AW23 Blackmeans x Zepanese Club Leather Embroidered Coin Pouch

Blackmeans takes its name from a raw English transliteration of burakumin, a term from Japan’s Edo Period that referred to those cast to the fringes and bounded to professions deemed impure. Leatherworking and tanning, with their inescapable ties to death, carried a stigma that lingered far beyond the caste system’s dissolution.

By reclaiming this name, founders Yujiro Komatsu, Masatomo Ariga, and Takatomo Ariga ignited a counterculture. One that turned rejection into identity and paid homage to the unsung artisans whose work shaped Japanese rich, artisanal craft history from the shadows.

Rooted in Japan’s punk underground, Blackmeans stitches together the raw energy of café racer motorcycles, post-anarchism, and the mod and rocker movements of the ’60s. Subgenres like crust and proto-punk have also left an indelible mark on the garments.

The circular leather embroidered pouch. A piece that has quietly cemented itself into the wardrobes of Japanese fashion enthusiasts. Over the years, Blackmeans has collaborated with various creatives, each leaving their imprint on the pouches, turning these small accessories into colorful wearable statements.

For Autumn/Winter 2023, Blackmeans once again joins forces with Zepanese Club to release an exclusive capsule of two leather pouches.

Zepanese Club is the brainchild of Atsuhito Tani, founder of IMA:ZINE (One of Osaka’s most iconic select shops) and Verdy of Girls Don’t Cry. The name Zepanese Club originates the gender-neutral pronoun “Ze”. The brand’s founders saw it as a symbol of breaking free from preconceived notions and adopted it as part of their name.

Rasta colors play a key role in Zepanese Club’s identity as well. Chosen not for rigid symbolism but to encourage personal interpretation. The brand aims to introduce this philosophy to Japan and beyond. Creating pieces that invite the wearer to assign their own meaning.

This pouch features Blackmeans’ signature ethnic embroidery in Zepanese Club’s rasta colors, encircled by an emerald-green embroidered snake.