Cult Store: Evan Kinori, a utilitarian menswear mecca in San Francisco

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Cult Store: Evan Kinori, a utilitarian menswear mecca in San Francisco

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“The entire thing has been constructed across the evolution of my private type,” says Evan Kinori of his menswear label and retailer in San Francisco’s Mission District. The model favours delicate traces and wide-leg shapes, an aesthetic that he dates to his break-up with skinny denims.

Evan Kinori, owner and designer
Evan Kinori, proprietor and designer © Allen Danze

Kinori studied pattern-cutting at design college earlier than launching his model in 2015 with a small line of jackets, shirts and pants. In the present day he releases round two new collections a yr in addition to smaller drops – every sewn and sampled in-house – redesigning solely the place he sees room for enchancment. “In case you can’t discover one thing you need, make one thing,” says Kinori, who ignores the idea of a “goal” buyer. “When you get it proper, go away it be.” Take the drop-shoulder Huge Shirt ($425) and roomy Elastic Pant ($525), each long-standing kinds: 80 per cent of consumers have purchased them once more – many purchase in bulk. 

The brick-and-mortar retailer opened in 2021 on Valencia Avenue, an area chosen for its ethereal appeal and structure. “My principal focus was to provide the whole lot room to breathe,” says Kinori – a nod to minimalist artist Donald Judd. Purchasers embody Bay Space cooks, artists and Hollywood screenwriters.

The storefront on Valencia Street, with its workspace and warehouse incorporated
The storefront on Valencia Avenue, with its workspace and warehouse integrated © Allen Danze
The store stocks locally made wooden stools
The shop shares regionally made wood stools © Allen Danze

In true utilitarian type, Kinori’s HQ accommodates a workspace, warehouse and showroom, with the latter open from Friday to Sunday (it’s by appointment midweek). Kinori marvels at its flooring: 100-year-old Douglas-fir wooden resurfaced after a six-month renovation. A low concrete bench shows regionally made wood stools and ceramics imported from Mallorca and New Mexico (from $70). The gathering hangs reverse on a rail cantilevered off the wall – Kinori calls it a “menswear wardrobe complete”, providing present season and archival items, together with a herringbone zip jacket ($885) and puppytooth shirt ($415), in addition to the shop’s everlasting line of undyed hemp and natural cotton-mix separates (from $325) meant for all seasons.  

Wool tweed jacket, 5
Wool tweed jacket, $965 © Ulysses Ortega
Wool gauze scarf, 5
Wool gauze scarf, $245 © Ulysses Ortega

The model’s slow-paced manufacturing schedule permits time to deepen relationships with suppliers and experiment with totally different dyeing strategies. Just lately, Kinori produced a yarn-dyed linen with a textile professional in Japan, a rustic he admires for its range in craftsmanship. “You could possibly most likely go to a basket weaver, shoe maker and material weaver in the identical day,” he says. Traces of this admiration are felt all through the area, from the Washi paper screens within the home windows to a gathering room kitted out with jute rugs on the constructing’s top-floor. In his designs, the inspiration takes root in relaxed silhouettes.

As well as Kinori’s clothing range, the store sells ceramics
In addition to Kinori’s clothes vary, the shop sells ceramics © Allen Danze

Kinori hopes his prospects will go away with a brand new perspective towards dressing, one pushed much less by traits and extra by intuition. “We attempt to information [people] to the piece that is sensible for them,” he says, including that “if nothing is sensible, that’s cool too”. Whereas there’s no written programme for his model’s future, Kinori hints at woodworking. There’s a way that he has solely scratched the floor of a whole line of straightforward, made-to-last merchandise. 

1367 Valencia Avenue, San Francisco, CA 94110, evankinori.com, @evankinori



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