A shirt for sale here from the FDMTL label, otherwise known as “fundamental agreement luxury”, although they’ve been going by the more simple FDMTL name lately. FDMTL are one of the many smaller-scale Americana enthusiast manufacturers going at the moment in Japan. They’ve been around since 2005, but have been growing their stature more recently, focusing mainly on indigo and traditional Japanese techniques like sashiko and boro. In the last few years they’re amassed a pretty strong cult following both in and outside of Japan.
So the FDMTL label is all about different treatments, giving their products a worn-in and often reconstructed look. It’s an aesthetic that has a lot of parallels to what Visvim and Kapital are doing, especially with their more distressed and indigo-centric pieces, although they of course put their own unique take on things.
In this case we have FDMTL’s take on the classic button down shirt. The body is done in a damage processed indigo chambray, in a 60% cotton, 40% linen blend, made to look pleasantly worn-in and faded. The twist comes at the bottom of the shirt, where some yellow and red fabric are sewn on patchwork style. It is a somewhat subtle detail but at the same time makes for a nice contrast. Aside from the extra fabric you may note that the fading is intentionally uneven and asymmetrical throughout.
FDMTL remains on the smaller side of Japanese manufacturing, where they always produce in limited quantities and have limited distribution both in Japan and abroad. They put a considerable amount of work into their clothing, with these pieces retailing at about $300 in Japan alone (and even more abroad). Get it here much more reasonably.
Size is labeled a medium and fits true. I measure the chest at 20” / 51cm, shoulders at 17” / 43cm, length at 28” / 72cm, and sleeves at 25” / 64cm. The shirt comes in lightly used, very good shape with no holes, tears or stains. Made in Japan.
Shipping from Japan to anywhere will be $24.