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.


・Benefits of wool

Nishioka (hereinafter, Nishi): Thanks to everyone, this is already the ninth installment. I'm grateful to everyone who reads it.

Yoshida (hereinafter Yoshi): Customers who come to our store and our business partners tell us that they read it.

Hagiwara (hereinafter, Hagi): That's great.

Nishi: If they read it, it will help retailers understand the thoughts behind the products they made, and of course, it will also help customers directly understand.

Yoshi: I'd like to continue with this casual vibe.

Nishi: The topic this time is about wool. When you think of wool, you think of sheep. Sheep is warm, but you can also wear it in the summer.

Yoshi: Yes, you can. The surface of the wool is covered with scales that open and close automatically, keeping it comfortably moist.

Nishi: So it has moisture-regulating properties. What about merino?

Yoshi: It's a breed of sheep called Merino.

Hagi: Were the fibers thin?

Yoshi: Whether it's cotton or nylon, the thinner the fiber, the smoother it feels on the skin, and the shinier it is, making it more luxurious.

Nishi: First, let's talk about All you need is...Merino Boxer, which is already on sale.

Yoshi: The fabric has a weight of 100g/m², so it's incredibly thin, making it suitable for trail running in the summer and for multi-day hikes.

Nishi: It's also featured in the currently on sale magazine "Tarzan."

Yoshi: However, because the fabric is so good, the price has become so high that we can't sell it wholesale. So we only sell it through milesitone TERADACHO and our own online site.

Hagi: It doesn't pill and is very durable.

Nishi: It contains 21% nylon, so it feels sturdy.

Yoshi: They may be a little stiff, but the Merino Boxers are so durable that I've been wearing them since they were first developed and they haven't even ripped yet. However, the fabric has become so thin that it's quite see-through. My daughter, who is in the fourth grade at elementary school, was shocked when I saw them at home (laughs).

Hagi: You're at a sensitive age so please be careful (laughs).

Yoshi: The leg opening is a little wide, so we plan to improve it in the next production lot.

Nishi: Wool also has the benefit of being deodorizing.

Yoshi: That's right. So, let's finally talk about the T-shirt. Last month, when I went on a two-day, one-night mountain climbing trip, I wore the newly released Daybreak Merino T-shirt the whole time. On the first day, we climbed Mt. Ontake, and then, after sleeping in the car, we climbed Mt. Yakedake on the second day. I had my companion smell my sweaty clothes. It was to test the deodorizing power. Nishioka was the only one who flatly refused, though.

Nishi: That's true (laughs).

Hagi: I smelled it for this column (laughs), but I was surprised that it didn't smell at all. They say mountain climbers wear the same clothes for days on end. The sweat stains were a little noticeable, but how does it actually feel to wear?

Yoshi: It's not uncomfortable. I think that's probably because the fabric is thin. Wool ends up retaining sweat. If it were 100% wool, it would absorb it well and feel like something heavy and cold was being pressed against my body, but because it's thin and has nylon in the mix, it doesn't feel that uncomfortable. I do feel a bit wet, though. I don't feel cold from sweat.

Hagi: Doesn't it stick to your skin in a sticky way?

Yoshi: It doesn't stick that much.

Nishi: I think sweat stains are less visible on cobalt blue.

Yoshi: If you wash it in the washing machine, you should be prepared for some shrinkage. You should also be careful about how you dry it, as it tends to retain its shape. Make sure to check the care instructions.

Nishi: Wool has a unique smell when it's wet after washing. It's fine once it's dried.

・Make a T-shirt from scratch

Yoshi: The T-shirts first came about when I was making Natty Shorts, and I was still talking to Nishioka about it when I was still working at my previous job. We've done T-shirts in collaboration with STAMP and with BRING Body, but as we expand our apparel line, we thought that as a brand, we needed to create a "size chart" for milestone T-shirts. We talked about it as a way to create a unified standard of sizes, like saying that I could wear a size M for all milestone products.

Nishi: That's right, so I started thinking about it from scratch.

Yoshi: So, we thought it would be good to have a polyester T-shirt for running and a wool one that can be worn for hiking or everyday wear. Last year, we talked about releasing a milestone T-shirt with an original fabric and shape.

Nishi: From there, we started looking for fabric and creating patterns, and the wool version is what we're using this time, while the polyester version is in the final stages of development, so we'll talk about that another time.

Yoshi: So, this time we've invited a special guest.

Nishi: Actually, it was Junko Onoda (hereafter referred to as J), who created the pattern for the T-shirt. I thought I'd talk about that today.

Patternmaker J (hereafter J): Sorry for dropping by unexpectedly. I look forward to working with you.

Yoshi: They called me to Ario in Yao and said, "The samples are ready, so come over!" and we had a meeting while trying them on in the food court.

Nishi: We tried this and that, but now it's finally taking shape and is ready to be released to the world. What are the points you're particular about?

J: As for the patterns, I looked into various measurements, but there are all kinds of measurements, and I wanted to make it so that as many people as possible could wear it, but I couldn't make the product unless I decided on these, so I think I made the M size while imagining Nishioka as a model.

Nishi: The standard for size M is 174 cm and 69.8 kg.

Yoshi: Maybe they like to wear clothes that fit just right. Some people like to wear clothes loose, taking into account the balance of their limb lengths.

J: I imagine people close to me as L and S. I imagine this person as a representative of this body type, but I'm still exploring sizes, so I'm going through this and that. If it were an established brand, I could just say, "This size is this!" and keep making them, but it's really exploring.

Nishi: It's still in development.

J: As you meet more and more people coming to the store, you start to get confused.

Yoshi: Sometimes they even work in the store. Milestone originally only had three sizes: S/M/L, but we encountered a woman for whom S was too big, so we introduced XS.

J: When I'm serving customers, I can tell them what I want, but when it comes to buying online, it's difficult.

Hagi: Other brands also sometimes revise their sizes.

J: If you think they're the same, you can confidently consider them, and I really understand the brand's feelings. The DayBreak Merino T-shirt was designed to be worn not just for running, but also for everyday use and in the mountains.

Yoshi: The width of the body was wider. The running version was a bit tighter, so we were working on two different designs, but after trying out different things, we ended up with the same one.

・Thread and sewing

J: My concern was the neckline.

Hagi: Where is the neckline?

J: The neck area. It's difficult to get the right fit, as it has to stretch when you put it on, and then shrink properly once you've put it on. The outside and inside are different lengths, after all. If they were the same, it would stand up. The factory needs to be good at sewing that area too.

Nishi: I'm wearing it today and there's no problem at all.

J: I was very relieved to hear that Nishioka-san had been wearing it for quite some time and it was still in this condition. It's a part that stretches a lot. I was worried about how it would look if I wore it over and over again.

Nishi: It turned out great. Yoshi suggested adding some color to the "collar down." I think the contrasting colors really improved the product's overall quality. Sunshine gold and some other orange, I think?

Yoshi: It would be confusing, so I didn't give it a name (laughs).

J: It's cute because it's colorful. It's also cute that you can see how hard we've worked on it as a product (laughs).

Hagi: What is the purpose of the "collar sash"?

J: The locking thread (the thread used to secure the edges of fabric so they don't fray) that attaches the collar touches the skin, especially the back, so many T-shirts have it.

J: Also, there are two types of sewing thread: spun yarn and woolly yarn. Since it's something you'll be using while moving, I use woolly yarn, which doesn't hurt the skin and feels nice against the skin. It's a soft thread. It's difficult to sew with, though.

Yoshi: The fabric is made of wool, which feels good against the skin, so I choose soft woolly yarn.

J: Woolly yarn has its pros and cons, so it's not all good.

Yoshi: We also use flat seams for sewing, taking into consideration the feel against the skin.

Hagi: What is a flat seam?

J: When joining two pieces of fabric together, this is a sewing method that creates a flat, thin connection that feels comfortable against the skin.

Hagi: I guess it's a sewing method used in sportswear and activewear.

J: I use it on my merino t-shirts, boxers and beanies where it touches the skin.

Hagi: They're all the first layer that comes into direct contact with the skin.

Continued in Part 2