YanYan Pairs up with Tokyo Keyboard Club to Launch Menswear Capsule
Hong Kong knitwear label, YanYan releases an exclusive menswear capsule collection in collaboration with custom computer keyboard purveyor, Tokyo Keyboard Club on October 24th, 2019.
Fashion and technology has seen many collaborations in recent memory, however none carry the nostalgic Y2K vibes of this quirky niche pairing. YanYan which launched earlier this year, is known for its throwback styling and campaigns reminiscent of popular 90s mega brands, ESPRIT and United Colors of Benetton, while incorporating traditional Chinese design details. Tokyo Keyboard Club explores the intersection between technology and hype culture to create computer accessories that reflect the complex lives of Tokyo’s digital creatives and design geeks. Dropping limited edition keyboards in the same way a streetwear brand might drop a pair of sneakers, TKC has earned a cult following among a certain type of anti-tech tech elite. Think Hackers, not Social Network.
Perhaps an unexpected mashup at first glance, the Tokyo Keyboard Club x YanYan collaborative collection comes from the founders’ shared experience of growing up in a pre-YouTube internet. The collection draws inspiration from memories of the unreliability and raw-ness of the early internet; dialup modems, long waits, broken links, to inform their design process. Using exclusively leftover yarns, a staple of YanYan, the ochre cotton “tweed”, Chinese merino wool, Japanese tech polyester and spun viscose rayon knits feature black and white marbled pattern to resemble a computer glitch on the screen.
Together, YanYan and TKC reimagine what our present could have looked like, from the perspective of when it was still the future.
