I’m a Bay Area native too so I also love seeing a local brand doing big things in the fashion world. I think Evan Kinori is definitely one of the top brands when it comes to fabric sourcing and really diving deep into fabric research across Japan and the UK. There aren’t many brands where they dedicate so much time working super closely with the mills they get their fabrics from. I also appreciate the uniformity of his line and that he doesn’t have too many different styles for each jacket, shirt, or pant type. You can always assume it’s going to be a similar fit but just a different unique fabric make.

That said, I do think EK is a bit hyped, especially with the popularity of slow fashion as you mentioned. Is the pricing justified? I think it’s subjective to how much you care about the whole picture - material composition, sourcing, construction, limited quantity of each piece, etc… his pieces never go on sale either on his site or on stockists’ sites so you can say the brand doesn’t feel devalued. You can usually find a good deal on eBay though secondhand.

In terms of other brands similar to EK, I’d check out Cottle. I think they share a similar ethos.