DAIWA PIER39: The Bridge Between The City & Outdoors

In previous decades, the way in which technical garments appeared would be somewhat of an afterthought, with details, silhouette and materials often a by-product of its performance-focused construction. Now, however, the intersection between fashion and functionality has become increasingly prominent, spearheaded by brands emphasising aesthetics just as much as garment performance.

One such brand at the centre of this is DAIWA PIER39, creating garments imbued with the core tenets of functionality — like performance materials and utilitarian details — and packaging it in a way that places aesthetics at the forefront. It might be a young brand, having burst onto the scene back in 2020, though its heritage stretches back decades prior. It’s an offshoot of the esteemed Japanese fishing brand DAIWA that dates back to 1958, renowned for industry revolutionising fishing reels.  

DAIWA PIER39 is very much soaked in the milieu of its parent company, though represents a step in an entirely new direction for the brand. The offshoot is creatively directed by Shinsuke Nakada, the esteemed Japanese designer who spent time cutting his teeth at BEAMS, and marks a celebration of traditional menswear codes through a distinctly Japanese lens. Military, outerwear, sportswear and prep are all core stylistic pillars of DAIWA PIER39, though rather than being trite recreations of the past, the label uses these codes as springboards for creating something new and unique. It’s always underscored by the technical and functional, done so in a way that’s subtle and aimed at improving the experience of those wearing the product. Ultimately, this feeds into the brand’s mantra of operating as a bridge between the city and nature, creating garments that enable wearers to seamlessly move between settings where the need for function and aesthetics alternates.

DAIWA PIER39’s AW ’23 collection showcases an extension of its core design principles, taking cues from outerwear classics and updating them with a contemporary focus. The brand’s British Hunter coat, for instance, is a direct nod to classic wax jackets that have prevailed throughout the industry, though it’s updated using a technical, polyester-nylon split fibre material and cut to the brand’s signature relaxed fit. Or take the Tech Reversible Stand Vest — its origins can be traced back to U.S. military vests of the past, though the use of reversible nylon taffeta and block fleece brings it into the now. The collection is ultimately reflective of what DAIWA PIER39 is all about: blurring the lines between both functionality and aesthetics, representing the connective tissue between the city and the outdoors.