Kapital

Kapital is a brand that resists tidy definitions. Founded in the 1980s by Toshikiyo Hirata in Kojima, Japan’s denim capital, the label has grown from a small family-run operation into one of the most distinctive names in global fashion. Toshikiyo, a former martial arts instructor, discovered his passion for American denim while teaching in the U.S. He returned to Japan and opened a denim factory in 1984, soon followed by a vintage store, laying the groundwork for what would become Kapital - now widely recognised as a cult force in Japan’s contemporary fashion scene.

In the early 2000s, his son Kiro Hirata joined the brand after working as a designer for 45R. With his arrival, Kapital clothing began evolving beyond traditional denim, incorporating layered patchworks, folk references, and hand-finished details that blurred the lines between heritage craft and conceptual fashion. Kiro brought a new sense of playfulness and complexity, pushing the brand into more experimental territory while staying grounded in process.

At the heart of the Kapital brand is a tension between opposites. The brand balances technical mastery with irreverent graphics, historical references with surrealist silhouettes. Whether through sashiko-stitched coats or hand-dyed knits, each piece reflects a label that values process, imperfection, and invention.

Today, Kapital Japan is worn by a global community drawn to its off-kilter charm and tactile storytelling. Each collection builds on the last, always pulling from the past but never bound by it. The brand has come to represent a type of clothing that prizes individuality, character, and creativity.

Key Design Features

Kapital’s collections draw on centuries of Japanese textile tradition while riffing on global countercultures, from West Coast psychedelia to American military surplus. The result is a visual language that feels both studied and spontaneous. You’ll find Kapital jeans repaired with boro techniques, chore coats dyed with persimmon tannins until stiff and sculptural, bandana prints overlaid with sashiko embroidery, and Kapital shirts made from five vintage flannels stitched into one.

Construction ranges from precise to deliberately offbeat, with many garments bearing signs of wear - fading, fraying, sun damage - not as ornament but as embedded memory. Kapital embraces imperfection as a design tool, using distress as a way to tell a story. The garments are designed to feel like they’ve already lived a few lives before they reach the wearer.

Indigo is central to this approach. Known in Japan as ai-zome, the natural dye has deep roots in the country’s textile history. Through its Kapital Kountry sub-label, the brand explores complex dyeing and washing processes that give each piece a distinct, already-lived-in feel. Rather than chasing perfection, Kapital clothing leans into character, creating styles that are meant to evolve with the wearer.

Kapital knitwear is one of the brand’s signatures, taking traditional forms and skewing them toward the surreal. Alongside this are crisp Kapital shirts, wide-leg Kapital jeans, and boxy Kapital jackets, many nodding to vintage workwear or military design - but always with a Kapital twist. Even within a single piece, you might find contradictory elements: classic tailoring against frayed hems, or folk-inspired embroidery layered over athletic mesh.

Key Products and Collections

Kapital jeans are perhaps its most recognisable offering - whether finished with sashiko embroidery, dyed unevenly with natural pigments, or patched with indigo boro remnants. Each pair carries a story of repair, reuse, and reinvention. Tops range from deconstructed hoodies with exaggerated ribbing to kimono-style cardigans built from repurposed quilts. Kapital jackets are often the most dramatic, combining Japanese silhouettes with American materials and avant-garde cuts.
Even simpler pieces like Kapital t-shirts or sweatshirts come embedded with subtle winks - a smiley face, a raw hem, or a patch that references vintage motorcycle clubs. These touches speak to the brand’s offbeat humour and love of cultural remixing.

Bandanas are another key motif. Kiro is an avid collector of vintage Elephant Brand bandanas and even established a private museum to house his collection. Kapital’s bandana pieces pay homage to this history, often mimicking original production techniques like batik wax-resist dyeing and screen printing. Whether sewn into coats, collaged onto Kapital scarves, or reinterpreted as oversized patchwork garments, the brand’s bandana work is playful but meticulous, anchored in detail but unafraid to skew strange.

Many styles also reference military surplus, particularly in their use of olive tones and utilitarian fabrics like cotton sateen and canvas. This aesthetic has roots in Japan’s postwar period, when American soldiers remained a visible presence and military garments began to circulate among young Japanese consumers. Over time, these items - M-65 jackets, MA-1 bombers, cargo pants - became foundational to Japanese interpretations of Americana. Kapital clothing embraces this lineage, often twisting it into something theatrical, with puffed silhouettes, misplaced pockets, and sculptural detailing that borders on the surreal.

Styling and Similar Brands

Kapital clothing invites contrast. Their pieces pair well with more pared-back Japanese staples - denim from CIOTA or Chimala, wide trousers from Still By Hand, or soft tailoring from nanamica or BEAMS BOY. For those interested in a more layered approach, consider wearing Kapital printed shirts under patterned Kapital knitwear, or offsetting a bolder outer layer with quiet, uniform basics. The brand’s playful energy works best when juxtaposed with simplicity elsewhere.

Those drawn to Kapital’s detail-driven sensibility may also want to explore other directional brands in our selection, including Rice Nine Ten, Mfpen, TOGA PULLA, Minä Perhonen and TDR. Our curated Japanese Brands edit and categories such as Knitwear or Scarves & Bandanas offer further styling options. Kapital scarves and accessories also make ideal entry points for those looking to add texture and detail without committing to a full look.

Cultural Impact

Kapital has developed a global cult following, worn by everyone from Virgil Abloh to ASAP Rocky and stocked by a curated roster of retailers around the world. Despite the acclaim, Kapital clothing has remained independent and idiosyncratic. Stores in Japan are decorated according to regional themes, and production remains tightly connected to its roots in Okayama. The brand has also helped shape a new fashion sensibility - one that values slow process, vintage influence, and handmade irregularity over mass trends or seasonal polish.

Its influence can be seen in the rise of process-based, anti-uniform fashion across both menswear and womenswear. Designers and stylists alike turn to Kapital Japan as a reference point for how heritage techniques can be pushed into experimental directions without losing depth.

Shop Kapital clothing at Couverture and The Garbstore. We stock a considered edit of Kapital jackets, denim, Kapital knitwear, and accessories - available online and from our Notting Hill store.