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It was late September in New York City. The event was held to unveil the capsule collections of three of this year's "Best New Menswear Designers" (BNMD), each of which is developing a capsule collection with Gap.

The "BNMD" award has been selected and presented annually since 2007 to designers and brands in the United States. The purpose of this project is to select America's best up-and-coming menswear designers and to support the activities of promising young designers. The award has been presented to such prestigious brands and designers as ALEXANDER WANG, JOHN ELLIOTT, and ENGINEERED GARMENTS, and is a high-profile award even when viewed from a global perspective.

After 10 years, for the first time, the nominees were expanded to include the world, and the excellent designer brands selected for this memorable first year were AMI from France, KINFOLK from the United States, and United Arrows from Japan. Many visitors came from abroad as well as from the fashion industry in the U.S. . The event was a great success.

GQ selected UNITED ARROWS because "the Tokyo store, which expresses the collaboration between Yasuto Kamoshita, Creative Director of UNITED ARROWS, and Motoshi "Poggy" Ogi, Director of UNITED ARROWS & SONS, one of the most iconic street fashion stores in the world, is a unique space where men's tailored suits and pioneering casual wear coexist in exquisite harmony. The Tokyo store is a collaboration between Yasushi Kamoshita, Creative Director of UNITED ARROWS, and Motoshi "Poggy" Ogi, Director of UNITED ARROWS & SONS, an international street fashion icon, where men's tailored suits and pioneering casual wear coexist in a unique space. The attitude of "UNITED ARROWS", which is not bound by the framework of a "brand" but rather by a sense of originality, can be said to be the reason why Japan-quality fashion has been recognized worldwide.

From Paris, France, we are pleased to announce the entry of "Ami". Designer Alexandre Matussi, born in 1980, is a young man, but he has built up a career working for prestigious brands such as Dior Homme, Givenchy, and Marc Jacobs, and made his debut with the 2012 Spring/Summer collection. Just one year later, she opened a directly managed store in Paris, and in 2015, when her collaboration with Moncler attracted much attention, she opened a flagship store in Omotesando, Tokyo, becoming one of the most popular brands in the world. The capsule collection features Ami's specialty tailored and denim items.

From Brooklyn, U.S.A., an apparel store launched in 2014 from Kinfolk, a café with an event space. The creative director, Jay Perry, has appeared as a model in Japanese fashion magazines in the past. The capsule collection, inspired by skateboarding and graffiti culture, won the hearts of partygoers.

. and "United Arrows," one of Japan's leading select stores. The unique balance of mixing mode and street brands that transcends barriers is embodied in the recently reopened Harajuku flagship store. The capsule collection features denim with "Japanese" details, flannel shirts, chinos, and other items synonymous with "Gap," all beautifully rearranged. The jackets and denim pants were inspired by Japanese kimonos, and the patchwork of various stitching fabrics was a novel approach unique to the collaboration. The expression of the multiple stitching fabrics combined with the versatile processing of the fabrics gives the items a vintage-like appearance, yet the finished product is truly stylish. It is an excellent work that combines Gap's knowledge of denim and processing with innovative design. It attracted a great deal of attention at the event.

The capsule collection is currently available at exclusive GAP stores worldwide . In Japan, the capsule collection is available at GAP Flagship Harajuku and 20 other stores, as well as through the online store. Please visit your nearest GAP store and pick up a capsule in person.