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There is something slightly absurd, and therefore memorable, about seeing a man run through a city in full tailoring. That tension sits at the centre of The Working Hour, a new limited-edition zine from Thom Browne and ASICS, which expands their ongoing collaboration into print rather than product alone. Framed around movement, rhythm, and the strange elegance of formal clothes in motion, the release treats the everyday commute less as routine and more as visual theatre.
Set against the streets of Tokyo, the project follows a suited figure moving through the city on foot, using urban pace and repetition as part of its visual language. Instead of presenting sport and tailoring as opposites, the zine seems interested in the friction between them: structure meeting speed, discipline meeting urgency, polish meeting physical effort. It is that clash that gives the project its charge.
The publication features photography and creative direction by Robbie Lawrence, with layout design by Kontact Studio and text by Durga Chew-Bose. It also includes a conversation between Thom Browne and Lawrence, offering a more reflective layer beneath the imagery and positioning the zine as something closer to a collectible editorial object than a conventional brand add-on.
What makes the project interesting is that it does not simply use running as shorthand for performance. Instead, it leans into the image of motion itself: how clothing behaves when it is forced out of stillness, how a city can turn someone into a silhouette, how elegance changes once it is placed under pressure. In that sense, The Working Hour feels less like a campaign extra and more like a small meditation on modern life, especially the peculiar ritual of trying to look composed while moving at full speed. This interpretive reading is based on the article’s description of the zine’s concept and contributors.
Physical copies are being released in strictly limited quantities through Thom Browne flagship stores worldwide, which only adds to the sense of the project as a niche object for those already invested in the Browne-ASICS universe. More than a piece of merch, it lands as a printed extension of the collaboration’s broader mood: athletic, controlled, slightly surreal, and fully aware of the power of image.
Photo: Thom Browne