Here is the English description from the AS KNOW AS website:
“Always in high spirits …tea always delicious.
Founded in 1989, AS KNOW AS CO., LTD. produces a number of fashion lines for
women in their teens, twenties, and thirties.
AS KNOW AS opened its first store in 1994 in the trendy Harajuku shopping district.
It now directly manages over a hundred stores throughout Japan. AS KNOW AS began as a wholesale vendor and remains faithful to the original plan.
In 2007 it built new headquarters to integrate all sections of the company–design, patternmaking, production, sales, logistics–and to accommodate the many wholesale clients
who come from afar six times a year to place their orders.
International success can be traced largely to i.t, a listed Hong Kong retail company with exclusive vending rights in China.
AS KNOW AS is a hit in Hong Kong and also has a small but successful presence in Taiwan, Shanghai, Beijing, and Kuwait.”
It’s a particularly unique brand as the clothing is not only designed but also produced in Japan, something very unusual in the current market where many, if not most, Japanese brands have their production done overseas in China, Hong Kong, and Taiwan.
Read more about each brand within the larger AS KNOW AS company after the jump…
AS KNOW AS de base
Apparently they’ve licensed out some Peanuts stuff to use in their designs.
See?!! Bear! On Bag!! (Just like mine!) I’m not nuts – the Japanese really do love this stuff!
AS KNOW AS de base strives to produce clothing that is cute but sophisticated, imbued with details. The consumer can mix and match textures and fabrics to create an entirely coordinated outfit that expresses her personality. [My extremely loosey-goosey translation from their wesbite.]
You can buy AS KNOW AS de base items online here.
For those ladies who want to wear adorable clothes – AS KNOW AS olaca is a line only available in “olaca” sizing [oh- raka means “loosely” or “kind of” in Japanese]; i.e., SIZE L. Producing everything from jackets to accessories, dresses to blouses, the brand creates a completely coordinated outfit in cuts that envelope the body. [And that’s my oh-raka translation LOL]
You can shop AS KNOW AS olaca online here.
AS KNOW AS pinky creates fun, detailed clothing specifically for the younger woman. Using plentiful colors and high-quality fabrics, the brand brings new life to basics. They intend to infuse their pieces with that extra something that makes the wearer reach for them again and again in her daily life.
You can shop AS KNOW AS pinky online here.
Nanashi is for the woman who en
joys using her clothes to express herself. For the woman who has fun with fashion and outfits – who sees her style as flexible. The brand creates silhouettes that are feminine, with an emphasis on those details that make an item of clothing special.
You can shop Nanashi online here.
AS KNOW AS dog products: “Matching Clothes with Mama,” collars, leashes, toys, snax, beds, and other accessories.
Shop AS KNOW AS de wan online here.
To me, the clothing from the AS KNOW AS brands look pretty interchangeable with one another – i.e., I can’t really tell the difference between an olaca and a Nanashi for example. But they are still pretty, wearable pieces, and the brand is doing quite well in Japan and abroad. Though I didn’t find anything to feed my fashion fetish at the AS KNOW AS Harajuku stores when I visited in August of this year, my AS KNOW AS de base apron-dress that I bought last year is still one of my favorite dresses in the whole wide world.
Learn more about the brands on the AS KNOW AS website.
-Carly J. Cais
