This series is a project in which Hagiwara (who runs with him in #WednesdayBudouzakaRen) listens to the stories of two people who have created milestone items (founder Nishioka) and used them (mid-career hire Yoshida) and delves into them.

・Seamless crossover

Hagiwara (hereinafter H): I watched the Instagram Live on August 1st, "milestone day." The exchanges were really smooth and had a great feel. Did you have any rehearsals?

Nishioka (N): Without any rehearsals. I think it went smoothly.

Yoshida (hereinafter Y): That's how I usually do it.

If you haven't seen it yet , check out the archive here 💁

H: As expected. You two are in perfect sync (laughs). We briefly talked about new items, but this time we're talking about T-shirts. We wear them every day, but we all have our own criteria for choosing them, right? What are you actually wearing?

Y: Usually? When I run? I usually wear natural fibers.

N: I don't wear any natural fibers anymore. I mean cotton and stuff.

Y: Seriously? What are you wearing?

N: I only wear our own products. Even in my everyday life.

Y: As expected from Mr. Milestone (laughs)

N: I don't think I'll ever wear cotton again. It crosses over between everyday wear and activity wear.

Y: Seamlessly.

N: When we go shopping as a family, people say, "Are you going to the mountains now?" Yoshi is always trying to dress stylishly.

Y: Natty longs are a sin. You wouldn't go to Takashimaya in natty shorts, would you?

N: If I wanted to go, I could. (laughs)

Y: You're going! (laughs)

N: What's wrong with it? It's my uniform. I've lived abroad for a long time, so I feel like people don't care as much as I think they do.

Y: Natty shorts have the problem of exposing too much skin, but now that they're longer, you can wear them wherever you go.

N: Whether you wear a hat or a T-shirt, it becomes your own product.

H: That would also be an endurance test.

Y: For me, I value the time, place, occasion, and the ability to switch between work and play. Wearing milestone helps me switch into work mode. So I don't wear it in my private time. When I'm off work.

N: I understand. That's Yoshi's style. He can learn a lot by wearing other companies' products, so I think it's fine. He's a fashionista.

Y: There are times when I think, "This place is great!"

N: You'll make some discoveries.

Y: I've digressed, but today we were talking about tops. I don't wear much cotton anymore. I wear more wool.

H: Even when I'm not doing any activities, I choose more outdoor-oriented clothing, so I guess that's why I naturally choose wool.

N: Doesn't wool have a unique smell?

Y: Wool does have a smell, doesn't it? But no matter how much you sweat, that smell doesn't change. I sweat a lot, so with cotton or polyester I get a more unique wet dog smell, but with wool I don't. When I went to Hotaka, I wore it for two whole days as a test, and when I smelled it after coming down the mountain, it didn't smell at all.

N: We were together, but now that I think about it, I probably didn't mind.

Y: My backpack got really smelly, but my T-shirt didn't. But wool has the problem of pilling. It depends on the item, but I keep wearing it happily and before I know it, I look like a Maltese dog.

H: There's also the issue of shrinkage when washed.

N: Wool has its advantages and disadvantages. I remember thinking that before I started wearing our own products, I loved Gunze's white T-shirts so much that I bought them by the box. They were 100% cotton and very comfortable, so I wore them 363 days a year.

H: Comfort is important after all.

Y: The reason why I keep talking about wool is that, actually, we will be releasing a completely original t-shirt from the pattern to the material, that will be the perfect t-shirt for Milstone, within the year. Made of wool.

N: This was made from scratch. The sleeve length, the length of the body, the width, the way it was sewn, it's all original.

H: I'll tell you more about that when it comes out again.

・A story born from continuity

Y: Even with polyester, when choosing a jacket for running, I'm concerned about the silhouette that suits me and the thickness of the fabric. There are a lot of different brands, but when it's this hot, you don't need sleeves. I want to rip the sleeves off (laughs).

N: I was asked about this on Instagram Live and elsewhere, and people have asked if we have any sleeveless tops, so we're collaborating with STAMP RUN & Co. (hereafter referred to as Stamp) to release a sleeveless top. It will be on sale at the end of August, when this article is posted. The heat of summer will still be lingering for a while.

H: The long-awaited sleeveless top .

N: In our previous collaborations with Stamp, we alternated between pieces with mesh backs and comfortable pieces with 7% spandex depending on the season.

H: What led to the collaboration?

N: I've always thought Stamp's designs were amazing, but my first encounter with them was when I went to make a delivery for SOTOASO, a trail running shop in Kisaichi. Stamp was hosting a group run and asked me if I wanted to run with them. I think it was when I had just started trail running, but I met the designer Okamoto-kun and the pattern maker Maru-san while we were running and said hello. I realized they were both the same age as me, and it was a coincidence, and things just started to move along nicely.

Y: Wow.

N: The stamp team is based in Minoh, and we always meet at a delicious hamburger restaurant.

Y: That shop where cyclists gather.

N: The first release was a round motif with a white and gray base. Okamoto-kun hand-drawn the illustration, which Maru-san colored. We also gave him some detailed instructions, such as wearing a mustard brown hat and a trail master.

H: That's true. The light from the headlights is shining on the letters.

＊A rare piece now. Doi wearing milestone apparel.

N: This is the second one, a triangle.

N: The third one is a square. The underlying concept is that the shape changes from circle to triangle to square.

H: That's true! The motif of a couple with a mountain landscape in the background is common to both illustrations.

N: Milestone has both male and female customers.

Y: The percentage of women in trail running races is about 10%, but the customers who come to the store are almost half and half.

N: I don't ask the designer to do much. I just ask him because I'm impressed with his talent. He draws it from scratch with the milestone brand in mind, so I think he puts a lot of thought into it. I'm grateful for that.

There are rough sketches,

Decide the balance and layout of the characters.

Y: You do say a lot about the details (laughs).

N: Because I always want to make it better. If it's no good, I'll leave it as it is, but I still want to make something good.

Y: It's not exactly from right to left. Osamu is in it.

N: I won't return the table.

Y: "Furikake" is Osamu (laughs)

N: For example, in music production, if someone says, "That hi-hat is too loud, can you make it a bit different?", I'd say, "OK, I'll just try the hi-hat alone." Or, "The snare is too forward, so can you make it blend in a bit more with the drums?"

Y: That's an analogy that you won't understand unless you're into music (laughs).

N: What I'm trying to say is that I think it's good to make small, fine adjustments rather than making big changes to the direction.

N: I can't draw illustrations or do graphics, but I always get to see up close how designer K (who does a lot of milestone design) works on the projects, adjusting the incredibly intricate details and balancing things so precisely that no one notices.

N: I thought this would be the end of the collaboration series for now, but I'm going to do a fourth one next time (laughs). By the way, they said they'll do a pentagon next time. It's scheduled for spring next year. I don't think anyone has noticed that the shape has changed, but by continuing, a story is born, and although some collaborations end in one shot, I think it's important to continue.

Y: It's the same as running.

・"(FOR) YOUR WAY"

H: It doesn't apply to other clothing, but the message is important when it comes to T-shirts.

N: My daughter is going to study abroad and she's wearing a T-shirt with some not-so-refined words on it. As a father, I explained to her that I don't think that message is good for her to go abroad.

Y: As an adult, you want to understand what you're wearing, especially if you're wearing something with a message.

N: Our T-shirts have the brand slogan "LIGHTING YOUR WAY." This MST-006 is made with a BRING-made base of 100% recycled polyester with a cotton texture. JEPLAN Co., Ltd. (formerly Japan Environmental Design Co., Ltd.) is an amazing company, just as its name suggests. They have a factory in Kitakyushu, where they collect all the recycled material, smash it, and it comes out clean.

Y: There are a lot of onomatopoeias (laughs). They must be made in a recycling factory.

N: It all started when I bought a ZEN NUTRITION T-shirt at an event because the illustration on it was so cute, and Tamura from ZEN introduced me to BRING. I think Tamura was about the only one using the BRING body at the time.

Y: So that's how it was.

N: The base colors started out as white and black, and currently include ivory white, khaki, and mustard, and we're also making a comeback with black.

H: I've always wanted to ask about the meaning and intention behind the phrase "LIGHTING YOUR WAY."

N: We're a headlamp manufacturer, and milestone = signpost. We wanted our headlamps to be guideposts on the road at night. Originally, it was "LIGHTING FOR YOUR WAY" with a "for" in between, but when we exhibited at an exhibition in the US, people there said it wasn't necessary. Corporate brand slogans like "JUST DO IT" and "NEVER STOP EXPLORING" are three letters long, so we left it out.

H: This may seem a bit sudden, but there's a song by Kaientai called "Start Line" (1995, lyrics by Takeda Tetsuya). The lyrics include phrases like "Someone is still running along the single road by the river at night," "The other side is so bright," but "There are people who choose to run in the darkness," and "To start running towards the darkness." The word "running" is used as a metaphor, but in the same way, "LIGHTING YOUR WAY" isn't limited to running or outdoor activities. I think it's a great phrase that can be interpreted in a broader sense as supporting people who take on challenges.

Y: As expected of Mr. Kinpachi. It's not about using the first person pronoun "I" or anything, but even though he removed the "for," it's "for you."

N: I see, but I can't remember how I came up with that slogan.

Y: Isn't that what you'd say to propose on a dark street?

N: No (laughs) But I'm glad it happened.

Y: These words really illuminate our lives too (laughs).

N: That's right.

Y: Speaking of T-shirts, the jogging club is also preparing them, and COVER-san, who hand-painted the "LIGHTING YOUR WAY" on the wall of milestone TERADACHO,

They drew illustrations for us. We wanted to attract local people who don't usually run, so we made it so that people of all ages and genders could join in.

*This T-shirt is currently on sale at the concept store, "milestone TERADACHO." The timing of the launch of the jogging club will be announced on Instagram at a later date. Information will be provided via milestone TERADACHO, not the official account.

N: It's still hot, and I'm sure everyone is working hard in preparation for the autumn races, but I really hope everyone takes care to avoid heatstroke.

H: I protect myself from the heat by wearing sleeveless tops and taking baths.

N: No matter how hot it is, you can't run naked. Even though people say they're mindful of the time, place, and occasion, there are some who ride their bikes shirtless or run naked with a trail running backpack on.

Y: There's no way there's someone like that (bitter smile)

This time, we learned about various things related to T-shirts. There was also information about upcoming items that are currently in development.

On a personal note, when the two people from milestone approached me about creating this text content called "Tell me! Milestone," I felt like they gave me the push I needed to "WRITING YOUR WAY." I hope to continue to accompany this brand, which continues to create new things and change like the shapes in its illustrations, and share that with everyone.

So, how are you preparing for the autumn races? Are you ready?

So, stay tuned for the next time.

Text and composition: Ken Hagiwara