Technical-wear brand Ten c – a playful acronym for ‘the emperor’s new clothes’ – was founded by Alessandro Pungetti and Paul Harvey in 2010 after stints at C.P. Company and Stone Island (Harvey has since stepped away from the brand; Pungetti remains as head designer).
And, like those behemoths of Italian streetwear, Ten c is rooted in the pursuit of a modular, utilitarian wardrobe (garments draw on the tenets of traditional outdoor attire and military-wear) enlivened by high-tech fabric manipulation and finishes (Ten c’s signature is Original Japanese Jersey [OJJ], a polyester-nylon interlock jersey designed to mould and shape to the body through wear, not unlike raw denim). ‘You just have to feel a Ten c garment and you know,’ Harvey once said.
Fabric first: Ten c x Comoli has arrived
A new collaboration, released this week, sees Ten c meet its match with a capsule collection designed alongside Japanese brand Comoli, founded by Keijiro Komori in Tokyo in 2011. Like Ten c, Komori is obsessive about fabrics, though he largely avoids technical-wear in favour of the highest quality natural fibres, from silk and cotton to wool flannel, one of Comoli’s signature fabrics.
Flannel features as part of the new collaboration, combined in the eight-piece collection with Ten c’s Original Japanese Jersey for subtle contrasts in texture, something highlighted by the collection’s all-back colour palette. Much of the collection is also reversible, though rather than different colours or prints on each side, the juxtaposition of textures is instead used to define the interior and exteriors of garments.
In terms of design, pieces have a sporty, outdoor feel, from a technical field jackets with quilted liner to a reversible track jacket, track pant and elongated hooded parka-style coat. A lack of adornment chimes with Komori’s understated, poetic approach to clothing, which seeks to hone the quotidien wardrobe in fabrics and cuts which will shape to the body through time, like the perfect vintage garment (decoration is largely absent from his collections, which seek to slot congruously into a wearer’s existing wardrobe, rather than stand out).
Ten c say it is about designing with ‘intention’. ‘It has been an honour to work together on this project,’ Enzo Fusco, president of FGF Industry, the parent company of Ten c, tells Wallpaper*. ‘The partnership was born not out of contrast, but from shared values: understated design, quality fabrics and a timeless approach to clothing.’
‘[We are] two distinct brands,’ he continues. ‘Each remaining true to their own identity, [but we] have come together to create pieces that reflect the values of both, moving beyond fleeting trends and allowing the product to speak for itself. The collection perfectly embodies the shared philosophy behind the collaboration: intention comes first, design follows.’
Ten c x Comoli is available in Ten c’s online store and selected retailers.
