Let’s keep this thing going.
It’s been a while.
It’s nice to start writing again, I just needed the time off to recalibrate after starting a new job. I just wasn’t enjoying the writing space as much as I did earlier in the year. There’s already so much being covered by similar writers, whether on Substack, Highsnobiety, or even GQ now.
As much as I enjoy talking about the brands you and I like (or maybe you don’t like them anymore; I don’t know, maybe you’ve changed since we last spoke), it doesn’t really feel great writing about something that’s already been discussed by one, two, three different writers.
It all starts to feel quite repetitive, so I took a beat.
However, I’ve received so many questions from subscribers, and even Instagram followers, about one particular brand that’s caught the attention of the menswear space. I’ve already shared some notes about them here on Substack, but I figured I’d go a bit deeper.
So, let’s talk about some Horses.
First, they are not the “next big thing to come out of Japan,” or whatever some publications are proclaiming. Well, at least not yet. The reason I’m saying that is pretty simple: we’ve seen one collection. I know I’m not as experienced in this space, but it’s fair to say we cannot call Horses the next big brand to come out of Japan when we’re basing that assessment on a single collection.
For example, in basketball terms, people constantly say, “Oh, this guy is the next LeBron James,” before every draft. Think about how many times that hasn’t worked out, and the guy ends up being an Andrea Bargnani, Kwame Brown, or whoever else. So, it’s too early to name them as the next crowning jewel out of Japan, but they are intriguing, and they’re absolutely a brand worth looking into.
Let’s start with some crib notes.
AW26 is the brand’s first collection, and in case you’ve been living under a rock, it’s already generated a ton of buzz over the last few months. The lingering question folks have had is:
Who’s designing here?
The designer has chosen to remain anonymous, though people may have already figured out this puzzle from recent IG stories, tags, etc. As for their background, I believe they previously worked at Unused and Daiwa. Unused isn’t particularly interesting to me, and Daiwa has kind of just been around; it’s not a brand I particularly go for or look into regularly.
Horses, however, had an international mindset going into this thing. They presented at Chop Chop Love (a cute little spot that looks like it could leave me penniless) in Paris this past January, and while you might expect a brand of this size to start small in Japan before expanding internationally, with the amount of attention Japanese designers are receiving right now, I’m not surprised Horses wanted to immediately explore the international side of things. Based on their first collection alone, they’ve already secured 33 retailers. Most are in Japan, but the rest are spread across North America and Europe, with menswear hotspots like Ven Space, Neighbour, and Nitty Gritty.'
Naturally, that led people to raise an eyebrow.
How does a brand this young open so many doors, and such great doors, so quickly?
From what I’ve read and discussed online, Horses seems to be very well connected, which makes sense. It’s not like this is the designer’s first time working on something; they’ve already got experience under their belt. But it also sounds like there are connections to A.PRESSE. If you’re unfamiliar with A.PRESSE, you’ll probably know them as the brand behind that very luxurious-looking, luxurious-feeling $8,000 jacket sitting at your local menswear boutique.
I have my reservations about A.PRESSE, although I will say my heart has opened up to the brand a little more over the past year, but that’s a whole other tangent.
Similar to A.PRESSE, they seemingly came out of nowhere and were immediately being discussed as one of the next great things coming out of Japan. A.PRESSE, to their credit, has created an extraordinary fan base, image, and culture, and their collections, in my opinion, have gotten better each season.
Their price points can be pretty outrageous, and some of their garments are pretty lacklustre for what they’re being sold for here in North America. A lot of that is tied to markup, but even when I look at Japanese pricing, sometimes I’m still like, yeah, I’m not paying that.
We can unpack that another day.
What’s interesting about Horses is that, for the first time in a minute, I’ve felt like buyers, rather than publications, influencers, celebrities, etc., are leading the charge behind a brand. I’m not as experienced in fashion journalism (I keep it real, brother), but as a tourist in the fashion industry when I was younger, especially in my mid-to-late twenties, I remember brands being hyped up primarily by celebrities and publications. And going back further, before publications needed an invitation to every runway show, they would talk positively or negatively about a brand, and that created more organic, natural hype.
It feels different with Horses.
Ashley Ogawa Clarke of Wimpy recently wrote about some of the heavy-hitter buyers in menswear, and it got me thinking about how much influence this relatively small group has over the brands you and I love, talk about, find interesting. Think about A.PRESSE, Comoli, and other Japanese brands that have moved from relatively niche names among menswear obsessives to appearing in Business of Fashion interviews, Vogue conversations, Highsnobiety, and elsewhere.
Now, buyers create that buzz, for better or worse, and Horses might be the clearest example yet. There’s obviously the clothing, but there’s also the way this brand entered the menswear conversation in the first place.
Horses’ intention is more long-term than what we’ve seen in this first collection. The designer wants each collection to focus on a specific material or theme, and for AW26, the question was essentially, “How far can we push what can be knitted?”
That’s why we saw an entire collection centred on knitwear, using Shetland wool, Australian lambswool, Angora wool, Mongolian and Italian cashmere, and all the different combinations and ways of working those materials, but the intention is for these collections to eventually coexist.
To bring back a basketball analogy, it’s kind of a Trust the Process, Philadelphia 76ers situation. Each collection is meant to complement Horses’ past, present, and future, eventually building a complete wardrobe. Whatever SS27 ends up being, it won’t exist separately from AW26.
Now that we’ve established the theme for their first collection, it’s clear why we saw garments like the Wine Knit or After Hoodies. As for me, I picked up their wine knit in a darker brown Shetland wool, and at first glance it just looks like a nice sweater. One you wear to a family dinner, only to get questioned by your more Right-leaning family about why you’ve got three pockets on your back, and whether you voted conservatively.
It’s quirky, but it’s also a bit gimmicky.
The sweater itself is nice. I took a Large; the sleeves are a smidge short. All in all, it works really well with the rest of my closet, and it’s become an easy everyday sweater. Have I put any wine bottles in it? Not yet, but I will at some point, most likely. Probably not full bottles, and definitely not while I’m wearing it.
The Stand Collar Pullover, which I also picked up in the Tomato colour, is where things become more interesting for me. It’s still quirky, but it feels less gimmicky and more genuinely distinctive. The collar itself feels almost futuristic or alien-like, and whether you wear it standing up or folded down, it looks incredible. What surprised me most is how structured it is.
With these kinds of knitted collars, you normally expect them to be pretty flimsy. You wear them for a bit, the knit softens, and eventually that standing aspect dies down. This one is very much set and erect. It holds its shape, and I’ve grown to love it after each wear. It’s become one of the standouts of the collection for me, and based on some interviews and conversations I’ve had, I don’t think I’m alone.
Price-wise, I don’t think Horses is as outrageous as some of the early conversations made it seem. For the Shetland pieces, I think the pricing is fine. Could you get another Shetland sweater for less? Absolutely, but part of what you’re paying for with the Wine Knit is clearly the design and the whole wine-pocket gimmick. I mostly picked it up for the colour, sizing, collar, and comfort.
The Stand Collar’s also pricey, but I’m more comfortable with its price because the design feels more intriguing and original, and it’s already become an everyday staple for me.
Sidenote: I talked to Product Passion about this, and we both landed in a similar place.
If I had to choose between a standard Batoner sweater and a standard Horses sweater, I’d probably choose Batoner. While Horses has more unique-ish garments, I’d choose Batoner’s Cashmere Innocent Sweater over Horses’, especially given their price point, construction, and materials.
So, do I think the hype generated around Horses was justified? Not really.
Doesn’t mean that I dislike the brand, absolutely not. If anything, I’ve appreciated it more over the last few weeks since seeing it in person. If you’re already into something like an Auralee, or even Rier to some extent (some of the Horses hoodies remind me quite a bit of Rier), I can absolutely see Horses complementing that kind of wardrobe.
Still, the hype seemed a bit overblown. Their musical equivalent right now would be Geese, since it really came across as a fucking psyop.
That’s where I come back to the buyers. I think it’s great that these buyers have so much influence now because, unsurprisingly, a lot of them have excellent taste. For example, Neighbour has played a huge role in how I dress today and in the brands I’ve come to love and appreciate. They’re also the one store every brand, and I mean every brand, I talk to mentions as their dream stockist.
It’s interesting, this system of sorts. When a group of influential retailers all talk about the same brand, posting back-to-back stories about the same garment, I can’t fully separate the cultural endorsement from their financial interest in selling the product. That doesn’t mean there’s some sneaky, NWO conspiracy happening behind the scenes. I just find the whole thing interesting. When Horses shows up and seemingly every buyer, and I mean big-time buyers, is posting about them or saying they’re “the brand to watch,” it’s hard not to wonder where the hype is actually coming from, and whether it’s simply a financially-driven hype.
I saw a publication stamp Horses as essentially the “next big brand coming out of Japan,” and personally I don’t think you can say that just yet. We have seen one season built around one specific material and one specific intention. That’s quite the limited scope to make such a claim.
How can one decide this when we don’t even know what Horses looks like outside of knitwear? (Answer: It’s fluff, buzzworthy content to piss u off)
To use one final basketball analogy, think of Michael Carter-Williams. He had one good rookie season in 2013, and folks said he was the next big thing in the NBA. Well, how does that look for him now? He’s retired, and I think he’s doing some freak shit on Instagram Stories, though I may be wrong.
Anyway, that’s the part I’m interested in. Not MCW’s freak shit, but what Horses will look like outside knitwear and within other menswear categories.
In Coverchord’s interview with Horses, they lightly touched on their process:
Horses builds each collection around a single material, exploring its possibilities in depth. How did you arrive at this approach, and what kind of creation do you hope to pursue through it?
It began with the idea of creating in a more minimal way, over a longer period of time, rather than completing each collection with a wide range of materials. By exploring a different material each season, the wardrobe gradually takes shape over five or ten years.
That idea is at the core of Horses.
Do I believe this whole 5-to-10 year process will actually work?
To be honest, I’m a little skeptical. Asking someone to believe they can gradually build this complete Horses wardrobe over the next decade is a lot to ask. Anything can change over five or ten years. Whether that’s your taste, your body, the brand, the industry, everything and anything. I like the idea, but I don’t know if I completely buy it yet.
What I can say is that I’m pleased with the two pieces I bought, and I will continue sharing my whelmed thoughts and experiences. I’ve added Horses to my list of brands I’ll keep looking into, and I’m interested to see where they go from here. However, I’m also going to keep realistic expectations as these collections continue to come out. I’d love to speak with the designer (we’ve been chatting about maybe doing an interview) because I think there’s more to unpack here.
For now, their pieces are good, and their price points are mostly fine. Some could probably be lower, but it is what it is.
Horses has my attention.
I’m not ready to call them the next great Japanese brand after one collection, but I’m intrigued, which is more than what I can say for some of the other brands currently occupying menswear.
Elite MCW reference
the way this brand is being discussed in JP vs the west couldnt be more different. no one in JP was hyping up a.presse or horse the way it is with buyers and fashion writers here