SS26 was shot on the Bōsō Peninsula in Chiba. In March the sea wind was still cold, and the weather kept switching — overcast, then sun breaking through the clouds. The rocks beyond town were empty of tourists. We brought the clothes, one model, and one camera.

By six in the evening the light had turned from orange to violet, and the sea slowly quieted. The photographer was on the receding sand chasing the light, and I found myself liking the season’s title even more — Into the Wild — not the effort of going somewhere far, but a few hours of stepping out of the city.

Most of what’s in this first issue of SOTERO PAPER is a byproduct of those days.

Founder

SOTERO’s clothes are made in Wenzhou, a city with a long history of high-end garment-making. This workshop is one of many — it began in 1980, spent over forty years on womenswear, and is now run by the second generation.

What it does best is womenswear: the fit of a cut, the fall of a fabric, the handling of a shoulder and a collar. SOTERO’s menswear started in 2024. It doesn’t follow the stiff, formal route of traditional tailoring; instead it grows a character of its own out of that womenswear craft — looser collars, softer shoulders, making traditional menswear more expressive.

This March, while the spring samples were being shot, a pair of cotton-linen trousers was being finished on the table, and beside it hung a few unfinished women’s pieces. A workshop that made womenswear for forty years, now making menswear — it’s still a new thing, but it’s a try we’re glad to make.

SOTERO PAPER is a printed newspaper. Issue 01 is a limited run on newsprint, sent inside orders and handed out at events. It is not sold.

Subscribe below and we’ll tell you when Issue 02 goes to press.