Takehito Onodera, the designer of melple, embodies the California lifestyle. The "Bed To Park by Melple Karate Gi Pajamas" featured here were created at the request of Yoshio Uematsu Isetan Shinjuku Store, Men's Building . The collection, which is based on the motif of a karate gi, is based on the concept of "from bed to park" and combines comfortable wearability with a stylish appearance suitable for street wear. The person who will try on this buyer-favorite garment is Takumi Sugino, a karateka and gold medalist at the 21st WKF World Karate Championships.

Maple designer Takehito Onodera (left in the photo) and karateka Takumi Sugino (right in the photo)

—Have you two already met? You seem quite close.

Onodera: No, no, this is our first time meeting. Fists are our common language, after all (laughs).

--So, Mr. Onodera, you also practiced karate?

Onodera : Yes. At Setagaya Gakuen and Komazawa University.
Sugino Setagaya Gakuen is a prestigious and renowned high school karate school. My high school was just a club, so it was like something out of a dream.

──So, Mr. Sugino, did you rise through the ranks from a hobby club?



Both of Sugino 's parents were karate instructors. Simply put, it was cool. He started practicing karate when he was seven years old. Soon, karate became a very important part of his life. He deliberately chose a high school without a karate club. He wanted to test himself and see how far he could go starting from a club.

Many Sugino karate practitioners are very particular about their gis (uniforms). A properly fitted gi makes the forms look more beautiful, after all. I also worked hard to have one custom-made when I was in high school. I saved up the money for the gi by working a part-time job at the post office on New Year's Day. Thanks to that, I also developed a hungry spirit (laughs).

--Since buyer Uematsu is also present today, could you first tell us about the aim of this project?

Uematsu: This spring, one of the themes for our men's underwear is the combination of Japanese and Western materials. In recent years, yukata and jinbei have been re-evaluated and modernized with contemporary sensibilities, but I was thinking about whether there was a different approach, and this is the hypothesis I arrived at. The first person I consulted was Mr. Onodera. When it comes to Western materials, they are functional materials, and there is no one better than Mr. Onodera to incorporate functional materials into traditional clothing. When I asked him if we could do something interesting with martial arts uniforms, it turned out that Mr. Onodera was a karateka who had competed in the Inter-High School Championships. I was excited because there was no one more suitable to ask (laughs).

Next-generation garment, unprecedented in both functionality and design.