Spring Style With Keiji Kaneko

We meet Keiji Kaneko on a bright day in Tokyo, near his shop and showroom in Minami-Aoyama. The cherry blossom has just started to bloom and he's just gone moderately viral around the world for a suit he's made for Fruit of the Loom, a relaxed double-breasted number that comes in black or navy and is made from a refined, heavyweight T-shirt jersey.

Keiji is not really a designer though. Not in the traditional sense, anyway. He's more a crucible of taste, a man with a great eye and a vision for what's good and interesting. Something he brings to the brand he recently launched with Shinpei Kawada, called Foundour, which has bloomed out of his work in vintage menswear, referencing and reimagining some of his favourite pieces.

Originally from Mitaka, in west Tokyo, he came to fashion through a love of American casual and vintage, and began his career as a merchandiser before becoming a buyer for cult Tokyo store Edifice.

Alongside Foundour, Keiji's other enterprises in Aoyama stand out for their personal scale in an area defined by international luxury. He runs two shops under the name Boutique: one that sells classic vintage menswear, although aimed at women; the other, a showroom and archive, features some of Keiji's favourite things — a highly curated archive of excellent craftsmanship and fabrication in a beautiful, wood-panelled room. It's curated with the intention to feel lived-in and homely, a repository of a person's tastes and interests, and the way different elements interact and create something new.

We spent the day with Keiji in the area surrounding Boutique, wearing some of our latest pieces from our Spring 26 collection, which, like Keiji's work, takes the best of the past and makes it perfect for the present.