The gift of KZO

While Susie was grounded in New York for an extra week due to the Volcanic Ash billowing out of Iceland she used her time wisely by visiting a number of designers at their studios, experimented with a spot of DIY and even went shopping...for me! I think you'll agree that this is the best type of shopping. So, when I finally saw her huffing and puffing down our corridor followed by more luggage than she left with she was was excitedly clutching a bag from Aloha Rag. Her excitement soon erred towards apprehension as she handed me the bag as doubts whether or not I'd like it began to creep in...the words "If you don't like it, I'll have it" rang out as I tore open the bag like a spoilt brat on Christmas morning. As I discovered the unstructured patterned knit blazer inside her concern soon evaporated as I let out some exclamation of joy.

The present that Susie can borrow but not steal off me. KZO Knit Unstructured blazer worn over Silver Spoon Attire shirt and wool trousers by Unconditional.

I had only recently become aware of KZO after stumbling across them on oki-ni while searching for the perfect pair of casual shorts for the (hopefully) warm months ahead. This wonderful gift made me dig a little deeper on the brand. KZO might be based in the Arts District of Los Angeles but there is a distinctively Japanese aesthetic that is intertwined with and seen through a US West Coast lens. The reason for this is KZO took its name after creative director and brand founder Joel Knornschild's American-Japanese grandfather, Kazuo Iwasaki. Kazuo translates to Peaceful Man. From a young age, Joel fell in love with photography, cinema and film and each collection is designed around a cinematic process that begins with a video treatment, soundtrack and visual storyboard. A video camera capturing unfolding stories always accompanies him. Fashion, music and film collided when Joel began writing and directing music videos for various bands in the US and Japan, and from there KZO evolved.

KZO's Into the blue, out of the black

The SS10 collection that drew Susie's gaze is titled 'Into the blue, out of the black' is made up of an indigo, black, blood red, heather gray, sky blue, charcoal and sky blue palette. Pieces include chambray woven shirts, organic fabric knits, tom Japanese selvage denim and mosaic fleeces. However, the real highlight of the collection is the €231.08$312.87¥27878.71 soft unstructured jacket in a blue and cream cotton mix that Susie expertly picked out. Regular readers will know that I tend to avoid prints and patterns (polka dots aside) by playing it safe all too often but this is something I'm keen to work on. Having had this piece at my disposal for the last week I have to say that I've enjoyed injecting a dash of pattern in to an outfit and this present has given a little more confidence to experiment.

Two of my favourite looks from KZO's SS10 look book.