Perhaps because they are harder to oversee, items below the waist tended to be overlooked until relatively recently. However, with the rise of appreciation for handcrafted work, shoes have gained attention, as have trousers with the Italian-originated tapered silhouette, and the popularity of accent colors in socks has made bottoms a force to be reckoned with. Hayato Osaku emerged into the world perfectly aligned with this trend.


His initial interest in fashion stemmed from his admiration for designers who had built their careers in the tailoring world, such as Alexander McQueen and K.3 Hayford. Wanting to create such beautiful clothes, he enrolled in Bunka Fashion College, and after graduating, he knocked on the door of a long-established tailor. However, Osaku soon found himself working independently as an outworker making trousers, against his will. He says he completed each piece of labor work one by one, with the help of his seniors.

"Back then, I was trying to make ends meet by selling pants, and I was planning to learn how to wear jackets."

A few years after I started working as an outworker, I received an offer from a promising tailor. Offers like that piled up, and before I knew it, I was incredibly busy. While steadily building my skills, I made time to study jackets and vests. It was around that time that I met Noriyuki Kamiki, who had returned from Naples.


"At first sight, I realized how naive I had been. He possessed the meticulousness unique to Japanese craftsmanship, yet he was unlike any tailor I had ever encountered before. In a word, he was Naples itself. There was no way I could compete with him as a side job. I quickly gave up on the path of becoming a tailor."

What ultimately motivated the courageous decision to withdraw was, of course, the realization that he could make a living just by making underwear. And he became even more engrossed in making underwear than before.

"In this respect, I don't think there's a more fortunate environment than Japan. We get trouser repairs from all over the world, and veteran craftsmen from overseas come to Japan all the time. I was able to thoroughly absorb everything from the highest level of craftsmanship to the way of thinking about auxiliary materials. An old Italian cutter always said that trousers are important, so maybe it was him who instilled that in me (laughs)."

This led to the creation of three-dimensional trousers that surpass even those from Italy, and the brand <m039>, which combines ready-made and made-to-order items incorporating everything Osaku had cultivated up to that point, and the title of Pantalonaio, meaning trouser craftsman.


Using my beloved daughter and ice cream as a lubricant

While keeping the "curve" tight, the back panel is made larger by adding volume to the crotch area through ironing. To prevent it from becoming loose, the waistband is boldly curved (which also has the effect of increasing the hold on the waist)—the essence of the trousers that Osaku spends 22 hours finishing lies in a structure that "goes beyond the rules of the pattern appropriately and conforms to the body with hand pressing." This is succinctly expressed in the silhouette called the M-curve, which reflects the shape of the thighs and calves.

The m039 was realized through an offer from Mitsukoshi Isetan, and it is an original design that brings his design philosophy to life, brought to life by Eminent, a trouser factory that Japan is proud of.


"For someone like me who was unfamiliar with ready-made clothing, the high level of quality was astonishing. It was completely different from an efficiency-first philosophy, and the way the waistband was constructed was impeccable. The interior was also simple and logical. They even had a rare pressing machine for creating a specific shape in the buttocks, and I realized that they could even create an M-shape. That said, there were some aspects that were incompatible with the factory's production system, so there were times when the atmosphere on the factory floor became tense (laughs)."

If you try to translate Osaku's manufacturing methods into a factory setting, the grain of the fabric gets messed up. It's not a problem with plain fabrics, but with patterned fabrics like checks, the misalignment becomes obvious. Naturally, the factory can't tolerate it. Osaku's proposal was initially rejected, but a single comment from the buyer melted the heart of the person in charge. Even if something is conventionally considered a defect, if you can explain that it's a result of prioritizing comfort, it might actually become a selling point.


Launched in 2012, m039 has impressed buyers who have seen countless pairs of pants, who say, "It achieves the ideal quality for Japanese people. The collaboration between these two companies, who know our body types inside and out, has made 1+1 equal 3 or even 4. You won't regret trying it."

Currently, in addition to working on m039, Osaku is simultaneously handling bespoke orders for individual clients and outwork assignments, literally working without a break. It's kind of like something out of a fighting manga, but you get the feeling that his well-built physique is overflowing with vitality. When Osaku came into the room where we were waiting after the hugely successful trunk show, he was like a boxer who had just stepped out of the ring.

The lubricant that keeps the tension from building is going on dates with his beloved daughter and buying ice cream at Ministop on his way home from work. Seeing his charming smile, the contrast made perfect sense.


Text: Takegawa Keiji
Photo: Ozawa Tatsuya

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Isetan Shinjuku Store, Men's Building 5th Floor = Business Clothing
03-3352-1111 (main representative)