17 Brands Like Kiriko for Unique Japanese-Inspired Style
You found Kiriko and fell hard for the whole vibe. Vintage Japanese textiles turned into modern jackets and bags. Boro patchwork that tells a story through every stitch. A Portland shop that smells like indigo and old wood. But here is the problem: once you have worn a hand-stitched noragi made from 50-year-old fabric, everything at the mall looks flat and disposable.
That craving for craft-driven, Japanese-inspired clothing does not go away. It only gets worse. You start noticing sashiko stitching in your sleep. The good news is that Kiriko is not the only brand channeling traditional Japanese textile arts into wearable, modern pieces. We pulled together 10 brands that share the same respect for heritage materials, artisan techniques, and the kind of slow-made quality that actually improves with age. Whether you lean toward raw denim or vintage patchwork, there is something here for you.
Kapital
Founded in 1985 in Kojima, Okayama, Kapital grew up in the heart of Japan's denim country and never left. The brand built its reputation on shuttle-loom denim before expanding into a wild, patchwork-heavy universe of boro jackets and sashiko pants that look like they have traveled through decades of hard wear. Under Kiro Hirata, the founder's son, Kapital Kountry became the sub-line where things get really interesting. Existing pieces are reworked with embroidery and visible mending until every garment feels genuinely one of a kind.
If you love Kiriko for the way it transforms old Japanese textiles into something new, Kapital operates on the same wavelength but at a much larger scale. The aesthetic runs wilder and more layered than Kiriko's clean Portland minimalism, but the shared obsession with boro and indigo is unmistakable. Both brands believe old techniques deserve to keep breathing.
Best for: Boro patchwork and sashiko denim with folk-art character you will not find anywhere else.
KUON
KUON takes antique Japanese boro and sakiori textiles and cuts them into modern silhouettes that you can actually wear to dinner. Based in Tokyo, the brand works directly with artisan communities to source vintage fabrics and then constructs structured outerwear and tailored separates that sit comfortably between streetwear and formal dressing. Their Sashiko Gals program even trains a new generation of stitchers to keep these techniques from disappearing entirely.
Where Kiriko focuses on accessories and smaller lifestyle goods, KUON builds full outfits around the same heritage fabrics. A KUON boro patchwork blazer paired with their sashiko trousers gives you a complete look rooted in the same philosophy of waste nothing and honor the craft.
Best for: Modern tailoring made from authentic vintage boro and sakiori textiles.
FDMTL
FDMTL has been quietly producing some of the most detail-obsessed denim in Japan since 2005. Every pair of jeans is manufactured entirely in Japan, from the fabric weaving to the final stitch, and the brand layers in sashiko embroidery and patchwork details that reward close inspection. Their signature charm bell, a small engraved metal accent attached to each piece, has become a subtle mark of quality that fans recognize instantly.
The brand shares Kiriko's dedication to Japanese craft traditions but channels it almost exclusively through denim. If your closet already holds a Kiriko noragi or boro scarf and you need jeans that match that energy, FDMTL fills the gap perfectly. The attention to detail here is the kind you only notice after months of ownership.
Best for: Sashiko-detailed selvedge denim with meticulous Japanese construction.
Blue Blue Japan
Blue Blue Japan was born in 1996 inside Okura, a small Daikanyama shop that looked more like a rural Japanese storehouse than a boutique. The brand works almost exclusively with natural indigo, using the same plant-based dyeing methods that Japanese artisans have practiced for centuries. Their range covers everything from denim and knitwear to lightweight summer tees, and nearly every piece carries that deep, living blue that shifts and fades in ways synthetic dye cannot replicate.
Kiriko and Blue Blue Japan share the belief that Japanese heritage should show up in everyday clothing, not just museum displays. Blue Blue Japan gives you a broader wardrobe of indigo-dyed basics while Kiriko brings the repurposed textiles and accessories. They complement each other well.
Best for: Plant-dyed indigo basics that age beautifully over years of daily wear.
visvim
Hiroki Nakamura founded visvim in 2000 with a specific obsession: finding the best traditional craft techniques from around the world and building modern clothing around them. The Tokyo-based brand blends Japanese textile arts with vintage Americana, producing everything from hand-dyed bandanas to vegetable-tanned leather moccasins. Nakamura personally travels to source materials and study dying methods, and that restless curiosity shows in collections that feel deeply researched rather than trend-driven.
visvim sits at a higher price point than Kiriko, but the underlying philosophy is remarkably similar. Both brands treat heritage craft as a living practice, not a costume. If you appreciate how Kiriko bridges Portland and Japan, visvim does the same thing between Tokyo and the American West on a grander scale.
Best for: Premium Japanese-American heritage pieces built around global artisan craft techniques.
orSlow
Ichiro Nakatsu built orSlow around one idea: slow down and make things properly. Every garment is cut and sewn in Japan using vintage shuttle looms that produce a tighter, more textured weave than modern machines can manage. The brand draws from American military and workwear patterns but filters them through Japanese precision, resulting in coveralls and selvedge denim that feel broken in from the first wear without any artificial distressing.
orSlow does not use Japanese motifs or boro techniques the way Kiriko does, but the shared commitment to slow production and honest materials creates a strong overlap in spirit. If you are building a wardrobe around craft and longevity rather than trends, orSlow fills the workwear side of that equation.
Best for: Slow-made Japanese workwear with vintage American silhouettes and shuttle-loom denim.
SASQUATCHfabrix.
SASQUATCHfabrix. has been mixing traditional Japanese fabrics with Tokyo street culture since 2003. The design collective pulls from kimono textiles and ukiyo-e prints, then drops them into wide-leg trousers and oversized outerwear that feel completely contemporary. The result is clothing that carries real cultural weight but does not read as costumey or overly precious.
Where Kiriko stays grounded in a quiet, artisanal Portland aesthetic, SASQUATCHfabrix. turns up the volume and pushes Japanese heritage into bolder territory. If you want to take the same cultural appreciation in a more forward direction, this brand delivers that energy without losing the craft.
Best for: Streetwear that pulls directly from traditional Japanese textiles and visual culture.
Atelier & Repairs
Atelier and Repairs calls itself an initiative rather than a brand, and the distinction matters. Founded in Los Angeles in 2015 by Maurizio Donadi, the project takes surplus and deadstock clothing from other brands, then redesigns and upcycles each piece into something new. Vintage military jackets get deconstructed and rebuilt with patchwork panels. Unused denim gets hand-painted or embroidered into limited runs where no two pieces match.
The connection to Kiriko runs through the shared belief that existing textiles deserve a second life. Kiriko rescues vintage Japanese fabrics and Atelier and Repairs rescues modern surplus, but both refuse to let good material go to waste. This is for anyone who wants the upcycled ethos with a more Western, workwear-adjacent look. Every piece comes with a tag explaining what it was before it became something new.
Best for: One-of-a-kind upcycled pieces made from surplus military and denim deadstock.
Bridge & Burn
Bridge and Burn is a Portland neighbor that shares more than a zip code with Kiriko. The brand has collaborated with Kiriko directly, carrying their textiles in store, and builds its own collections around durable, understated basics designed for the Pacific Northwest. Their jackets and layering pieces lean into clean cuts and sturdy fabrics without chasing seasonal trends or flashy branding. The fabric choices lean toward weight and durability, the kind of flannel that still looks good five winters later.
This is not a Japanese heritage brand in the way Kiriko is, but the Portland DNA and emphasis on quality materials over hype make it a natural companion. If Kiriko handles your statement pieces and accessories, Bridge and Burn fills in the everyday foundation of a wardrobe built on the same values.
Best for: Clean, durable Portland basics that pair well with Japanese-inspired statement pieces.
Tanuki
Tanuki launched in 2016 without a headquarters, an office, or even a shared building. Instead, the brand exists as a network of skilled artisans scattered across Japan who collaborate to produce raw selvedge denim on antique shuttle looms. They use natural indigo and low-tension weaving methods that create a fabric with real texture and character, the kind of denim that develops dramatic fades and feels personal after a year of hard wear.
Tanuki connects to the Kiriko world through a mutual reverence for Japanese textile traditions and the artisan communities that keep them going. Their denim rewards patience the same way a Kiriko boro jacket does. You put in the time and the piece becomes uniquely yours.
Best for: Raw selvedge denim woven on antique Japanese looms with natural indigo dyeing.
Written by
Spencer Lanoue
