Ultrasuede, Reimagined
Colony Clothing returns to Manila with a trunk show rooted in craft, climate awareness, and Kozo Kawamura’s hands-on approach to personal style.
Words Randolf Maala-Resueño
Photos courtesy of The Fortunate Son
December 04, 2025
There are trunk shows that function as retail events. And then there are those that unfold like quiet conversations about craft.
Colony Clothing’s recent two-day pop-up at Tiño Suits in Makati belongs firmly to the latter. The gathering felt less like a commercial showcase and more like an intimate study of how clothing behaves in motion—across climates, cultures, and the bodies of the men who wear them.
At the center of it all was Kozo Kawamura, founder and creative director of Colony Clothing, moving through the space with the ease of someone who has spent decades studying silhouettes in real time.
Tracing his background, from his early years in Japanese retail to his long tenure in Singapore, reveals a vision built on deep observation. He has worn, styled, and lived in the world’s greatest garments: American mid-century, European tailoring, Japanese workwear.
“When I design, I mix all these cultures like a DJ,” he says, in Japanese, with a soft laugh. “I cannot make music, but with clothing, I know what fits together.”
This Manila visit marks his fourth collaboration with Tiño, a partnership rooted in mutual respect for craft. Tiño COO Hannah Reyes-Torres frames it clearly: being a “forefront of Filipino craftsmanship” is no longer a purely geographic stance.
“We work with brands whose values mirror ours,” she says. “Colony Clothing is built on heritage, intentionality, and years of shaping taste. That aligns with how we see our own work.” Tiño’s devotion to classical bespoke methods—hundreds of hand-done hours, Savile Row, caliber materials, and generational skill, sets the stage for a dialogue rather than a simple showcase. This alignment grounds the pop-up with a quiet gravitas.
Yet it’s Colony’s Fall/Winter 2025 collection, particularly its signature Ultrasuede pieces, that drew in the Manila crowd. Ultrasuede, a velvety, adaptive fabric traditionally used in luxury car interiors and cruise liners, becomes startlingly elegant in Kozo’s hands. He considers it the perfect companion for the global citizen: breathable enough for Southeast Asia, refined enough for cities like Milan or Seoul, and durable enough for constant travel.
“I’ve never seen a material this functional yet so luxurious,” he explains. For this trunk show, guests could choose from fourteen colors and six button options for a made-to-order Ultrasuede jacket—Colony’s hero item this season.
The event also marked the introduction of Colony Clothing to The Fortunate Son (TFS), Tiño Group’s new lifestyle membership and subscription platform. Through TFS, curated pieces, Colony included, are delivered via personalized “dossiers,” blending sartorial discovery with concierge curation. As TFS associate Aurelio Icasiano III describes it, the service is designed for “the man who moves in and out of environments,” echoing Kozo’s own ethos.
But the soul of the pop-up remained Kozo himself, kneeling beside clients during fittings, asking not just where they would wear a jacket but ‘why.’ He listens. He imagines. Then he refines. “Some brands tell you how to wear something,” he says. “I prefer to understand the person and style them for their life.”
In an industry increasingly driven by the instant and the algorithmic, Kozo’s Manila visit felt like a reminder: good clothing is not spectacle. It is a conversation, stitched carefully between maker, wearer, and the world they move through.
