, for those chilly beach nights when you’re sitting on the sand, staring at a bonfire (or ditch the shirt and grow out your hair, if you’re interested in replicating the lookbook). SeaGreen is maybe less romantic and less directional than some of the other brands I’ve covered - or rather, the romance is quieter; more starry eyed and dreamy and quotidian - but there’s certainly space for such a perspective. I think it would fit in with a number of styles - if you’re wearing Engineered Garments and TS(S) you’re set, but I imagine it would mesh equally well in your wardrobe if you favor brands like Robert Geller (another Tatras connection there) or even Nonnative, White Mountaineering and Junya Watanabe. Or just wear it with Levis and canvas slip-ons: there’s a definite lifestyle on display in the small booth, down to the surf posters and potted plants that bookend the clothing racks.

So, California-as-done-by-Japan has been seen before, right? Well, SeaGreen isn’t the super-heavy motorcycle stuff we associate with repro brands, nor does it have any of the backwoods nerdery of the heritage and workwear usual suspects. It’s heavy on Los Angeles, and also on vaguely “Native” inspiration - a keyword that appears in capital letters and encompasses, I imagine, both the knitwear patterns and the leafy prints that cover some of the jackets. Regardless, you’re certainly not going to mistake it for Hollister. Most importantly, based on the criteria by which I judged every brand I looked at in Florence; when I walked out of the booth in my slim jeans, boots, and wool fisherman sweater back through the uncomfortably overheated pavilion in search of relief, I wished I were wearing it.

Visit the SeaGreen website at www.SeaGreen-LA.com for more information.

It's good, imo.

The knit peacoat is kinda nuts. I want the navy herringbone down vest in the last pic.

Damn I like these a lot. But damn where am I gonna find it

I like that collection a lot, Mohawk General Store or South Willard should stock this.

The website does list japanese stockists, so proxying is an option. I feel like a broken record saying this, but I'm waiting to hear back about whether they're opening any US accounts.

God, Synth, show us something we can actually buy for once, why dontcha. I want ShoppingForum, not AppreciateatadistanceForum.

That's the price for getting a glimpse of all the things you losers will be wearing ten years from now.

Damn that all looks good. I want to be a loser now!

hopefully there is an american stockist by the time the winter season comes through. lovin those knits :3

I wonder if your great coverage of Pitti has changed some minds around these parts on what this fair really is, the breadth of brands and styles represented, etc... The word Pitti is typically associated here with the cringeworthy courtyard peacockery - but clearly this is much more than that.



gdl203 said:

I wonder if your great coverage of Pitti has changed some minds around these parts on what this fair really is, the breadth of brands and styles represented, etc... The word Pitti is typically associated here with the cringeworthy courtyard peacockery - but clearly this is much more than that.

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Tbh, I enjoy Pitti uomo the way I enjoy Vegas. The excess is impressive for the first couple of days.



gdl203 said:

I wonder if your great coverage of Pitti has changed some minds around these parts on what this fair really is, the breadth of brands and styles represented, etc... The word Pitti is typically associated here with the cringeworthy courtyard peacockery - but clearly this is much more than that.

Click to expand...

Thanks for the compliment - and I hope so. It has definitely changed my opinion a bit. There is a huge amount of crap to wade through (IMO), but there is plenty that isn't crap, as I hope I've been able to show. It's certainly not the cutting edge of avant-garde, but there are a lot of very interesting smaller (and not smaller) brands there. Despite the peacockery and the pseudo-shame of being associated with Pitti, a lot of it is very friendly to the general SF aesthetic. It's also interested to be so surrounded by business. I have never confused fashion for art, or as something that exists separate from, you know, goods and services, but in a way it's refreshing to see people treating the machine as what it is - a business.

It's so much of a scene in itself, though - as Fok said and as I'm sure you experienced. Vegas is a really good analogy. I was exhausted within thirty minutes, but I don't think I had as direct an objective as you did. "Look around" was one of my primary goals, and it's not an easy one - at least not for a first-timer.