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“The identity fuses the eclectic essence of Harajuku streetwear with kitsch Americana,” says Bugden. As well as creating the wordmark, he’s designed an accompanying serif typeface that he says “stays true to circles, resulting in grotesque forms” and “weird body text”. The circle motif appears throughout Strawberry Western’s branding, echoing the punchhole-esque shapes of the wordmark’s counters. The designer has also had some fun creating the label’s mascot – a fly, which he says is a nod to the “once-trash that Kisa upcycles”.
Strawberry Western is a new fashion label that describes itself as “anti-waste”. It was set up by New Yorker Kisa Sky Shiga, and focuses on handmade and one-of-a-kind pieces created using unwanted clothes and post-consumer waste and scraps. The brand appears to be in the early stages, with garments for sale in some stores in New York, but the Strawberry Western website is yet to launch. “Japanese identity design has a formidable history in rationalised geometry,” explains the designer. “I took inspiration from many classic Japanese wordmarks and twisted the logic to fit the Strawberry Western vibe.”
The anti-waste fashion label’s new identity, created by R&M, fuses “eclectic Harajuku with kitsch Americana”