CAMIEL FORTGENS to me

Hello. This is Kubono from THIRD PLACE.

Today, I'd like to write about a shirt by CAMIEL FORTGENS.

Nishiwaki wrote about the brand recently, so if you haven't read those posts yet, please take a look. （ #1 / #2 ）

I first discovered Camiel's clothes about seven years ago.

Back then, fashion content on Instagram and YouTube was just beginning to take off in earnest. It may seem ordinary now, but it had become possible to see what kinds of clothes were out there through photos and videos on your phone. It felt fresh at the time, but because anyone could share content so easily, I also felt that, in a way, we were being presented with a definitive answer to what fashion should be.

Around then, I happened to stop by a select shop in Kyoto without any particular purpose, and a Camiel shirt caught my eye. That was the first time I'd heard of the brand, too.

The first Camiel shirt I bought, seven years ago

At the time, it blew me away.

Ordinary? ...Not quite.

The finishes on the sleeves and hem, the misaligned buttons.

And yet, it was entirely simple. Could this work, too?

I find shirts difficult to choose. T-shirts and sweatshirts are easy to wear day to day, but with a shirt, I find it hard to decide which one to pick when I think about where and how I want to wear it.

But Camiel's shirt felt just right. The unusual details when worn on its own and the raw-edge finish peeking out when worn as a layer didn't feel gimmicky or eccentric, and it blended naturally with basic clothes.

The same went for shorts and denim. It was easy to wear casually as everyday clothing, like a T-shirt or sweatshirt. Its imperfect design was a defining feature that softened the formal impression of a shirt.

Because I gravitate toward casual styles, I came to love and feel drawn to Camiel's shirts.

 

I've worn this shirt hundreds of times over the years and washed it over and over. What surprises me most personally is thatnot a single button has ever come off, despite all that wear. That's how much confidence I have in the stitching and construction.

 

Time passed, and when we decided to carry CAMIEL FORTGENS here at THIRD PLACE, I was genuinely thrilled. (I never imagined I'd be the one recommending it, haha.)

And the shirt we chose this time brought back the excitement I felt seven years ago.

CAMIEL FORTGENS "DOUBLE SLEEVE SHIRT"

COL: LIGHT GREY
SIZE: S,M
¥85,000+TAX

The misaligned buttons and the cuts and finishes on the hem and sleeves—all the details that felt so distinctly Camiel back then are still there today.

This time, though, the standout features are the dramatically wide shoulders and body, and the overlapping sleeves.

I chose this shirt because I wanted to enjoy wearing it loosely thrown on like a light jacket, rather than as a layer underneath. That's how I'd like to suggest you wear it, too.

Why? There are a few reasons.

First, the width.

Size S has an 84 cm shoulder width and an 83 cm chest width.

Size M has an 85 cm shoulder width and an 85 cm chest width.

Meanwhile, the length is 78 cm for S and 80 cm for M, creating an oversized boxy silhouette.

It's an unbelievably oversized fit—around a size 7XL—but it didn't feel too big when I tried it on. Since it's made from shirting fabric, the extra width stays tucked under the arms, and with this much room, there's naturally no bunching.

The hem is also cut straight in a box shape rather than curved into a rounded hem.

The pocket is designed with its seam set slightly inward, leaving the edge protruding a little for a three-dimensional finish.

From the width and the details throughout, I sensed a message: it's a shirt, but it's meant to be thrown on loosely.

Next, the sleeves, with two layers overlapping.

The design is rooted in the layered styles that drew attention in skate culture and the punk scene from the 1990s through the early 2000s. In recent years, with the Y2K revival, we've seen various brands bring that layering together in a single garment.

Other brands often use long-sleeve T-shirt construction, but brands like BALENCIAGA, Dries Van Noten, and Acne Studios have also made them as shirts.

But I don't think Camiel's Double Sleeve is simply a matter of stacking two sleeves on top of each other.

If you look closely, the buttons are unevenly spaced. My guess is that this is because the button placements from a short-sleeve shirt and a long-sleeve shirt have been combined on a single piece.

It's a highly considered design, combining two shirts into one not just at the sleeves, but even along the front placket (buttons).

It makes a visual impact, yet choosing a casual, matte gray fabric rather than a check or stripe, or a glossy material, feels like a very Camiel decision.

To bring out the natural drape of the fabric from the shoulders down the back and the relaxed silhouette, Camiel's Double Sleeve has no pleats on the back yoke. It also has no cuffs.

The usual elements of a shirt aren't here.

The collar and buttons retain their usual size, keeping only the essentials and eliminating everything beyond that.

And yet, it looks like a shirt.

That almost illusory effect is really interesting.

167 cm: size S

Rather than simply wearing a shirt as outerwear, I saw all these elements and decided I wanted to wear this shirt as a light jacket.

In last month's blog, I wrote about shirts I'd like to layer, and in a recent post, I featured a turtleneck as an underlayer. This season, I want to enjoy layering in my own way.

When it comes to casual style, I especially recommend pairing it with a hoodie.

A shirt designed to be worn as a shirt can be hard to style this way, which is why I'd like to suggest this pairing.

HELS × THIRD PLACE "HOODIE SWEAT(GRAY)"

Ernie Palo "Hooded Knit P/O(BROWN)"

CAMIEL FORTGENS "TRACK JACKET(LIGHT YELLOW)"

Camiel's clothes haven't changed since back then, in the best possible way. That's true of the design, but more than anything, they've reminded me of the freedom and joy of fashion.

There's nothing wrong with thinking, "This is how you wear this!" But as someone who loves fashion, I think the process of figuring out how to wear something is part of the fun. And because fashion is free, I hope you'll enjoy it without looking for a single right answer.

The more clothes you see, the less often you feel that straightforward excitement you once had—"Wow, that's amazing. That's so cool."

At some point, the standards we use to choose clothes become fixed and practical.

That's why I chose this one. It's cool, and it's new, which makes it incredibly appealing.

It's the kind of fun, cool clothing that's so direct it needs no explanation.

Camiel's clothes are more expensive than those of other brands.

Of course, that's partly because the fabric and production process take time. But rather than simply aiming for a perfect finish, the brand leaves in irregularities and imperfections as part of the design. I feel that gives these clothes a value you won't find elsewhere.

Those details are visible on the outside, while the construction inside is very carefully and neatly finished.

In this day and age, this approach might seem like a waste in some ways. Some may think it would be better to make clothes more efficiently and rationally.

AI is advancing, too, but I find myself drawn again to clothes with a human touch—clothes that feel made by hand.

Writing this blog has reminded me that I like clothes with ideas behind them.

That goes for this Camiel piece, as well as TOZAOU and WELL.

This shirt is a new kind of clothing for me, breaking down preconceptions through its ideas.

Rather than presenting it as the one right answer, I'd like to suggest this shirt as a light jacket—a new option for you.

Lastly, people often ask us in store about Camiel's sizing. The smallest size we carry is selected with me (167 cm) and Nishiwaki (168 cm) in mind.

For the most part, we carry Camiel in size S.

We generally select size M with people around 175 cm and taller in mind.

I hope this is helpful, too.