Sugarhill‘ Spring and Summer 2026 The collection titled “Python” continues the steady but intentional evolution of the record company. Avoiding rigid seasonal themes, Japanese labels now favor informal nicknames – often romping, sometimes chosen by the founder Rikuya HayashiChildren – reflects its fluid, process-led design spirit.
This season is based on Sugarhill’s core philosophy: material development. This includes exploring subtle modification techniques, research-oriented references to historical garments, shaping of contemporary outlines and palettes, and in-depth hands-on relationships with production plants. The brand also uniquely emphasizes the quality of the material, taking the aging process of indigo, iron and leather as part of its creative identity. The brand’s guiding principle is “speak less and think more”, further emphasizing this weekly and intentional creative process.
The collection draws on the countercultural spirit of the West Coast sour folk and hippie musicians of the 1960s, both guiding the freedom of clothing and original textures of that era. To understand this vision, the team traveled through California, gathering images and experiences, thus informing the sensitivity of the collection. Meanwhile, they explore how American subculture can be explained through Japanese lenses, especially from bands such as Murahachibu and Les, which brought together the bands of dénudés, resulting in a series containing a hybrid aesthetic rooted in both global and domestic nostalgia.
“This collection is a quiet but firm declaration of our consistency and intensity over the years.” – Rikuya Hayashi
The series is visually limited but refined in production, leaning towards what Sugarhill calls “well-designed twists and turns.” The appearance of the key emphasizes the consistency of the material, cuts out different profiles from a single textile and is lifted by secondary processing. “We are gradually moving beyond the era of avant-garde materials,” the brand notes. Leather products and metal jewelry are developed in close collaboration with artisans to tell this intention and blend high-end craftsmanship with emotion.
Color acts as both an anchor and an accent. Mint blue and wine red appear in the form of a central tone, interrupted with a vivid pink accent and anchored by deep indigo and black leather. Fabric aging is not only accepted, but encouraged – the buttons are rusty, denim fades and leaves the threads withering, making the impermanent focus an aesthetic value. Meanwhile, nostalgic textures such as Tyrolean decor and bubble wide cloth are integrated into the folding form to “add a layer of nostalgia and cultural nuance.”
“We just want to continue to create and live by making things all the time.” – Rikuya Hayashi
As the brand commemorates its 10th anniversary, the series has fewer celebrations, but rather a re-evaluation of its value creation. “We want to reiterate our commitment to deepening the creative process. The series is a quiet but firm statement of our consistency and intensity over the years,” Hayashi said.
“We always question the default system of biennial runway shows, and while they can generate hype and boost the brand, their risks will also be consumed too quickly, eventually diluting value and reducing the life of the brand,” Hayashi said. Instead of chasing reinvention, Sugarhill revisited and refines the values that shaped their earliest work. The runway show this season is “precise existence”, not a trend or cycle nod. Looking ahead, this message remains clear for Hayashi and Sugarhill: “We just want to always create and live our lives.”
