Fragile Base — A Brand Formed Between Emotion and Armor Meets Tokyo
photo by Deniz Demir│3D by Rasydan Zulkefeli
There are brands built on aesthetics, and then there are brands built on emotional architecture. Fragile Base belongs to the latter. Founded in Switzerland but shaped in spirit by Tokyo’s emotional futurism, FB stands as a personal record of its founder.
Alex, founder and sole creator, has no conventional path into fashion. She grew up in Switzerland, influenced less by clothing and more by the worlds of The Matrix, psy-trance, and Final Fantasy. She studied economics, entered structured work environments, and, by her own description, became “a functioning robot: productive, disciplined, and emotionally shut down.” That emotional disconnection eventually became the starting point for her brand.
Today, Fragile Base presents itself as both a visual language and an emotional framework. Its designs capture a tension between sharp edges and human sensitivity. Metallic surfaces are softened by curves. Jewelry is structured but expressive. It removes the idea that metal must be cold, or that softness cannot be strong.
We sat down with Alex after her first pop-up in Tokyo to talk about physical space, emotional design, and how a brand becomes a blueprint.
photo by Deniz Demir
How did you find your way into design?
Like many people, I went through my own hardships growing up. At some point I turned myself into a kind of functioning robot. It was my way of surviving, but it also numbed everything. Eventually I realized that pushing emotions away doesn’t make them disappear. They come back, and usually much harder.
When I finally understood that letting myself feel was not a weakness but a release and a way to remove the real burden, that’s when Fragile Base was born. It became the place where I could turn my emotions into something tangible instead of hiding them.
I actually had nothing to do with fashion at first. I studied economics and worked in that field for years, but I guess I was always too creative to stay in a grey, structured environment. I needed a world where I could express myself freely. So Fragile Base became that outlet.
Fragile Base as a creative outlet, is that still how you would define it today?
Fragile Base is, at its core, my emotional blueprint. It started as a personal diary, a place where I could translate the things I felt but couldn’t say out loud. Over time, it evolved into a brand that blends futuristic aesthetics with human emotions. The name itself represents exactly that: the “Fragile” part every person carries inside, the part of us that feels deeply, breaks, heals but the “Base” that keeps going, which is still strong and shapes us.
For me, Fragile Base is not just fashion. It’s a world. It’s the intersection of softness and sharpness, feelings and machinery, emotions and metal, humanity and futurism. I design for people who see beauty in contrast: delicate forms with armored edges, elegance with attitude, intimacy with electricity. Fragile Base is the duality of life brought into wearable form.
Every collection is a chapter of my inner life. It reflects where I’ve been emotionally, what I’ve learned, and what I’m letting go of and also about my world view and thoughts. That’s why the pieces feel personal, they’re not trends, they’re fragments of my story.
Fragile Base exists to remind people that being emotional, sensitive, or soft is not something to hide; you are still strong and you still have your solid base. It’s part of being human. And even in a futuristic cold world, maybe especially in one, our vulnerability is our strength. The future belongs to those who dare to feel.
What is your biggest inspiration?
My biggest inspiration comes from films, video games, and music, basically everything that shaped me growing up. The Matrix is still my all-time favorite. The style alone is insane, but it’s the deeper meaning behind the movie that really gets me. I can’t create just because something “looks nice”, I need to feel something. My emotions have to be triggered first. That’s why music is probably my strongest source of inspiration.
It’s funny, people assume I listen to only electronic music because of my aesthetic, but most of my inspiration actually comes from songs from the 70s to the 90s. The lyrics from that time just hit differently. They make me think, reflect, and suddenly a whole idea appears. My “Rule The World” T-Shirt is the perfect example, it was inspired by Everybody Wants to Rule the World by Tears for Fears. The message of that song hit me so deeply because it feels so true: everyone wants control, everyone wants power. So we turned it into a graffiti-style print saying exactly that.
When it comes to other designers or brands, one that really influenced me is Gentle Monster. I’ll never forget the first time I stepped into their store and this giant robotic head followed me around. I instantly fell in love with their whole world, their installations, the way they make you feel something the second you walk in. It made me realise: I want to create something like that one day, something bold and overwhelming.
Why do you feel Fragile Base fits so naturally in Japan?
I’ve always felt a very natural connection between Fragile Base and the Japanese fashion scene. After I find inspiration and understand what I want to express emotionally, I still need to translate that into something physical, something people can actually wear and feel. And that’s the point where visual inspiration plays a role too.
Tokyo’s fashion scene is overwhelming in the best way. You see everything: bold, expressive silhouettes, experimental forms, subcultures blending into each other. It’s a place where people dress with intention, with emotion, with personality and that aligns perfectly with what I’m trying to say through Fragile Base.
The first time I came to Japan, I immediately felt that it would become a place I’d always return to. I even lived there for a while. Tokyo has this strong duality: we imagine it as the future, neon lights, tech, speed, but at the same time it’s deeply traditional, emotional, slow in certain ways. That contrast is exactly what Fragile Base stands for: the tension between cold futurism and raw human feeling.
photo by Deniz Demir
You recently held your first ever pop-up in Laforet Harajuku. How did this come to happen?
Yes, I still think it’s crazy, I honestly can’t fully believe that just a few months ago I was standing in LaForet Harajuku with my own pop-up store. What makes it even crazier is that LaForet has always been my favorite shopping center. When I lived in Tokyo, I was there three to four times a week. It was my go-to place for inspiration, fashion, and simply feeling alive in the city. And suddenly, months later, I’m back, but this time with my brand. It felt like the biggest full-circle moment of my life.
I always knew that if I ever did my first pop-up, it had to be in Japan. Fragile Base started there emotionally and creatively, so it felt only right to bring it physically to the place that shaped so much of who I am. I spent weeks looking online for possible pop-up locations, checking out different spaces, and then randomly LaForet came into my mind. I searched if they even offered pop-up opportunities and somehow, they did. I applied for the next available slot without expecting anything, and then… I got it.
It all happened so fast and so unreal, but at the same time, it felt like it was meant to be. I’m very grateful for this experience.
How did the pop-up’s end feel, and was it the start of more localized projects?
I honestly felt a mix of sadness and pride when the pop-up ended, my first big milestone. The month passed so quickly. It was such an intense, beautiful experience that I almost didn’t want it to finish. But at the same time, I’m incredibly grateful that I got to live it. Again… the duality I always talk about.
What I do know is that it wasn’t a one-off moment. The pop-up showed me that Fragile Base works in a physical space, that people connect with it, feel something from it. It felt like a beginning. So yes, this is definitely the start of more localized projects.
And to Tokyo… wait for me. I’ll be back next year, maybe even longer.
You’re a one-woman brand. From design to production, creative direction to social media, how do you manage it all?
How I balance everything mostly alone is honestly something I still don’t fully understand myself. People might not realize that I still work a full-time office job to get through the months and to finance my baby, Fragile Base, until it can fully stand on its own feet. On top of that, I’m also the Head of Social Media for Zurich Fashion Week, so yes, my plate is absolutely full.
But strangely, it doesn’t feel like too much, because I genuinely love everything I do. From my office job, to my social media work, to of course Fragile Base, it all gives me purpose in different ways. If you love what you do and truly stand behind it, it doesn’t feel like “work” anymore. It becomes part of who you are.
And trust me, it wasn’t always like that. I hated every job I had before. I hated studying economics. I always felt like I would never have a life where I could say: “Wow, I love what I do.” But when Fragile Base came into my life, everything flipped 180 degrees. It made me confident, stronger, and most importantly it allowed me to finally be myself. And from that moment on, everything somehow became easier to handle.
photo by Deniz Demir│3D by Rasydan Zulkefeli
What’s next for Fragile Base?
I usually don’t like to reveal too much in advance, I love creating real “wow” moments. Surprises are part of the magic. But what I can say is this: you’ll definitely see Fragile Base pushing into fashion shows soon… and with designs that are much crazier, more experimental, and closer to haute couture than ever before. And honestly, sooner than most people expect.
For me, Fragile Base isn’t just a brand, it’s my anchor, my stability, the place where I can express everything I feel and think and be. Of course I would love for it to grow to the point where it becomes my full-time world, but sales or numbers were never the main purpose. The purpose is expression, connection, and creating something meaningful.
Fragile Base isn’t going anywhere. I will keep building it for a very, very long time, no matter what. And if I can give even just a few people something, a feeling, a perspective, a thought then that already means everything to me.
Alex│photo by Deniz Demir│3D by Rasydan Zulkefeli
Fragile Base is not a brand that responds to seasons. It grows when its creator grows. As the brand moves further into Japan, and eventually into more physical forms of presentation, its dual identity becomes clearer: metal as emotion, and jewelry as narrative. That is where Fragile Base will continue to build, evolving into a fully constructed world rather than remaining confined to fashion.
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