DESCENDANT

It’s been colder than expected lately.

There are even days now when it feels right to wear a wool melton coat, something like a classic peacoat.

The peacoat has long been one of my favorite outerwear pieces, something I’ve made for decades. Originally a naval garment worn on ship decks, it also carries the sensibility of workwear. On cold decks, sailors would often flip up the lapels and button them all the way to the top, an image that has stayed with me, and I often wear mine in the same way. These small details, the things I’ve always liked and remembered, end up showing through them. But of course, that’s just my way, and the beauty is in wearing it however it feels right to you.

The patches on the sleeves are hand-sewn in an intentionally uneven way, using the same fabric as the coat, and the pocket opening features chain-stitched embroidery that reads “DESCENDANT.” It gives the feeling of taking something anonymous and making it personal, a bit of a DIY spirit. It’s ready-to-wear, yet it carries a touch of atelier craftsmanship. When I think of peacoats, I also think of the 1999 film The Boondock Saints, a story of Irish-American brothers, which feels almost like the peacoat’s cinematic bible. Norman Reedus was practically a newcomer then.

Around this time of year, you see a lot of shorter jackets. Like the peacoat, they trace back to practical workwear, modern versions of ranch jackets once worn by American cowboys, now reimagined as reversible fleece and technical fabric outerwear, or fleece liner vests inspired by what American laborers used to wear as inner layers. You could say that all of these are, in their own way, part of the workwear lineage. The pants that go with them tend to have a wider silhouette.

At first glance, DESCENDANT clothing may look traditional, but if you look closely, the subtle details reflect the paths we’ve taken and the experiences we’ve lived through, elements of our own street identity that remain, often almost imperceptibly. I hope people enjoy discovering those traces.

Tetsu Nishiyama