There are certain labels that don’t feel the need to shout when they arrive on our shores, and A.PRESSE is most certainly one of them. Born in Tokyo in 2021 under the eye of Kazuma Shigematsu, the label has built a reputation on its home turf for reworking classic Americana with forensic attention to detail. A.PRESSE’s offerings aren’t straightforward reproductions; they’re meditations on what makes a garment so great, and how the familiar can be reimagined without losing its soul.
And now, for the first time in the UK, you can actually get your hands on this hallowed stuff. The Garbstore has become the brand’s sole brick-and-mortar stockist on our sunny peninsula, which feels significant in itself: a meeting of two businesses that share a certain curiosity about the past, and how it can be translated into something relevant for right now.
The first arrivals give a pretty good overview of what A.PRESSE is about. Outerwear dominates – a deerskin suede jacket, a herringbone M-43 field jacket, a vintage silk coverall and a Type-1 denim – but even the basics come enshawled with purpose: sweats and hoodies crafted from 100% cotton, wide-leg denim that nods to the late-50s and early-60s without becoming costume. Shigematsu’s hand is clear in every stitch, every panel, every small adjustment that makes something familiar feel new again.
The standout for us, is the Vintage Deerskin Suede Leather No.213 Jacket, which takes its cues from a wartime S213 but carries updates to the cut for comfort and everyday use. Made from New Zealand deerskin, tanned and dyed in Japan, it’s soft, water-resistant, and – unusually for leather – unlined, which keeps it lightweight.
What began in the strange quiet of 2020 has since grown into one of menswear’s most discerning projects, with only a handful of global stockists. To see it land at The Garbstore feels like a natural progression: two worlds of thoughtful design meeting over a shared belief that clothes should matter.
Shop A.PRESSE from The Garbstore here.
