Casting Hirokazu Kore-eda for a football-themed campaign sounds like a mismatch on paper. The director, best known for his intimate family dramas, has never once pointed a camera at a pitch. But that's exactly the move Dover Street Market and Kei Ninomiya are making this season with their FW26 campaign — stripping football kits of their on-field context and handing them over to a cast that has absolutely nothing to do with the sport.
The lineup itself is the statement. Alongside Kore-eda, the campaign features Hiroshi Fujiwara, actress Miwako Ichikawa, costume designer Michiko Kitamura, and Avu-chan, frontperson of Japanese alt-rock band Queen Bee. It's a cast that spans film, music, styling and fashion — with not a single athlete in sight. That casting choice is a declaration in itself: the clothes are meant to break free from "team fandom" or any single subcultural box, refusing to serve one clearly defined tribe.
Design-wise, the collection treats football jerseys as raw material rather than subject matter. Once the sport's original context is peeled away, what's left is pure potential in silhouette and graphic. The brand describes it as "clothing for a nameless community" — belonging to no team, no terrace, no fixed aesthetic camp, playing by its own rules within the framework of sportswear.
The DSM Kei Ninomiya FW26 collection is now available at Dover Street Market flagship stores worldwide and online. Pricing and full item details have yet to be released.
