Universal Works collaborates with Flower Mountain for SS23 capsule collection

Universal Works comes together with Japanese footwear brand, Flower Mountain to create a capsule collection of clothing and shoes for Spring/Summer 2023.

The origins of the Universal Works SS23 collection reveal the unique nature of this partnership - an organic story of beauty, nature, and chance encounters. As the design process progressed, thoughts naturally turned to footwear, and a chance conversation with an old friend working for a brand that Universal Works co-founder David Keyte was wearing at the time, gave way to the perfect shoe partner to complement the collection; Flower Mountain.

“It all started in an extremely natural way, with the encounter between two brands that share the same values: creating contemporary fashion collections that reflect the beauty of the world surrounding us. Our iconic elements have taken a new shape in David's creative reinterpretation, and the result of this capsule collection is truly stunning: a perfect fusion of two creative and conceptual words”. Miriam Greco, Brand Manager, Flower Mountain

The inspiration; a fictional landscape that combines elements from a trip to Santa Fe, New Mexico, with Japan. Think great American landscapes, rugged high deserts and prairies bursting with delicate spring flora. A kind of fictional scene from a made-up “Peaceful Western” set on the real “Flower Mountain”.

“Flower Mountain's own mix of modern materials with a traditional Japanese sense of quality seemed to fit so well within our SS23 collection. While we are a product of our British ascetics and local attitudes, we always do this with a global understanding and expansive vision. And the mixture of Flower Mountain and Universal Works seems to reflect that for us.” David Keyte, Universal Works, Co-Founder

Along with the shoes the collection features jackets, shirts, shorts, trousers, t-shirts, socks, a jumper and a hoodie under a co-branded label that sees the Universal Works logo emblazoned in the Flower Mountain typeface; a nod to the truly symbiotic nature of the partnership. The collection, unveiled to buyers at the Pitti Uomo exhibit in June 2022, will be retailed as part of the Universal Works Spring Summer 23 collection in the second quarter of 2023.

Universal Works

Universal Works is an independent brand built on relationships, with a mission to make people feel good, and look better. With influence rooted in the realism of global 20th century workwear, the ease of modern sportswear and practicality of military uniform, there's no wonder the fanbase of Universal Works isn’t confined to a single social demographic. With headquarters in Nottingham, the brand also has three standalone stores and two partnership stores. The standalone stores can be found in the U.K in central London at: Berwick Street in Soho and Coal Drops Yard in Kings Cross. There’s a third branch in Nottingham within the Rough Trade building. The partnership stores can be found in Birmingham on Colmore Row in partnership with Liqour Store and in Berlin located at Rosa Luxembourg Strasse 28 in partnership with Trüffelschwein Berlin. The Universal Works webstore is also there to cater for all online international orders. In addition, the collections are also available at over 250 wholesale stockists worldwide.

Flower Mountain

Flower Mountain originated from a meeting between Mr. Keisuke Ota from Tokyo and Mr. Yang Chao from Beijing, who discovered that they had a common passion for mountain trekking, music and quite obviously, footwear. They became firm friends and decided to take a trip to the Mount Fuji “Fuji Rock Festival” where they came up with the idea of designing a functional and attractive shoe called Flower MOUNTAIN. In 2015 they first founded, together with Federica Wang, the Dandelion Mountaineering Association and later Breath Design co. Ltd Tokyo. They then started designing their first shoe collection. ShoesBar Beijing and HPF in Tokyo immediately embraced the project and the public responded enthusiastically. In 2016 the Breath Design team joined forces with ShoesBar and Italian company Falc S.p.A (joint stock company), taking Flower MOUNTAIN to a whole new level and introducing the brand on international markets. The new team can rightfully claim to have the most advanced technical and production know-how on the market, based on Italian tradition as well as numerous marketing specialists and a widespread international distribution network.