85% matchGreg Lauren
Hand-built patchwork denim as one-off art garments
What changes: Americana military sourcing rather than Zen/Eastern references; higher price
Brand profile
Kozaburo
Kozaburo Akasaka's New York menswear label, known for worked denim, Zen-inflected tailoring and curved-heel boots.
New York CityOrigin
MenswearFocus
Avant-gardeStyle
$$$$Price
4 brands like Kozaburo like Greg Lauren, Junya Watanabe, Rick Owens DRKSHDW →
What to know about Kozaburo
Menswear label founded in 2017 by Tokyo-born designer Kozaburo Akasaka, who studied philosophy before menswear at Central Saint Martins, took an MFA at Parsons, and worked under Thom Browne. The label pairs Western tailoring and hand-finished, heavily worked denim with Eastern spiritual references, plus signature curved-heel boots and knitwear. Akasaka won the 2017 LVMH Special Prize, was a 2023 CFDA/Vogue Fashion Fund finalist, and staged his New York Fashion Week runway debut soon after. Recent seasons, including Spring/Summer 2026, treat garments as everyday martial-arts uniform. A second line, Wave of Sand, runs alongside.
If you like Kozaburo
85% match
82% matchJunya Watanabe
Japanese deconstruction of Western tailoring and denim
What changes: Larger house resources, more technical fabric experiments
76% matchRick Owens DRKSHDW
Darker, waxed-and-worked take on cult denim silhouettes
What changes: Goth-brutalist drape versus tailored, spiritual craft
73% matchY/Project
Twisted, contorted denim with runway-level pattern tricks
What changes: Euro club-ready gender-fluid flash, less handwork
Brand facts
- Founded
- 2017
- Origin
- New York City, United States
- Made in
- USA
- Price
- $$$$
- Focus
- Menswear
- Styles
- Avant-garde, Streetwear, Workwear / Heritage