Collection: Bespoke Japanese Upscale Fashion Collection

COTE MER
Bespoke Handmade Japanese Upscale Fashion Collection

Cote Mer is what happens when Tokyo street culture collides with haute couture discipline. Founded in 2008 by self-taught designer and former vintage buyer Norio Sato together with master pattern maker Seishi Naito, the label treats garments the way a sculptor treats marble: as raw material waiting to be cut, spliced, distressed, re-imagined, and reborn.

Working almost exclusively with vintage and deadstock pieces—Levi’s denim, sports jerseys, military uniforms, aloha shirts, band tees, kimono and obi textiles—Cote Mer deconstructs each item and rebuilds it into one-of-one artworks. Panels are collaged. Stitch lines are re-drawn. Traditional wagara patterns, boro patchwork, bleach splatters, and hand embroidery crash into each other to create silhouettes that feel at once familiar and completely unprecedented.

At the heart of the brand is the Japanese proverb 「一期一会」(ichi-go ichi-e)—“once in a lifetime.”
Every Cote Mer piece is designed on that principle: unrepeatable, non-replicable, and made to exist as a single wave in an endless ocean of possibilities. No mass production. No second run. When a piece disappears into a collector’s wardrobe, that exact expression of fabric, color, and history will never be seen again.

Stylistically, the collection draws heavily from ’90s youth culture—skate, punk, hip-hop, underground club scenes—yet the cutting and construction are precise enough to sit comfortably in a luxury showroom. The result is upcycled Japanese street couture: slouchy yet engineered, anarchic yet tailored, loud yet deeply intentional.

Within this curated Japonista selection you’ll find:

• Re-built denim jackets spliced with kimono and obi textiles
• Sukajan-inspired bombers and MA-1 variations collaged from vintage sportswear
• Oversized aloha and band shirts elevated into statement outerwear
• Upcycled bags, caps, and accessories crafted from leftover panels and trims

Each piece is one and only one, authenticated and documented through our Japonista lens, and sourced directly from the very closed circles that surround the brand in Japan.

These are not simply “reworked” clothes.
They are future archive pieces—wearable case studies in sustainability, Japanese craftsmanship, and the evolution of street fashion.

Welcome to Cote Mer at Japonista:
where every garment is a once-in-a-lifetime wave.