Featuring a rare rosewood and alder body and traditional 1960s specs, the Hiroshi Fujiwara-designed beauty represents one of 2024's most unique Telecasters
Fender Japan has launched two Fragment Telecaster guitars in collaboration with fashion designer, music producer and musician, Hiroshi Fujiwara.
Available in White and Black versions, the Fragment Tele features a rosewood-centric design that plays off the traditional '60s Tele template, though further adopts Fujiwara's approach to manufacturing mastery.
"Rather than making a guitar, this model was made with the concept of making traditional clothes or furniture," he explains. "I have created a simple and beautiful Telecaster guitar that is like a warm piece of furniture."
Rosewood has been hand-selected for the body top, head, and sleek inlay-less fingerboard of the electric guitar.
"I wanted to use rosewood because it has a beautiful grain," the designer explains "It's quite rare to lay down rosewood this thick, [but] it turned out to be a very simple and beautiful design."
Of the inlay-free fingerboards, he adds: "The dots on the side of the neck are easier to see, and I've always thought that that's all I need. I have a few classical guitars, and the first thing I do when I get one is put a dot on the side of the neck with a white marker [laughs]. I think that's enough."
The neck, back of the body (which is alder), and pickguard are all meanwhile given either White or Black solid color finishes. The 6mm rosewood top and alder body combine for a "well-balanced" sound, complemented by Vintage Noiseless Tele pickups.
The Fragment Teles have been given modern C-profile necks, 9.5" radius fingerboards, and narrow-tall frets.
Each guitar comes with an original black tweed hard guitar case and a certificate of authenticity, with the collaboration also producing guitar straps, picks, and apparel.
This isn't the first time Fujiwara's FRGMNT brand has collaborated with other manufacturers. He's also worked with Pokemon, Beats by Dre, and Louis Vuitton, to name just three, having put his name on everything from cars to tents and headphones.
The Fragment Telecaster is due to be released on December 6.