The Logic of One Garment, Many Lives

We’re told to invest wisely, buy less, and make it last. SETCHU’s S/S26 collection proposes a better return: one garment, living several lives. The Milan-based brand designs clothes with no single, correct outcome. That idea comes into sharper focus under the title Chasing Rainbows by the Hour, advancing the brand’s belief that garments should adapt to the body, not dictate it.

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The Logic Is In Use

Founded by Japanese designer Satoshi Kuwata, SETCHU is known for using construction as its common language: Japanese modular thinking meets Western tailoring logic. Garments are engineered to change state: shirts and T-shirts unzip into wraparounds, oversized denim and cargo trousers widen into skirt-like forms, and even a garment bag can slip into the role of a dress. The design focus is not on silhouette, but on how a piece can be adjusted, reconfigured, and worn differently over time.

This same approach governs the rest of the wardrobe. Safari jackets are built to be worn or carried as totes, trousers move between categories, and sportswear elements sit easily alongside military and tailored pieces. Rather than referencing place or culture through surface detail, SETCHU relies on method—construction that allows a single garment to take on multiple functions, depending on how it’s used.

Chasing Rainbows, Heading South

A southern influence informs the S/S26 collection this season. Inspired by Kuwata’s visit to Victoria Falls in Zimbabwe, and shaped by a collaboration with LVMH Métiers d’Art supporting local craftsmanship, the collection absorbs a way of dressing unconcerned with fixed proportions or prescribed silhouettes. Working with local tribes on woven palm pieces, Kuwata saw clothing made by wrapping and carrying.

Lightness runs throughout, from transparent layers to airy fabrics and a rainbow tartan signature, grounded by an elemental palette of sky blues, soil browns, and vivid hues. Gender divisions narrow naturally, as clothes are shaped by bodies and movement. 

S/S26 distills SETCHU’s core idea: dressing as a primal urge. Clothes are meant to be handled, reshaped, and worn according to the hour. One garment does not serve one purpose—it moves through many lives, shaped by how, when, and why it’s worn.

SETCHU is now available at UNIVERS One Rockwell

Photos courtesy of UNIVERS