The Osaka Dream Team: Zepanese Club
Zepanese Club was founded in 2017 by Atsuhito Tani, former buyer at BEAMS and founder of IMA:ZINE, one of the most iconic select shops in Osaka and Verdy, who many of you know through Girls Don’t Cry, Wasted Youth and many other notable works.
Despite having a successful career at BEAMS, Atsuhito Tani risked it all by founding IMA:ZINE back in his hometown and simultaneously working on launching Zepanese Club with Verdy. The brand name “Zepanese Club” comes from when one college professor came up with a new slang for gender terminology such as he/she and called it “Ze”. The founders of the brand interpreted this as something that blows away any prior preconceptions and wanted to implement this as a part of the ethos of the brand.
The implementation of Rasta colors within the brands products comes from the idea of wanting the owners of the items to find their own meaning within the colors that are being used and they wanted to bring this idea to Japan. Hence the combination of these two ethos of the brand results in the name “Zepenese Club”
In the early years of the brand, the designs and products of the brand were very graphic heavy. But in recent years, with the help of Hopi tribe artist Jason Takala, they have produced rings and Bangles with the Zepanese Club logo carved in.
Further pushing the boundaries of a streetwear brand by fusing Japanese street culture and Indian Jewelry design methods. They have also worked with the Chimayo village in New Mexico on a traditional vest with the Zepanese Club logo embroidered on the back.
This type of collaboration between streetwear design and traditional design methods is something that definitely sets Zepanese club apart from other streetwear brands and we'll definitely be keeping an eye on any future moves by the label.
