vowels Spring/Summer 2025 presentation: shunkashuutou

Founded in 2023 by Yuki Yagi, vowels is a luxury streetwear brand proudly made in Japan. For the brand’s debut presentation at Paris Fashion Week this season, vowels approaches the collection as performance art.

Using the four seasons as a source of inspiration, the SS25 collection is shown on four different standalone sets, showcasing the functionality and versatility of the collection. Summer, Autumn, Winter, Spring each become a site of clothing and performance — inviting viewers into a poetic landscape in which clothing transcends seasonality. Throughout the experience, the scene periodically changes, rotating from one season to the next, with the performance set to the soundtrack of a remix of Vivaldi’s “Four Seasons.”

The Japanese aesthetic theory, Mono-Ha, which means „School of Things“ in Japanese, serves as a grounding principle for the presentation. Pioneered by artists Lee Ufan and Nobuo Sekine in the 1960s, the concept is founded on the idea that objects gain meaning in relation to the space and location they are situated in. In turn, the space and location gain meaning in relation to the objects. A reaction to, and rejection of Western artmaking principles and industrialization, Mono-Ha removes the cult of personality attached to the artist as maker of a specific object. In this sense, equal weight of importance is distributed across the artwork, the exhibition space and the viewer.

Yuki’s own archival materials and research serve as reference — his printed ephemera that make up the vowels Research Library at 76 Bowery in New York also found its way into SS25 pieces. His philosophy was to “make products that can go well with any outfit you own and keep running in your lane,” mirroring the independence of creativity and freedom. Antique Japanese prints and textiles, with classic and clean silhouettes make up the core of the collection. Individual pieces are made with an overall relaxed fit.

Graphic Tee Shirts are screenprinted with images of historic pottery from Peru, Greece and Britain. Fleece tops reference vintage collegiate sweaters and crewnecks. Outerwear is utilitarian, with patchworked floral applique. Shirting in long and short-sleeve button-downs recall vintage Western and workwear prints, with ‘70s-inspired embroidery sewn onto pockets.

Knitwear is woven with the oversized vowels iconographic symbol, button-down grandfather cardigans have contrast front-pockets, while short-sleeve polo shirts and sweater vests recontextualize heritage styles. Bottoms range from patchworked denim to printed trousers with a recurring floral motif print, and cargo workwear pants. Accessories range from classic baseball and bucket hats, to logo socks, silk scarves, and utilitarian workwear backpacks and totes.

Looking to classic streetwear tropes updated with luxury fabrics and reimagined silhouettes, Yuki’s SS25 collection for vowels embraces an optimistic, effortless attitude. Like Mono-ha, the sum of the individual parts amounts to a collection that is quietly masterful, transcending temporality and genre.