Number (N)ine

The label's founder Takahiro Miyashita began his fashion endeavors working for various Japanese men’s fashion magazines, and eventually, Nepenthes. Miyashita traveled often to the US, where he developed an obsession with rock 'n roll, Americana, and especially the Pacific Northwest. He started selling t-shirts in 1996 and became associated with the new-wave Harajuku movement of Japanese designers including Jun Takahashi (Undercover), Nigo (Bape), Hiroshi Fujiwara (Fragment), Nobuhiko Kitamura (Hysteric Glamour), and others, all staples of Japanese streetwear for years to come. Number (N)ine began doing seasonal fashion shows in 2000 and was immediately recognized for its obsessive intricacy, construction techniques, and high quality of materials used. Takahiro Miyashita showed a total of 17 seasons for Number (N)ine, then suddenly shuttered the brand in 2010, citing "physical and emotional exhaustion."