Daisuke Ohana and Kazuhiko Kai talk about the past, present, and future of urban functional clothing.

Japanese pampas grassI got the impression that it was very mature. Not so much flamboyant, but rather calm. I liked it from a fashion point of view, not from the sense that it was a brand specializing in alpine climbing. Also, there was a piece of gear called the "El Command Kilt" that looked like a skirt, and that left a strong impression on me. That was more than 10 years ago, I think. I have a strong impression that so-called "fashion leaders" were wearing these.

resultIt's a hard-core brand that is not flashy. If you are going to climb mountains, you should choose "Mountain Hardware. When I see them in the mountains, they are the coolest. Maybe it's because guides often wear it, but it makes them look dependable.

Also, their products are easy to understand. They were quick to produce quick-drying T-shirts, and were the first to introduce an original waterproof breathable fabric system called "DryQ Elite. Anyway, they are always doing new things, but in a good sense, they are not flashy.

resultI love the "canyon shirt" item, and I was wondering if you would do it, Dai-chan. I was wondering if you would do it.

Japanese pampas grassYou should have said that earlier (laughs) so I would have plugged it in.

resultI forgot to tell you (laughs).

Japanese pampas grassI never noticed that shirt. I dug through various archives. Kai understands the brand because he uses it in a real outdoor environment. However, what I was looking for was a combination of fashion and realistic gear, so I put a lot of effort into eliminating as much as possible except for the necessary functions.

Japanese pampas grassYes, I did. I originally had some vintage clothes. Basically, I wanted to keep the outdoor elements to a minimum, and within that, I wanted to bring out the "Mountain Hardwear" style. After receiving explanations of the inline's characteristic details, I emphasized them while omitting the superfluous ones.

Japanese pampas grassEven inline items can be worn as normal street clothes. I even thought that just changing the color would be enough. However, it would have cost a lot of money and was over-specified for town use, so we pursued realistic street wear while subtracting from the cost.

Japanese pampas grassThe goal is to replace the traditional "Mountain Hardwear" cut and detailing with new urban clothing that has never been seen before. The second was to create something new using functional fabrics unique to "Mountain Hardwear" and sewing techniques that would demonstrate the effectiveness of these fabrics. These were the two pillars of our thinking.

In addition, it was an important concept for us to compose a collection with no more than eight models per season. Climbing a mountain requires a lot of equipment, and a variety of functions are required in clothing and backpacks, but to survive in the city, there are too many functions. We wanted to create a collection that would be complete in a very limited number of pieces for daily life.

Japanese pampas grassIn short, "MHW" is the result of reducing the functions and details of the Mountain Hardwear collection to the bare essentials. That is why the name of the collection is also made up of three letters of the alphabet, using the first letter of Mountain Hardware as the core (Mountain Hard Wear).

Japanese pampas grassI remember when I did a show for "N. Hollywood" on Wall Street. There was a guy who looked like a respectable day trader wearing a suit, and on top of it he wore a flashy, slightly bulky down jacket. I wondered if that was part of the American casual style. I thought it was typical American casual, but I thought that if he was going to wear a suit, he should wear a more balanced and modern item.

Japanese pampas grassThat's right. With this in mind, I decided to keep the colors simple, and made the collection centered on black. In fact, it seems that using black in outdoor products is functionally bad, but we did so on a dare.

Japanese pampas grassPerhaps it was an unconscious feeling. Five years ago, N. Hollywood's collection was shifting to easy-to-wear and comfy items. I think it was a natural fusion with the times.

Japanese pampas grassBut even before that, I knew that a certain outdoor brand was making urban clothing with a high level of design. I wanted to make something that was not an "outdoor brand.

resultThere were no clothes that were just right at the time. Even if you wore outdoor clothes on the street, they were not made for that purpose, so they would just look rough. However, the opposite was not true either. I have always felt frustrated by this. There was a time when I was thinking of starting a "Bamboo Shoot" business that only featured black outdoor clothing.

resultKids who like the outdoors didn't react to it, but rather it was accepted by people of our generation. I think this is because we like to wear a mixture of different things.

Japanese pampas grassWhat I envisioned is clothing that can be worn inside the house and is just right for a casual stroll. It seems that not only rock climbing but also bouldering is becoming popular among "Mountain Hardware" customers. Both types of climbing clothes are, in the first place, free of excess. So I felt like it ties in with MHW's concept for this season.

Japanese pampas grassI guess the main feature of this wear is that this watertight tape is on the front. Actually, I tried to make something similar to this a few years ago. I wasn't satisfied with it and gave up, but I wondered what would happen if I tried again. So I tried again.

Normally, watertight tape would be placed on the lining, but this is a major detail for Mountain Hardwear, and it is used on fabrics that are harder than this.

Japanese pampas grassYes, it is. Because it is affixed with heat, if it is soft, it will ripple. At first, that was a setback. But this time, after repeated experiments, we were able to apply it perfectly and neatly even on soft fabrics.

resultSeam tape on the outside makes it more waterproof, but it seems that putting it on the outside also increases the water pressure resistance.

Japanese pampas grassThe cost of these special fabrics and seam-tape sewing techniques would never match our background. But the great thing about outdoor brands is that they specialize in manufacturing products that are functional. In that sense, I think it is meaningful for us to work together with major outdoor brands because we can share what we cannot complement each other.

resultI thought the pants were nice, and the back of the bag was very O-chan-like.

Japanese pampas grass(The bag on the right) I designed this one inspired by a chalk bag. I thought it would be nice to be able to put my luggage in it with ease.

resultChalk bags were popular once upon a time. It was very convenient. But I never saw anyone using it in a cool way.

Japanese pampas grassI saw someone using a fancy chalk bag for town use.

resultAt the time, I wondered if we could do something about it. I was wondering if I could do something about it at the time. So, when I saw this item, I thought, "You are a fashion person, after all. If an outdoorsman had made this item, it would never have been designed this way.

Japanese pampas grassAs I have worked on this project, I have sensed that the market and its needs are changing. I feel that to some extent, the market has been satisfied, or that we have created a basic product. It is similar to rain gear, or the feeling that it is inconvenient not to have a folding umbrella. So I think there will always be people who like this kind of product. However, for better or worse, I think there will be more and more similar items in the future. So I think it is possible to use this as a base to bring in different ideas and create something new.

resultIt's good to be easy to wear and use, isn't it? As I mentioned earlier, outdoor clothing is too dowdy. I think it is too difficult to wear in the city.

Japanese pampas grassIf this were to happen, outdoor brands themselves might become extinct, but it would be interesting to create the ultimate functional clothing that can be worn in mid-summer and mid-winter with just outerwear, innerwear, and pants. Then there are clothes that can be worn without being washed, or clothes that can never be torn. Clothes that are more like gadgets than apparel.

Japanese pampas grassI think it would be interesting if an outdoor brand could develop the ultimate functional clothing that would reduce the concepts of fashion and the outdoors to "nothing.

resultWell, but let's be realistic, outdoor clothing is still fragile. Over time, the contents of a backpack will start to smell, the lining of a mountain parka will start to peel, underwear will start to furball, and so on, so it would be nice if the durability could be improved.

resultI am more concerned about durability than functionality. I want to wear what I like for a long time.

Japanese pampas grassWhen I visited the headquarters of "Mountain Hardwear" in San Francisco, there were repair requests from all over the world, and there were piles of clothes with holes in them. That proves that there are people who love this brand that much, and at the same time, it is proof that they love one thing and not the other. I thought to myself, "They wear it because it's so convenient. I guess it's almost like a tool in terms of the senses.

Japanese pampas grassI basically don't collaborate with brands that don't match my style. I want the people who see my work to share my sense of reality. In that sense, Mountain Hardwear is simply realistic for me, and I had an image of them making cool clothes, so I think it was inevitable. If I am asked to participate again, I would definitely like to do so in a new way.