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Sacai designer Chitose Abe sees her small but perfect collaboration with Moncler as an intellectual exercise that reflects on the distant future of Remo Ruffini’s skiwear behemoth, writes Tim Blanks.

As forward-looking as fashion claims to be, it’s rarely thinking more than a season or two ahead. I’ve certainly never heard any designer talk about seven decades hence. But Chitose Abe isn’t any designer. Like her mentor Rei Kawakubo, Abe, the driving force behind the Japanese label Sacai, has created her own fashion vocabulary, hybridising fashion’s most familiar forms to create designs of a seductively skewed, sci-fi elegance. So it makes perfect sense to me that she can imagine them living on into a distant future, long after she herself has gone.

Remo Ruffini, who acquired Moncler in 2003, clearly felt the same way when he enlisted Abe to help him celebrate the brand’s 70th anniversary. They’d already worked together in 2010 on the Moncler X Sacai project when, as Ruffini sagely observes, “collaborations were not as popular as today, and sometimes they were viewed with a sort of scepticism for the fear of contaminating the ethos of the brand.” But Moncler X Sacai lingered with him as a particularly powerful moment in his company’s evolution, so there was an emotional resonance in bringing Abe back for Moncler’s 70th.

“Extraordinary Forever” was the celebration’s theme and that is, to be fair, why Abe was looking down the pipeline at another 70 years. Think of it as a metaphor for the future. It wasn’t like she jumped out of bed one morning with the 22nd century zapping her synapses. But Ruffini had faith that “forever” actually meant something to her. “Always looking ahead and designing for what is yet to come, Chitose and Sacai’s design mindset mirrors my own because in a way, we are never satisfied with the now and strive to offer something unexpected that will be a catalyst for future creativity.” In other words, what the next 70 years of Moncler might look like.

If that presents itself as a weighty challenge for a billion-dollar brand, the collaboration itself sounds appropriately intense. For starters, there are a mere four looks. In a spirited Google Meet with Abe, her right hand Daisuke Gemma and translator Kaori Funaki who were all in Tokyo, I tried to extract from the transcontinental ether what the essence of a four-look distillation of Sacai’s interpretation of Moncler’s future might be. Ruffini has made his fortune by morphing Moncler’s functional quilted down ski jackets into a broad-based luxury fashion statement. From mountain-top to Michelin restaurant without changing your jacket: that’s a potent transmogrification right there. Add to which the natural Sacai appetite for hybrids and you’ve clearly got a recipe for something. But what?

Gemma offered “transformation” as a clue. “The same garment, but a completely different feeling.” He added, “While we respect what Moncler has been doing, at the same time, what we can bring to the brand is a more creative way of dressing.” Take the normal human response to cold weather, which is layering. “Of course, you can just put everything on top of everything,” Gemma mused, “but we have a little bit more interesting idea of doing layers to create a new silhouette.” To me, a transformation is when a chrysalis becomes a butterfly. There is a notion of emerging. My past experience of Sacai suggests a similar process will be at work here, and the layering will probably be a trick of the eye. But how that will actually work in practical terms clearly needs to be experienced to be fully understood, which means we have to wait until January, when the four designs will debut at Sacai’s men’s show in Paris.

Unseen, they already embody the core of the Sacai philosophy. The Japanese concept of kachikan, the importance of a personal value system, has always been Abe’s motivation, much like her mentor Kawakubo. It has shaped Abe’s past collaborations, most recently with Jean Paul Gaultier and Cartier, even as those collabs also pragmatically represented something that Sacai normally couldn’t do (the fine jewellery aspect of Cartier, for example) or chose not to do. “We don’t make sneakers,” said Gemma. “We work with Nike to make sneakers.” That attitude was, in fact, the basis of Sacai’s original collaboration with Moncler in 2010. “When we first worked with Moncler, it was when we didn’t have a down jacket in the Sacai collection, so that was new for us,” said Abe. “Now, we have a down jacket, so we were thinking what would be new for us. And it was not about the creation, or the technical issues. It was more about being able to work with a powerful company like Moncler on a more focused intellectual project, very edited, very small, but being able to share this intellectual vision together. That was very much the difference from the first collaboration.” And also the point of departure from the other designers who worked on the “Extraordinary Forever” initiative.

Sacai and Moncler's 70th anniversary collaboration logo.

Ruffini proposed they re-interpret Moncler’s brand icon, the Maya 70 jacket, for the anniversary. Rick Owens, Pierpaolo Piccioli, Giambattista Valli and Thom Browne were among those who took up his challenge. But Abe’s approach was unique. “The project this time was a heartfelt vision, more about how we express the kachikan than the business side,” she said. “Of course, it needs to be commercial when we are producing something, but this was more about how we respect our culture. More connected with our minds.” And for her, that had a lot to do with the idea of creating something that would endure beyond mere fashion cycles. “Something to be able to feel proud of the future, to be able to coexist in this precious world in a sustainable way.” This is Abe’s kachikan.

It’s coming up to Sacai’s 25th birthday. “We don’t really talk about it,” said Gemma. He claimed the future, not the past, is what absorbs Abe and him, though he had no idea what it might look like yet. Abe insisted they’re very positive. She is driven by a hunger for new perspectives. So far Sacai has a successful track record in satisfying that hunger. The brand’s foundational concept of hybrids, of merging and transformations, tracks fashion’s own evolving ideas about identity, gender, diversity. Did the duo think Sacai has been ahead of its time? “We believe in what we have been doing, we haven’t really changed so much,” said Gemma. “Luckily we had our own signature,” Abe agreed. “For us, being able to create something very unique hasn’t changed, but the society that accepts what we create has changed a lot. In the past it was more exclusive. Now it’s more inclusive.”

Of course, there have been other massive changes. A brand whose very raison d’être is all things snow-related must surely regard a world of rising temperatures with trepidation. It’s no surprise that Moncler’s own commitment to best environmental practice has won wide respect. It’s not something that Sacai, on the other hand, has really talked about. “It’s always a hidden message, you know?,” Gemma said, hesitantly. “All the people we work with, we borrow their voice basically. We don’t say it very loud ourselves but we borrow those people to express our attitude,” suggesting that working with a brand as huge as Moncler is one way for Sacai to acquire an activist voice of its own.

Sacai’s character lends itself to commitment. As curatorially inclined as Japanese fashion so often is, Sacai has taken the magpie impulse to extremes. A random grab-bag of past references includes the master of funk George Clinton, New York club Paradise Garage, cult movie The Big Lebowski… and Albert Einstein! For our interview, Gemma sported a sweatshirt from Sacai’s Tokyo pop-up celebrating new graphic designers and 90s house music. Abe was wearing a T-shirt featuring the singer Sade, guiding light for one of Sacai’s lockdown collections. It poured during that show. The raindrops sparkled like diamonds on the clothes. “Nature is more powerful than anything else,” Gemma murmured.

When I asked Remo Ruffini what his hope for Moncler’s future was, he said, “I wish to see a world where meaningful creativity and innovation remain as powerful as ever, and a place where relationships with communities and powerful experiences will be key to remaining a meaningful brand.” Rooted in these aims, Moncler’s Instagram-savvy Genius strategy, currently on pause, returns in 2023, this time with creatives from arenas beyond fashion offering their interpretations of the brand. But for now, the label has turned to Chitose Abe and Sacai, and the potent promise of four looks. In this case, less is more. Much more.

Japan scraps pacifist postwar defence strategy to counter China threat

Tokyo to acquire counter-strike capabilities under national security strategy that seeks assertive regional role

Japan will overturn six decades of postwar security policy and arm itself with one of the world’s largest defence budgets to counter “an unprecedented and the greatest strategic challenge” posed by China’s rising military aggression.

In a new national security strategy released on Friday, its first in almost a decade, Tokyo laid out its ambitions to play a more active role in regional security, saying it would “achieve a new balance in international relations” by working more closely with the US and its allies to achieve “a free and open Indo-Pacific”.

“Japan’s security environment is as severe and complex as it has ever been since the end of [the second world war],” the strategy, which will be executed over the coming decade, said. “We will fundamentally reinforce defence capabilities as the last guarantee of national security.” 

Under Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, Japan has adopted a more aggressive stance in forging deeper security ties with allies beyond the US, particularly after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine highlighted the risk of a similar conflict in Taiwan.

But its decision to acquire counter-strike capabilities, outlined in three critical security-related documents presented on Friday, marks Japan’s most significant departure from the pacifist stance grounded in its war-renouncing constitution and is likely to draw a strong response from China.

“One year ago, it would have been unthinkable for Japan to possess the capability to directly attack another country’s territory or to secure a budget to acquire such capability,” said Tetsuo Kotani, senior fellow at the Japan Institute of International Affairs. “By witnessing the invasion of Ukraine, the general public began to have a more realistic view of our security issue and it made it easier for the government to take action.”

Over the next five years, Tokyo plans to spend ¥43tn ($313bn) to strengthen its defence capabilities, bringing military expenditure to roughly 2 per cent of its current gross domestic product, matching Nato’s target for member states. Since the 1960s, Japan has maintained a self-imposed cap on military spending of about 1 per cent of GDP.

The budget includes ¥5tn to buy Tomahawk cruise missiles from the US, expand the range of its domestic surface-to-ship cruise missiles and develop hypersonic weapons, according to the medium-term defence programme. Another ¥3tn will be spent on enhancing integrated air and missile defence capabilities, including a radar upgrade for the Patriot missile system to counter hypersonic weapons.

Roughly ¥2tn will be allocated to strengthening Japan’s space and cyber defence capabilities, an area of weakness that US officials have repeatedly pressed Tokyo to address. It will create a 20,000-strong cyber team within the Self-Defense Force, as the country’s military is known, and the defence ministry to prevent cyber attacks before they occur.

The largest portion of the military spending, ¥15tn, will be designated to strengthening the SDF’s basic needs including ammunition stockpiles and fuel tanks, reflecting concerns that Japan’s armed forces will not have the capability to persevere in a prolonged conflict such as one over Taiwan.

In addition to expanding defence capabilities, Japan will also create a framework outside its official development assistance programme that will allow it to provide funding to strengthen maritime capabilities and military-related infrastructure in south-east Asian countries.

Noting rising concerns about stability in the Taiwan Strait, the strategy said: “China’s current external stance and military activities . . . present an unprecedented and greatest strategic challenge in ensuring peace and security of Japan and the peace and stability of the international community”.

It also said North Korea’s repeated missile launches and progress in its weapons capabilities posed “an even more grave and imminent threat to Japan’s national security than ever before”.

Even with an expanded budget, which is expected to be financed via tax increases, a large gap will remain between Japan and China in terms of military capability.

But Ken Jimbo, an international security expert at Keio University, said Tokyo’s counter-strike ability would complicate calculations for Chinese policymakers and Beijing’s operational capability if it were to invade Taiwan.

“The counter-strike capability is of course important for Japan’s own defence, but it will also significantly raise the costs for China if it were to attempt a change in status quo,” Jimbo said, adding that tensions with China, North Korea and Russia were likely to increase.

Chipmaker picks former VW boss as chair of supervisory board

Chipmaker Infineon has picked Herbert Diess to chair its supervisory board, marking a swift return to a big German corporate role for the former head of Volkswagen.

Infineon said on Friday that two board members, including current chair Wolfgang Eder, would not seek re-election when shareholders next vote on February 16. That would make room for Diess and former Siemens executive Klaus Helmrich.

“Now is the right time for changes,” said Eder.

Infineon, whose largest customers are carmakers, has been one of the winners of the global shortage of semiconductors. Diess was ousted from VW in July after pressure from a labour union and shareholders over company strategy.

He became known for skirmishes with VW’s powerful works council and a strong enthusiasm for rival Tesla, which became a driver for his ambition to transform the world’s largest carmaker into an electric pioneer. The announcement of his new job comes as his successor, Oliver Blume, hosts his first annual meeting with VW investors in Berlin.

“[Infineon] increasingly plays a role as facilitator of the solutions for major, global tasks,” said Diess. “Accompanying Infineon on this journey is a tremendous motivation for me.” Diess previously served as a member of Infineon’s supervisory board between 2015 and 2020.

The German chipmaker last month raised its target for “long-term” average revenue growth from 9 per cent to 10 per cent, and announced that it was building a new plant in the eastern German town of Dresden to expand its 300-millimetre production capacities.

Chief executive Jochen Hanebeck is also new at the reins, having taken over from predecessor Reinhard Ploss earlier this year. He said Diess and Helmrich were “proven experts on the major topics that will determine the future of our business”.

Infineon’s share price, which has slumped 23 per cent in the past year, barely moved on the news on Friday.

Sharp falls in the token’s price and the rising cost of energy prompt managers to short several key players

Hedge funds have been upping their short positions against shares of cryptocurrency miners, betting that more will go to the financial brink after the collapse of the FTX exchange.

With the bitcoin price down by nearly two-thirds this year and the cost of the power that miners require to fuel their energy-intensive computers having risen sharply, hedge funds are wagering that some companies’ business models are still far from viable.

Bearish investors have been betting that the implosion of Sam Bankman-Fried’s FTX will further deepen the malaise for a corner of the crypto market that expanded rapidly last year, often with borrowed money, in the hope of cashing in on high prices of tokens like bitcoin.

Miners, which use a network of powerful computers to solve cryptographic calculations in return for new tokens, face the constant need to upgrade their technology and are also highly dependent on the price of the cryptocurrencies they sell.

“Because crypto is trading vastly below where it was before, and they [miners] have a lot of expenses, it’s not clear they will ever be able to turn a consistent margin,” said Chris Crawford, chief investment officer at Crawford Fund Management in Boston, which runs a hedge fund for Eric Sturdza Investments and has been shorting some crypto miners. Shorting means betting that prices in the future will be lower.

Short interest in US group Marathon Digital, one of the largest US listed miners, rose sharply again last month to more than 36 per cent of the outstanding shares in the weeks after FTX collapsed, according to data from Nasdaq.

Last year Marathon paid its former chief executive Merrick Okamoto just under $220mn in stock. This was driven by awarding him shares based on the company’s market capitalisation, which is heavily influenced by the bitcoin price. And in October this year it paid him $24mn to settle a dispute over previous stock awards.

The company has repeatedly been lossmaking. This year it has fallen well short of its own production targets set last year of mining 55 to 60 bitcoin a day and predictions of generating mining profits of between $86.5mn and $103.6mn a month.

Investors had already swelled their bets on Marathon in the past year and have been rewarded as the company’s shares have plummeted 86 per cent.

Funds have also more than doubled their bets against Stronghold Digital Mining — whose shares are already down 96 per cent this year — to nearly 10 per cent of the shares since the start of the year.

Short interest in Greenidge Generation has risen from less than 1 per cent to 4.7 per cent, while Hut 8 Mining and Riot Blockchain, the largest US listed operator, have also attracted more attention from short sellers this year.

Already hard hit by the bear market in risky assets this year, crypto prices fell further last month following the dramatic failure of FTX, which was once valued at $32bn, and whose former chief executive Sam Bankman-Fried was arrested in the Bahamas this week after US government prosecutors filed criminal charges.

“The profitability of miners is a discussion that comes up every time bitcoin is down — and then perceived as a problem for all crypto,” said Anders Kvamme Jensen, co-fund manager of the AKJ Digital Assets fund.

“Bitcoin mining misses the whole point behind digital assets: the goal, after all, is to decouple from the traditional world and all its players, and not go in reverse by camping out on the power grid,” he added.

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