There’s a lot of play-acting in fashion, and it extends beyond “types” into materiality. This is especially true in menswear, where over the past few years work- and activewear have become trendy. Translating purposeful garments into fashionable ones often means stripping them of their original functionality; an office worker, for example, is unlikely to need the protection offered by a steel cap in a boot, but he might be all-in for the aesthetic.

Daisuke Obana’s N.Hoolywood Test Product Exchange Service occupies a middle ground between function and fashion. The very purpose of this line is to reinterpret military gear for urban use; at the same time, the idea, according to press materials, is that TPES be “recognized as an authentic military line,” which seems like a big ask. Expertise

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