COTE MER — Bespoke Japanese Upscale Fashion
Tokyo street culture colliding with haute couture discipline—vintage garments deconstructed and reborn as one-of-a-kind artworks.
The COTE MER Collection at Japonista presents a body of work where clothes are treated like sculpture. Founded in 2008 by self-taught designer and former vintage buyer Norio Sato together with master pattern maker Seishi Naito, COTE MER approaches garments the way a sculptor approaches marble: as raw material waiting to be cut, spliced, distressed, re-imagined, and reborn.
Working primarily with vintage and deadstock pieces—Levi’s denim, sports jerseys, military uniforms, aloha shirts, band tees, kimono and obi textiles—the team 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 collide to form silhouettes that feel at once familiar and completely unprecedented.
At the heart of the brand is the 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, COTE MER 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 may 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 the Japonista lens, and sourced directly from the 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.
Curated by Japonista, this collection invites you to collect garments as you would collect art—one once-in-a-lifetime wave at a time.
Looking for a specific COTE MER silhouette or color story?
For rare runway pieces, special collaborations, or sizes not listed here, our
Concierge & Cultural Sourcing Service
can help us search Japan’s closed circles for the piece that matches your vision.
