In Cold Blood

Shiki Hoodie
Shiki Hoodies and Jeans

Shinichi Mathy was one of the first to bring colour, light and air to the menswear scene in SL when Shiki first debuted around 18 months ago. He mixes his Tokyo aesthetic with occidental style, and presents it to us in an array of hand drawn yumminess. I bought one of his first items when it was released, the Bouquet shirt. I had to, it was bright pink. I’ve returned regularly ever since and watched the quality of the work improve, and so I made sure that I snuck into a front row seat at the Shiki Fall/Winter 2009 collection show by KMADD on the weekend. I was really pleased to note that although Shiki’s styles have matured as a design house, they still retain the irreverent glee of those first few mustard coloured safari suits.

Shiki Down Jackets
Shiki Down Collared Jackets

The texturing has advanced to a degree where you can almost pull at the nubs in the wool, or rub the suede up the wrong way accidentally then curse as you spend the next half hour attempting to smooth it down again. And the colours Shiki have used have lost none of their impact, from brick red to pine green to this mad kaleidoscopic mashup on the hoodies. I’ll just toss some photos at you now of a few random selections from across the new range. My absolute personal fave was the Down Collared Jacket, which is completely prim. These are usually a nightmare to resize and to work with an AO, but I was stoked to see that it fit perfectly right out of the box. And being all prim it doesn’t take up any precious clothing layers – yay! I also breathed a sigh of WANT all over the denim suit, which I rushed to buy afterwards then spent ten minutes dithering over a choice of charcoal and orchid pink. Hmmm… maybe this is why Shinichi thought I was a girl…?

Shiki Denim suit
Shiki Denim Suits

Shiki Cardigans
Shiki Cardigans

Shiki Sweaters
Shiki Sweaters

Shiki Designs run the gamut from swimwear, casuals, cocktail and evening wear. This is most of the men’s F/W collection, and the ladieswear is just as bright and even more glamorous. It features traditional Japanese motifs such as cranes and orchids, but with a contemporary style in the tailoring.
And its bright, it’s beautiful and you will find something that you love. These are review copies, sure – but by the time they got to me I had already bought quite a few of the items myself. So this is a genuine recommendation and one that I should have made ages ago. Poke me next time I overlook something so long, okay?

Additional credits – hair is Vasean by Miau Haus, Shoes are Terra by Kalnins, Skin is Ichiro by Den-Dou, and tattoo is Bat Attack by Otaku Designs.

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This entry was posted on Friday, October 30th, 2009 at 9:40 pm and is filed under Fashion. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.