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In recent decades, Japan has been the incubator for styles and trends that are typically born and developed in cities. But Japan has continued to have a close relationship with nature, which has helped to forge a distinctive identity that can be successfully exported to the rest of the world. South2 West8 is unquestionably one of the conquest’s new names. It is also the most recent addition to FOOTDISTRICT.
Nepenthes, a group founded as an importer of American garments, has grown with urban brands such as Needles, Engineered Garments, and AïE, but has always maintained a close relationship with the outdoors that was present in its origins, in which the wild nature of the United States served as a reference. The direction of these influences has shifted from the United States to Japan, thanks to South2 West8, one of the most unknown brands in the Nepenthes group.
Born in 2002, South2 West8 takes its name from the location of its first store in Sapporo which helps to explain its style. Sapporo is located on the island of Hokkaidō, in northern Japan, a location with its own entity very different from the rest of the islands that make up the country. The utari (the term used by Hokkaido’s native inhabitants to refer to the foreign Auni) uphold customs, beliefs, and legends distinct from those of the southern islands, and their acceptance within traditional Japanese culture has been questioned. While the inhabitants of Honshu, Japan’s main island, lived from agriculture, the inhabitants of Hokkaidō (meaning “dry river”) lived from fishing and the mountains. Because of its six national parks and the last remaining wildlife resource in Japan, the island is now a hiking paradise. The population density on Hokkaido is seven times lower than on Honshu, and contact with nature is more direct. Because there is no infrastructure to support fishing in mountain rivers, it has remained a form of fishing that has its own rules and is practiced in small numbers only.
Of origins as uncertain as its name, which seems to be related to insects falling from the sky on the surface of the water, Tenkara fishing does not require large equipment, so it was very suitable for rivers in steep mountains. A bamboo rod, thread and a hook on which feathers are tied. Its beauty, like that of Haikus, lies in its apparent simplicity and the defined limits of its structure, a pattern suitable for the development of creativity. Tenkara fishing entails direct contact with nature and the use of light, minimalist equipment.
South2 West8 was born as a fishing store, primarily Tenkara, but the style of its founder, Kaname Nagaoka, could not stay in the rivers. Although its garments and accessories are still 100% useful for their original function, South2 West8 has expanded the gorpcore references to become the outdoor companion of Needles and Nepenthes. Designed in Japan and manufactured in the United States, its garments are characterized by prints and new camouflage, lightweight jackets, multi-pocket pants and accessories that have caught the attention of Supreme, On or Reebok for city-oriented collaborations that do not lose their Tenkara spirit.
The new South2 West8 collection is now available at FOOTDISTRICT.