In 2026 Daisuke Obana is hoping to reorganize his life so as to separate and maximize his job and downtime. However, when it comes to the designer’s N.Hoolywood Test Product Exchange Service (TPES) line, the focus is squarely on w-o-r-k, as the idea is to translate U.S. military gear for urban wear.
The setting for the spring lookbook shoot was “an anechoic and reverberation chamber, facilities typically reserved for testing specialized speakers and acoustic performance.” Obana explained that it was a choice informed by “archival U.S. military documents [that] revealed a process in which test samples underwent extensive examinations—fire resistance, durability, and a wide range of performance tests.” As to the garments, which include many sweatshirts, work pants, and a variety of jackets, rendered in dusty blue and tones of gray, brown, and black, they refer back to those worn by the Marine Corps and Coast Guard. The brand’s exposed labels are one element that take them beyond standard issue.
A kind of military alertness is built into the N.Hoolywood brand. “Basics” is usually the read on the TPES line, but with recent events suggesting that America is adopting a “strongman” policy, parsing this offering becomes more nuanced. It could be the case that not only trained soldiers, but civilians, will need to exist in a state of high alert and readiness.
