Founded in 1994 by Hiroshi Fujiwara and UNDERCOVER founder Jun Takahashi, AFFA: Anarchy Forever Forever Anarchy. One of the cult labels born from Tokyo’s early Ura-Harajuku scene.
Its concept was simple: create punk-inspired clothing that adults could wear. AFFA combined military garments, mixed typography and images of figures such as Karl Marx, Stalin and John Lennon, preserving punk’s political and rebellious spirit while making it more refined.
The brand was also defined by extreme scarcity. Collections were released irregularly, pieces were produced only once and designs were never repeated. When its temporary Gallery AFFA store opened in Harajuku in 1997, some customers reportedly camped outside for over a week.
AFFA entered a hiatus in 2005, returned in 2009 and was renamed ASSEMBLE in 2011, adopting a cleaner aesthetic. Its final releases appeared in 2013.
Although largely forgotten today, AFFA remains important for bringing together two of Japanese streetwear’s most influential figures and for helping establish the limited-drop culture that still defines streetwear.