Welcome back to DEEP DIVE, where we explore the inspiration behind some of our favorite Engineered Garments pieces. This edition focuses on the Shawl Shirt, which captures the spirit of creation and convention, the hallmark of the FW24 collection.
The Engineered Garments FW24 collection reflects Daiki’s ongoing exploration of his relationship with clothing. With a career spanning decades—from his early fascination with “heavy-duty ivy” and the classic “ivy style” of his youth to an obsession with avant-garde 1980s Japanese fashion and eventually a return to American style—Daiki continues to project his current self onto the foundations of his past. This introspective journey through fabric, form, and history is embodied in the Shawl Shirt.
At the core of the Shawl Shirt lies a bold experimentation with shape, most notably through the mantle detail that gives the shirt its name. This unique feature, constructed from a fabric extending from the waist to the shoulder seam, wraps around the wearer’s body like a traditional shawl.
The design allows the fabric to be worn in multiple ways—draped over the shoulders, tied at the front, or even worn asymmetrically. This versatility invites the wearer to engage directly with the garment, mirroring the wild experimentation of 1980s avant-garde fashion.
Yet, despite its novelty, the Shawl Shirt retains a sense of the familiar. Daiki incorporated classic menswear elements into the design, grounding the shirt in convention while pushing boundaries. The body takes cues from standard dress shirts, featuring refined details like a blind placket, pleated single cuffs, mother-of-pearl buttons, and a straight point collar. However, the shirt’s wide, open proportions contrast these formal elements, adding a relaxed, modern feel.
The choice of fabric further deepens the connection between past and present. The Shawl Shirt is available in two distinctive materials—White and Black 100’s 2Ply Cotton Broadcloth, which offers a crisp and classic feel, and Navy/Grey Cotton Deco Jacquard, which introduces a bold, modern twist with a textured, graphic pattern. Each fabric brings a unique character to the shirt, allowing the piece to transition effortlessly between formal and casual contexts, depending on how it’s worn and styled.
The Shawl Shirt is a conversation between Daiki’s past influences and present-day eye. This garment embodies a freedom of design that is wildly adventurous and yet universally wearable, rooted in Daiki’s ongoing reflection on the symbiotic relationship between tradition and innovation.
Available now at Nepenthes Los Angeles in White 100’s 2Ply Cotton Broadcloth, Black 100’s 2Ply Cotton Broadcloth, and Navy/Grey Cotton Deco Jacquard.
