FW22: Echoes from the Edge of the Sea
The Engineered Garments FW22 collection was a visceral exploration of the rugged, maritime lives of lighthouse keepers and deep-sea fishermen. It was an evocative challenge to translate this "rough and tough" utilitarianism into art prints. Guided by the gloomy, monochrome aesthetic of the film The Lighthouse, Manabu Gaku Inada and Daiki Suzuki explored their shared influences in cinema, literature, and music.
The Engineered Garments FW22 collection was a visceral exploration of the rugged, maritime lives of lighthouse keepers and deep-sea fishermen. It was an evocative challenge to translate this "rough and tough" utilitarianism into art prints. Guided by the gloomy, monochrome aesthetic of the film The Lighthouse, Manabu Gaku Inada and Daiki Suzuki explored their shared influences in cinema, literature, and music.
The haunting cover of Chick Corea’s Return to Forever surfaced in Gaku's mind—specifically the image of a seagull, a lone yet resilient silhouette against the vast ocean. While Daiki envisioned a mermaid motif, Gaku pivoted toward the more ominous myth of the Siren—the monstrous sea creature of legend. This shift from the enchanted to the primal added a layer of mythological grit to the collection’s nautical narrative.
Brand: Nepenthes America, Engineered Garments
Artist: Manabu Gaku Inada
Year: 2022
Brand: Nepenthes America, Engineered Garments
Artist: Manabu Gaku Inada
Year: 2022
The Siren: A Metaphysical Silhouette
Serving as the visual anchor of the collection, the Siren artwork is rendered on the T-shirt with a haunting, spectral elegance. By deliberately erasing the facial features and leaving only the stark outline, Gaku imbues the mythological creature with a metaphysical presence.
Serving as the visual anchor of the collection, the Siren artwork is rendered on the T-shirt with a haunting, spectral elegance. By deliberately erasing the facial features and leaving only the stark outline, Gaku imbues the mythological creature with a metaphysical presence.
The drawing draws heavily on the moody, evocative language of Romanticism and Symbolism, in which the unseen is more powerful than the seen. This stylistic choice transforms the Siren from a mere legendary monster into a mysterious vessel for the viewer's own imagination—a silent guardian of the deep sea that exists on the threshold of dreams and reality.
Mythology captured in miniature. The Siren drifts through a handcrafted deep-sea void, a cinematic landscape that brings the FW22 collection's haunting maritime world to life. A seamless fusion of graphic art and analog stagecraft.
Right: The pencil drawing is of the original sketches.
Gloss black print on Heavy Fleece Raglan Crew.
Historical Reinterpretation: USLHE to USCG.
This design pays homage to the USLHE’s 150-year history before its 1939 absorption into the U.S. Coast Guard. Using distressed graphics and period-accurate typography, Gaku translates federal history into a tactile visual experience. The "worn-in" texture is not merely a stylistic choice but a conceptual nod to the durability of nautical workwear. This approach embodies the EG ethos: bridging the gap between historical utility and the aesthetic demands of modern street culture.
This design pays homage to the USLHE’s 150-year history before its 1939 absorption into the U.S. Coast Guard. Using distressed graphics and period-accurate typography, Gaku translates federal history into a tactile visual experience. The "worn-in" texture is not merely a stylistic choice but a conceptual nod to the durability of nautical workwear. This approach embodies the EG ethos: bridging the gap between historical utility and the aesthetic demands of modern street culture.
A study in grey and geometry. Captured in rough pencil, this seagull transcends traditional illustration, utilizing the sharp angles of Constructivism to embody the sea’s harshness. A defiant silhouette where nature meets the avant-garde.
The T-shirt utilizes an asymmetrical composition to evoke a sense of spatial depth. By scattering seagull motifs of varying sizes across the front and back, Gaku subverts expectations of balance, mirroring the unpredictable patterns of nature. This sophisticated arrangement creates a continuous visual thread that wraps around the body, inviting the viewer to follow the flight narrative from every angle.
