DESCENDANT

Worn because it’s summer.
Worn because it’s cooling.
Worn because you don’t mind if they get wet.

Since I started spending time by the sea, I wear shorts whenever the opportunity arises. If they are similar to swimsuits, like nylon shorts, they'll often have an inner lining, which allows me to go about my daily life in just the shorts without having to wear underwear.

The reason is that it allows me to jump into the water freely. For instance, if I rent a boat to go fishing and don't catch anything, I can just jump right in and go swimming. When I get out of the water, I wipe myself down with a towel so that I can go straight on to the next beach without showering. This type of movement became natural to me and was something I picked up while spending time in Hawaii and I now do it in Japan too. Even if I go to a public bathhouse, I put on the same shorts when I get out (it's usually dry, so it's okay). I also wear the same type of shorts to bed. It’s a type of shorts I can wear as nightwear, to sleep in, wake up and head straight out again. That's the kind of lifestyle I live during the summer holidays. You can say I use shorts as a tool. All the locals in the area are like that. As they say, "When in Rome." This is how often I wear the shorts, so after just one season, they're roughed up and dried out from the ocean's salt and water.

Thinking back, I have been making nylon shorts since the early days of DESCENDANT. The materials are synthetic fibers such as nylon and polyester. Sometimes, I'll add a lining and sometimes, I don't. My kids moved about similarly when they were little. When they would play in the park, they would suddenly jump into the fountain and get all wet, so nylon shorts became a practical necessity. Since then, my way of thinking and dressing has stayed the same. At the beach, I wear a long-sleeved T-shirt on top. Just a side note, the photo is from when I went to LA 9 years ago. The shorts I am wearing may have changed, but basically, nothing else has (laughs).

Spoken by Tetsu Nishiyama