They say, “the way to someone’s heart is through their stomach”, this quote truthfully sticks to its claims in the aspects of love, food, and joy, but humorously, even in the context of fashion. HA.MU’s latest collection is a vibrant continuation of a bespoke jacket in 2017 that became the basis of their most recent pieces that synchronizes with its ever enthusiastic spirit and “eggzilerating” concepts as a brand – bringing in the “sunny” to your sunny side up eggs.
Using an email thread, Abraham Guardian and Mamuro Oki goes back to the traditional marketing scheme that opposes the mainstream strategies of social media; investing on intimacy and personal experience as a vessel to effectively relay an engaging conversation among its fans and consumers. The designers exchange voices as they explain the inspiration, process, and methodology behind their collection in the email. It was a feast for the eyes, to say the least, leather bags, wallets, bucket hats, masks, and the iconic jacket strikingly designed to incorporate the eggs, abound in their presentation.
Symbolizing life, Abraham and Mamuro chose the egg to represent their brand’s ethos as an artistic expression of life anew. HA.MU prides its creations as works of art that vibrantly comes to life through the personal style of its wearer, bringing new life and different flavors every time their pieces are worn. In its essence their collection metaphorically and literally is art and life harmoniously combined to deliver a message that is fun, novel, and “eggsclusively” HA.MU.
In ACIIID however, we like spicing things up a bit and give you guys a bit more information about the style, material, and core that we see behind HA.MU’s Sunny Side Up Collection.
On Style
Intriguingly food and fashion have always maintained a special relationship with each other that celebrates and laughs at their own kitsch. The novelty and comical value of food as a theme for fashion or fashion as an accessory for food, presents a less serious and skin-deep message that spins off the idea of luxury and the everyday which derales and questions the gravity of fashion.
One of the most notable crossovers that have garnered worldwide attention in recent years was Moschino’s Fall/Winter 2014 collection which referenced McDonalds. Jeremy Scott designed clothes that revolved around the food chain’s iconic double arch logo, and red and yellow colors, and their packaging. The collection was pretty hilarious and reasonably covetable! Karl Lagerfeld’s memorable grocery inspired collection for Chanel during the same year as Moschino’s was also as amusing, but slightly more refined. He turned the Grand Palais into a fully-stocked Parisian supermarket with models rummaging around toting cling-wrapped Chanel flaps in gym-to-grocery ensembles carrying matching chained grocery baskets. Lady Gaga, on the other hand, took this concept of kitchen-to-closet literally with her 2010 VMAs Meat Dress made of real meat – reaching the epitome of food as fashion!
There is this unfaltering comedy about the style that never fails to put astonishment and giggles to its audience. What they are, is to be taken as what we see them to be. No more, no less! HA.MU did just that. Eggs slapped at the back of jackets and totes, egg bucket hats, egg masks, and egg bags are as literal as any design could get. However, how they communicated their idea and translated it enthusiastically into everyday clothing made the severity of the concept more digestible and wearable without losing its spice and charm. No pretenses, only genuine fun and joy that eggs bring to our breakfast tables.
On Sustainability
Sustainability in its purest definition has been a hot topic in recent years, as the world slowly recognizes the consequences of pollution and excess consumption, companies and businesses are gradually shifting to run more environmentally inclined operations to aid to this global degradation. The fashion industry, through big and small players, has also recognized their contribution to this crisis. International brands like Gucci and Prada have both taken a stand on this issue and made a pact to lessen their environmental impact. Stella McCartney on the other hand is a pioneer of the cruelty-free and sustainability movement that fashion has only been accustomed to recently. From the get-go, McCartney chose to think ahead and pave the way to a more rooted fashion brand that is conscious and adept with its environmental impact; studying ways to make their production and materials less harmful and wasteful. Maison Martin Margiela has also sided on this concern by developing a diffusion line that fully uses recycled materials. By looking into other peoples’ closets, reworking past collections, and utilizing discarded fabric, John Galliano reinstates a new code for the brand that is grounded on the issues the world is facing right now without losing its DNA.
Similar to these brands, HA.MU redefines sustainability in their own way. Abraham and Mamuro being thrift shop fanatics, understands the concept of longevity and prolonged desirability. Their inclination with second-hand fashion spills over naturally to their Sunny Side Up Collection, opting for materials that are durable (like mixing genuine and faux leather) and choosing silhouettes that are timeless to extend the lifespan of their pieces – created to be worn for decades. Maximizing every inch of fabric and recycling fabric cuttings are also aspects of their brand that are admirable. Their initiative to be a sustainable brand resonates wholeheartedly in what they do and the collections they put out. Their proactive initiative and humility empowers their brand to another degree that not all local brands achieve – displaying the power of change through honest intention and intense conviction.
On Sentimentality
Personality and stories really create solid engagement and deliver substantial outcomes that naturally attract people to stop, look, and listen. Narratives give much needed emotional value and sentimentality to objects that relinquishes it from just being items. HA.MU’s Sunny Side Up Collection was conceived from an emotional time for both Abraham and Mamuro. The designers looked back to their college graduation show as the main inspiration for this collection, basing it from a jacket Mamuro wore during the show and shoes they designed along with it. It was a truly memorable time for them when their undisputed eagerness to show their vision to the world was the main driving force for the designers to materialize a collection that was quintessentially HA.MU. They did not expect that even the clothes they wore during the show would be noticed. A large egg on the back of a jacket and fried eggs on shoes are pretty much hard to miss. So as an extension of this comical moment, the Sunny Side Up Collection was born. The sentimental value of the egg, what it represents for the designers both as a milestone and an artistic metaphor, makes their Sunny Side Up collection soulful and personal. Their pieces become time capsules of their works, dreams, success, and growth as designers and individuals. It becomes more than just eggs on clothing.
