Arashi Yanagawa was a boxer. A pugilist with all the goods to go to the Olympics on behalf of Japan. Over the course of a four-year fighting career – one that included winning the fly weight division title at the Japanese National Championships as an amateur in university before going it alone – he garnered a certain acclaim surpassed only by his abandonment of the ring, when he took to the runway instead.

His brand, John Lawrence Sullivan (JLS), is ​​named after a legendary 19th century American boxer, also known as the Boston Strong Boy, who’s often considered to be the first heavyweight world champion of bare-knuckle boxing. Sullivan serves as a constant reminder of the spirit of a fighter; a challenger; a champion; to Yanagawa, whose subversive fashion brand – established in 2003 – never shies away from a fight and boasts a solid reputation in Japan as one of the most respected labels around. At JLS, Yanagawa celebrated the art of modern tailoring, bringing asymmetric suiting, off-kilter silhouettes and eclectic layering to the cutting room floor. A menswear label from its advent, the designer introduced womenswear into its arsenal in 2011, with a SS12 collection.

Now, in a major milestone for John Lawrence Sullivan, the brand marks its 20th anniversary. “As a former boxer who knew nothing about fashion design, I learned step by step every season and kept going. Before I knew it, it had already been 20 years,” says Yanagawa. “[But] there is no end to learning, so although it is a 20-year career milestone, there isn’t really a special sense of achievement.”

An autodidact designer, Yanagawa found his way into fashion by taking apart his own vintage jackets and investigating their construction. From the material and cut down to the details, he was searching for the recipe of a jacket he would want to wear himself, even deconstructing his favourite one while “in tears”, and holding fast to the belief that it would be “an investment in the future”.

Over the years, JLS has become renowned for its innovative disposition, for recontextualising traditions and melting heritage materials into subcultural styles. Yanagawa looks back fondly at his very first catwalk presentation circa SS07 in Tokyo. Based on the idea of a boxer’s ‘blue corner’ – which in Japan signifies the break turf of the home fighter between rounds, as part of an age-old tradition – he’s reminded of the fervour he felt at the time of the show even 16 years later. Otherwise, JLS’s AW12 show in Paris and AW19 show in London were distinctive standouts for the Hiroshiman designer.  

In general, Yanagawa’s collections are influenced by the mood of the music he plays in his studio while working. He also looks to film, theatre, art and books for something to spark his creativity. Frequently finding points of reference in the casual conversation he has with friends, he says, “I have very unique friends around, and have been influenced by many of them. I haven’t verbalised that to them directly, but my heart is full of gratitude to have them.”

His latest offering, a subversive range of punk leather jackets, detached hoods, oversized tailoring and delicious knits for AW23, was inspired by the prolific work of Irving Penn. “I was drawn to the appearance of the artists who are the subjects of his portraiture,” Yanagawa says, adding that Penn’s, “composition, texture, subject and margins” are elements that he’s able to translate into his own creations. Fit for a renegade, the pink, peak lapel corduroy trench coat and coordinating wide-leg trousers especially, offer a rejuvenated balance between volume and svelte, expressed via the textural material and slick cut.  

When asked if he would’ve done anything differently these last 20 years, Yanagawa says: “I would tell myself to open up to the people around you (me) and go build a good relationship.” He continues, “When I started the brand, I had a complex about not having a fashion education – I didn’t face the people around me and tried to solve everything by myself. When I was a boxer, I had to fight all on my own, and because of that I had to learn a lot. Back then, people found me a scary or difficult person, but now I am blessed with warmhearted friends and make my creation a good environment.

“I also want to strongly tell myself that we should work harder to learn English,” he adds.

Despite having been a pillar of Japanese fashion for the last 20 years, John Lawrence Sullivan is still not well known outside of its stomping grounds – its London Fashion Week shows serving only as a disseminating platform, but not as a point of charge. So now, the designer wants to expand and propagate the brand name to global markets and worldwide consumer minds alike, and he’s sure to do it with the tenacity of a boxer.

Photography courtesy of John Lawrence Sullivan.

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