AMBUSH and Lexus Are Building the Future Classic Club

A new age has arrived. It brings a digital landscape where nothing in culture is permanent and trends rise and fall in what feels like seconds. As a response to a generational apathy produced by watching the life of every cultural moment become shorter and shorter, the independent Tokyo-based luxury streetwear brand AMBUSH partnered with Lexus to make something that lasts.

AMBUSH was founded in 2008 by designer Yoon Ahn and rapper Verbal, initially starting out as an experimental jewelry line, then expanding to include apparel. AMBUSH has gained a cult following for its genre-defying design.

Lexus, meanwhile, launched its Standard of Amazing platform in 2025: A brand approach rooted in the belief that vehicles shouldn’t just be exceptionally made, but should also create meaningful emotional connections. As technology continues to reshape the world around us, Lexus is putting people first, focusing on the emotions that drive us and the connections, interests, and memories we create along the way.

Inspired by this platform, AMBUSH created a capsule collection that translates the design of the Lexus IS into apparel.The IS, Lexus’ luxury sports sedan, has built a 25-year legacy and a passionate community of owners along the way.For this capsule there are inventive takes on the carabiner keychain with engravings reminiscent of the Lexus IS’s precision detailing, jackets with industrialized versions of the traditional frog fastener, and tops reimagining the Lexus logo with slick silver graphics.

For the campaign, PAPER tapped in some future classics for a wild night out on the town. We brought in pro racer Sara Choi, stylist and designer Sierra Rena, and creative Fiffany Luu, women who are well-versed in the lines between innovation and simple fads. The campaign centers on a short film shot in Japan, where both Lexus and AMBUSH originate from. The sleek Lexus IS sits side-by-side with the AMBUSH pieces designed through the lens of Lexus, lit to reflect the bold and undaunted energy Sara, Sierra, and Fiffany bring to the world.

PAPER sat down with Sara, Sierra, Fiffany, Yoon, and Verbal to talk about what lives at the intersection of fashion and speed, what moves them to create, and how to build looks meant to outlast the moment they’re worn in.

AMBUSH

What first drew you to Lexus as a creative partner, and how did the collaboration come together?

YOON: What first drew me to Lexus was its origin story. Lexus came out of this pivotal moment when Japan was proving that it could define luxury on its own terms, not by copying the European model, but through Japanese engineering, precision, hospitality and this almost obsessive attention to detail.

I also loved how nerdy and rigorous the approach was from the beginning. The development of the original LS 400 involved 60 designers, 1,400 engineers, 2,300 technicians and roughly 450 prototypes. That level of obsession really connected with me, because creatively I work in a similar way. I like going deep into the details, researching, testing, questioning things and pushing an idea until it becomes something very specific.

So when the collaboration came together, I didn’t want to simply make a “fashion version” of a Lexus. I wanted to find a story that felt unique to Lexus and AMBUSH together, something rooted in that history of Japanese innovation, but expressed through the way we think about design, technology and culture today. For me, the most interesting collaborations are the ones where you find a connection in ethos first, and then build a new story from there.

How do you personally define Future Classic Club?

YOON: To me, Future Classic Club is about creating something new without disconnecting from where you came from. A future classic isn’t just something that feels futuristic, it’s something with enough identity and substance that it can still feel relevant years later. I think that comes from understanding the past, taking what resonates, and then pushing it forward in your own way.

So the “club” is really a mindset. It’s for people who appreciate history and culture, but don’t want to be trapped by nostalgia. They take those references and turn them into something that belongs to now and hopefully becomes part of the future.

Who do you consider current members, which innovators or creatives embody it right now?

YOON: I don’t really see Future Classic Club as a formal membership. It’s more about people who have a very individual point of view and are creating their own world rather than following what already exists.

People like Reiji Okamoto, Reo Sano from GENERATIONS, and Sara Choi all embody that for me in very different ways. Reiji through music and his perspective on culture, Reo through dance and performance, and Sara through drifting and car culture. Reo is officially listed as a performer in GENERATIONS.

What connects them is that they’re all part of Tokyo, but they each experience and express the city differently. They have their own communities, their own references, their own language. They’re not necessarily trying to fit into one scene.

That’s what Future Classic Club represents to me: people who take what they’ve inherited from culture, add something completely personal to it, and build a world that feels like their own. Those are the people who eventually shape what comes next.

Where do you see the next generation of future classics coming from?

YOON: I think they’ll come from the edges rather than the center. A lot of the most interesting ideas now are coming from people moving between different worlds: fashion, music, cars, gaming, dance, technology without feeling like they have to belong to just one category.

I’m especially interested in younger creatives who are taking very local references and making them feel global. That could come from Tokyo, Seoul, NYC, Bangkok anywhere. The point isn’t where they’re from, but that they have a strong sense of their own culture and aren’t trying to flatten it for everyone else.

The next future classics won’t necessarily come from what we traditionally think of as luxury. They’ll come from communities, subcultures, and people creating something with enough originality that eventually the wider culture catches up to them.

Verbal, how does sound or music thinking show up in a project that has no audio component?

VERBAL: Even when there’s no actual audio, I think something visual can still feel very musical. A certain color, the way a video is edited, someone’s facial expression, the movement of a car. Those things can trigger an emotion that almost makes you imagine a certain sound in your head.

I think music and visuals are similar in that way. They both work emotionally before you necessarily understand why. Something can feel loud, quiet, aggressive, melancholic, euphoric, or even have a certain tempo without making any sound at all.

So when I’m looking at a visual project, I’m always thinking about that emotional frequency. What does this image sound like? What kind of feeling does it trigger? To me, that can definitely be musical, even in complete silence.

Twenty years from now, what do you want people to say AMBUSH got right before anyone else?

AMBUSH (YOON+VERBAL): I’d hope they say that AMBUSH understood early that luxury didn’t have to come from tradition, it could come from subculture, community and a very specific point of view. We never really saw clear boundaries between jewelry, fashion, music, art, cars or technology. To us, they were all part of the same cultural language. That feels normal now, but when we started, the industries were much more separated.

I’d also like people to say that we showed you could build something deeply rooted in Tokyo and Japanese culture without making it feel only Japanese. You can be very local and still speak globally. More than predicting a trend, I’d want AMBUSH to be remembered for seeing culture as connected before everything became connected.

How has the definition of "luxury" changed for you since you started the brand?

AMBUSH (YOON+VERBAL): When we started AMBUSH, luxury felt much more connected to rarity, materials, craftsmanship and access. I still think those things matter, but my definition has become much broader.

Now, luxury to me is also time, freedom, intention and authenticity. It’s having the space to make something properly, to choose what you pay attention to, and to create from a real point of view instead of reacting to everything around you. I also think people are less impressed by luxury just because something is expensive. They want to understand why it matters who made it, what the story is, what kind of feeling or experience it gives them. So for me, luxury has shifted from simply owning something rare to having a deeper relationship with what you choose to bring into your life.

SARA

What surprised you most about the car in the AMBUSH x Lexus film versus your normal relationship with cars?

Everything came full circle. VERBAL, my homie, hit me up and was like, “Hey, I think you’d be the best fit for my next campaign.” I was like, “What’s up?” And he said, “AMBUSH x the new Lexus IS.” I was like, “That’s crazy,” because I am on-brand for that, not only because I’m a pro driver and work in automotive, but because my first drift car was an IS 200, which is part of the campaign as well. I still compete in them, and I still own one. So, yeah, it was a full-circle moment. The universe aligned.

What’s the difference between how you read a car and how you read a room?

For drifting specifically, you have to be a really confident person. I believe confidence is a skill; it’s like a muscle you build. If you have even a moment of doubt or fear in drifting, you mess up the whole run, because drifting is all about fully committing. I believe that skill has translated into how I am IRL as well. Also, [I’m a] Leo rising, so we’re confident in general. I enter the room and just be me, and I want to attract that same energy externally. I believe that applies to driving as well.

How do racing and design intersect? What are your design rules around racing?

Before racing, I started as a car enthusiast 18 years ago, modifying cars and doing things like that. There are so many niches and brands, just like in fashion. For any specific base car, there are opinions and style cultures that go with it. It’s similar to fashion: there are opinions about how to style a certain type, but you can also be unique on your own.

In the automotive scene, you’re dressing up your car. There are brands for it, niche brands, and sub-niche brands. The deeper you go, obviously, the nerdier you are. You can tell a person’s personality by their build. You get hints of what they like, what they don’t like, and what they might be like. Depending on the style route someone takes and how they dress, you can gauge whether they might be emo, edgy, introverted, or something else. You can get a sense of their character.

SIERRA

Where do you feel most inspired or moved to create?

A: Japan; by the water, literally any type of body of water; and sitting at my PC. I have three monitors and a gaming PC, and I feel so locked in when I’m in front of it. I love Tokyo and Shibuya. I really want to go to Osaka and Kyoto, but I’ve only explored Tokyo so far, so I would say Tokyo is my favorite right now.

What makes a collaboration successful in your book?

A: First, I love the synergy between me and whoever I’m collaborating with. It’s so important that the brand or person and I can really understand each other creatively. I’m such a visual person, and sometimes I don’t articulate myself in the best way when explaining an idea, so I love someone who can just get me immediately. That’s the most important thing when it comes to collaboration. I also love organically loving a brand before I collaborate with it. That brings a lot of authenticity and intention to what I’m doing. I’m very intentional about who I work with and who I spend my time with.

If you could only wear one color or pattern for the rest of your life, what would it be?

A: I would always wear blue. I love blue. Dark-blue denim, light wash, dark wash, whatever the case may be. I love cobalt blue and cyan blue. I think I low-key have blue in almost everything, even my nails. Between red and blue, I would probably go with blue.

FIFFANY

Have you ever experienced what it's like to have one piece of clothing that’s with you throughout changes and different years that feels right regardless of time?

Definitely. I’ve experienced that, especially with handbags. There are certain bags I’ve had for years that have stayed with me through different phases of my life and somehow always feel right, regardless of how my style changes. I think that’s what makes a piece truly timeless for me.

What's a signature you feel like you leave on everything you touch?

I think my signature is making things feel chic but still very personal. I love experimenting and mixing different styles, but I always want there to be something unexpected about the way I put things together. I think I leave a little bit of my personality on everything I touch.

What trend are you calling right now, something you think everyone else is about to catch on to?

I think people are going to care less about following one specific trend and more about having their own point of view. I’m seeing more people mix different eras, styles, and pieces that feel personal to them rather than trying to fit into one aesthetic. I think that’s where fashion is headed, and honestly, I love that.