Timberland, a popular casual brand on the streets, has announced a collaboration between its workwear line, Timberland PRO®, which has yet to officially launch in Japan, and N.HOOLYWOOD . A limited-edition capsule collection of 10 items will be available for purchase from November 17th (Saturday). We spoke with Daisuke Obana, the designer of N.HOOLYWOOD and a key figure in this project, about the appeal of Timberland PRO® and the background of the collaboration.

The word "professional" sounds really cool to me.

If you've never heard of the Timberland Pro® brand, that's perfectly understandable. After all, it's a collection aimed at real, manual laborers and isn't available in Japan. Of course, its parent company is Timberland, a brand with deep ties to street fashion and hip-hop culture. And before its official launch, and achieving the remarkable feat of being the brand's first ever collaboration, it's N. Hollywood, one of Japan's leading collection brands.

First, we asked Daisuke Obana, who spearheaded this collaboration, what kind of brand Timberland Pro® is.


"Street fashion and workwear are closely related, aren't they? But artists and skaters who are actually on the streets, not just fashion-conscious ones, don't shop at select shops or skate shops. They're looking for the real thing, so for example, in New York, a shop called 'DAVE'S NEW YORK' near the 14th Street station is popular. It's a workwear shop where blue-collar workers come to shop seriously, and whenever I go (to New York), I always drop by at least once. That's where I discovered Timberland Pro® about two years ago. At first I was like, 'What is this?' And I thought the 'Pro' part sounded cool (laughs)."

Mr. Obana was immediately captivated by the brand's high-spec items, which were untouched by previous use. The opportunity for collaboration soon came along in a way that was exactly what he had hoped for.

Overalls: ¥30,240, Coveralls: ¥30,240 each, Pants: ¥19,440, Hoodies: ¥21,600 each, Long-sleeved T-shirts: ¥12,960 each

"It was a genuine, professional-grade product with a great logo, so I was thinking about whether we could parallel import it and sell it only at the N. Hollywood flagship store. Then one day, Timberland approached us with a collaboration offer. It was a godsend (laughs). I immediately thought, 'If we're going to do it, it has to be with the "Pro" line.' But Timberland Pro® is a genuine professional-grade product, and there was no precedent for a collaboration like that. So at first, my response was, 'We'll give it our best shot!' Thanks to the efforts of everyone on the Timberland team, we were able to overcome the strict regulations and finally make it happen."

Mr. Obana is known for receiving numerous requests for collaborations from various industries both domestically and internationally, and for successfully completing many such projects. I was curious to know how this "master of collaboration" approached this project—what his approach was.

Left: Overalls ¥30,240, Hoodie ¥21,600 Right: Short-sleeved T-shirt ¥10,584

"When I collaborate with a company, they usually have a flagship product. When they approach me, it's usually after they've added various 'colors' through numerous collaborations, and their image has expanded to its maximum. They approach me after they've done something spectacular and flashy (laughs). What's required of me then is to identify and refine the origins, foundations, and core of the brand or flagship product. I actually enjoy doing that myself. The people within the collaborating company often overlook the core because it's so obvious to them. My formula for collaboration is to highlight that core. Then, by fitting the brand's situation into my unique formula, something solid naturally emerges. In fact, by rebuilding the base in this way, it becomes easier to undertake new initiatives. You can add new 'colors' as well. I always keep that kind of 'design with room for improvement' in mind."

NEXT> What are the fundamental aspects of Timberland Pro® that should never be changed?